Bharat Bhise and I met some years ago at a business convention and after a short conversation we realized that we were trying to implement the very same business. Bharat and I decided to go into business together and after doing well in the American market, we decided to give the UK and try and see if we could also find success here. I am from the north east originally and this was where we decided to base ourselves. I had a lot of fun teaching Bharat about the English way of life and as he was a huge sports fan I wanted to show him our love of football. Instead of only taking Bharat to the Premier League games at glitzy big stadiums, I wanted him to learn about true football, and so I took him to a game in the 6th division. Bharat loved the experience and here is why watching lower league football is so enjoyable.

Passion

Because money doesn’t rule the game at this level there is far more passion to be found, both from the players and the fans. In many cases the players have full time jobs and they only play football on the weekend after finishing the week of work.This means that players are not just there to pick up the wages, they are fighting tooth and nail to play for a club which they love. In terms of the fans the passion is very much there too and many of these fans have the football club in their blood. You don’t find glory hunting fans at this level, the fans are part of the club much more so than when it comes to the big boys.

Infrastructure

At half-time here you don’t go to a well stocked bar for a pint served by one of the many waiting staff, in fact on most occasions you’ll go for a hot drink and a pie, served up by one of the two or three staff who work in this job each and every day. The fans know the names of the men and women who work at the stadium and there is a real community atmosphere here. You can see that the fans and those who love the club are its heartbeat and they are the reason that the club exists at all.

Meaty

Something which Bharat quickly noticed was that the level of football further down the leagues is not quite as fancy, in most cases it is in fact far more raw and much more brutal. Football at this level is very physical indeed and that makes for a far more entertaining spectacle.

Watching

Because the stadiums are much smaller, everyone can see what is going on and you don’t have to run the risk of watching the game from 100 meters away, up in the gods.

If you love football then get to a lower league game, you’ll have an amazing time.