Leeds United supporters arrange Man United fixture 10,000 miles from Elland Road in one-off game

Leeds’ fanbase is one of the largest and most passionate the world over, despite limited success in recent decades and never having consolidated a place among the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ clubs.

Dedicated and organised supporter groups can be found in several major cities across the globe, but few can claim to be based further from Elland Road than Leeds’ New South Wales branch in Sydney, Australia.

Led by James Parrish, the NSW-based group have arranged a fixture with their Manchester United counterparts this weekend, in what will be their first 11-a-side outing as a supporters’ club. Parrish, originally from Dewsbury, has admitted due to growing membership and a collective desire to face off against their fiercest rivals, that he will struggle to provide game-time to all those signed up to play on Sunday, August 27.

Parrish has lived in Australia for five years, but tells the YEP the NSW group has been around for much longer, originally headed by Aussie Leeds fan Brendan O’Neill.

The group regularly meet on matchdays at Cheers, a sports bar on Sydney’s George Street, renowned among members for showing Leeds’ games. Parrish says there is up to 90-100 dedicated members, while several others just passing through the popular holiday destination keen to catch a Leeds game and share their fandom drop in from time to time.

Made up predominantly by British ex-pats and a handful of Irish supporters, too, group chairman Parrish is keen to stress the club also boasts a number of Australian fans, some of whom are yet to make the pilgrimage to Elland Road but find the time for meet-ups and events with fellow fans, as well as catching Leeds’ fixtures, invariably during the small hours of the morning.

“We don't always get good timings. Right now, I believe we're nine hours ahead so if it's a 12 o'clock, midday game, it's like Saturday at nine o'clock, 9:30 [in Sydney] is a very good game for us but they come few and far between,” Parrish says.

"I think this Saturday just gone, we had to wake up at 5am because it was a Friday night fixture [vs West Brom]. Again, that wasn't too bad, but there’s some that are 2am, 3am [kick-offs], so it is a bit of a chore out here.”

Parrish also adds the patron of Cheers Sports Bar has even signed up to LUTV – Leeds United’s in-house channel, which shows matches live to overseas audiences – due to the interest on matchdays.

"Since we got relegated she reached out and said ‘it's probably worth getting LUTV, isn't it?’

"We always get the numbers in and stuff so it is worth their while.”

As for Sunday’s fixture, there is plenty of anticipation and planning that has gone into the game: “This is the first 11-a-side we’re going to play since 2009.

"We’ve already been approached by a couple of other clubs to get the games going. They’re getting excited in the group chat, we’ve got a licensed referee and all that.

"I’d like to think it’ll be friendly enough, but there is going to be that argy-bargy,” Parrish adds.