'We have built up an amazing brotherhood of like-minded people' - meet the Leeds United Americas supporters group

There is something about supporting Leeds United that makes people do the strangest of things.

It is the same feeling that possesses the most loyal to travel from all corners of the globe to take in a match at Elland Road, and explains why the club's fan base has been unwavering in its loyalty through all of the recent ups and downs.

Mike Bellwood, founder of the Leeds United Americas (LUA) supporters group, was travelling on the subway in Boston around 10 years ago when he had one of those moments that every Leeds fan will understand.

His carriage was pulling out of the station at Fenway Park - the home of the Boston Red Sox - when a group of guys in familiar colours caught his eye.

"They all had Leeds shirts on," Mike told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

"I didn't even know what I was doing but the next thing I know I'm banging on the window.

"I'm obviously in this subway car, and it's pretty busy. I'm in my suit and just giving the Leeds salute to these guys.

"They all see me and do it back. I turned round and the whole carriage was just staring at me wondering what the heck was going on.

"I'm a fairly mild-mannered guy but that's what it is being Leeds - it's a brotherhood."

Mike, who is originally from Harrogate but was raised in Leeds and Bridlington, moved to Chicago in 1992 just after the Whites lifted the First Division title under Howard Wilkinson's guidance.

He has held a season ticket on and off since 1997. Now he has two seats in the East Stand, travelling back and forth to LS11 when time allows.

"When I moved over to America, there were no live games on TV," he recalled.

"There was one highlights show that was on some weeks and wasn't on others, so you almost felt at that point you were leaving the game behind.

"I met a lad in a book store who was looking at the English newspaper section, which had become my place to find bits and pieces of news.

"He mentioned there was a pub in Chicago that showed games and brought over a satellite transmission of whatever match was being shown in Canada every Saturday morning."

It was there that LUA was born, with a little push from the Yorkshire Evening Post.

"The first Leeds game I watched was the away leg against Rangers in the European Cup," Mike explained.

"One of my friends had been sending me Yorkshire Evening Post cuttings and articles about what was going on, so every two or three weeks I'd get an envelope full of press cuttings.

"At half-time of that game, I opened them up - I didn't really know any other Leeds fans and the place was full of Scots.

"There were six or seven of us who had kept pretty quiet but once they saw me opening up the Yorkshire Evening Post cuttings, they made themselves known.

"The supporters club, as it was, started from that moment."

The group began as a Leeds United Supporters Club of Chicago, but quickly expanded to link up with New York and Canada.

Now, they have links to Central and South America and act as an umbrella for regional groups throughout the Americas region, bringing together fans for one cause - to support Leeds.

In 2009, they became an independent organisation amid the off-field battles with chairman Ken Bates and that's how they remain today.

"We've tried to spread things so we have a fairly well organised network," Mike explained.

"We have lots of sub groups. There's the New York Whites. There's the West Coast Whites. Pretty much every city now has a regional group that is also part of the Leeds United Americas.

"You wouldn't think somewhere like Atlanta would have a lot of Leeds fans, for example. There's no rhyme or reason to it, as it's not a destination you would think of being in England.

"They've just always had a really good set of lads and a core group. New York has always had a strong presence and there's probably about 25 of us in Boston. Toronto has also really come on in recent years.

"Some of these people have become the best of friends. I know that is mirrored across our whole network.

"It's almost like we've become a family, we're so far from home."

Mike, who now lives in Massachusetts instead of the Windy City, has seen the group grow from a small bar in Chicago to more than 1,500 members.

LUA also used to sponsor former Whites' player Mike Grella and have raised money for the Leeds-based Candlelighters children's cancer charity in the past.

They even sponsored a junior football side in Scunthorpe after spotting an appeal on social media from their Leeds-supporting coach.

With the growth of the game, information has become a lot easier to access across the pond and Leeds games are shown on a near weekly basis - a far cry from deliveries of newspaper cuttings.

The group, though, has never wavered from what it set out to achieve all those years ago.

"In 1992 mission statements were still a thing," Mike said.

"The mission statement of Leeds United Americas at that time was to bring fans together who live over here and I think we've done that.

"We have really built up an amazing brother and sisterhood of like-minded people - and they're not all from Yorkshire by any means.

"Fifty or 60 per cent of our members originate from the north of England, and maybe 25 to 30 per cent are from other areas in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

"About 10 per cent of our membership are Americans, who for whatever reason found football and found Leeds as their club.

"The friendship and bonds that have been forged over the last 28 years is the thing that really gives me a lot of satisfaction.

"We're a sanctuary for a lot of people and a home from home.

"They can have a connection with Leeds through the group. It's great to be able to provide that in a positive way."

Meet-ups continue to be held across all parts of the Americas and LUA is now preparing for a world in which Leeds are a Premier League club and all that it will bring.

"We've seen an uptick, definitely," Mike reflected.

"We've had 100 or so people join just in the last few months.

"Some of those are lapsed members and others are just finding out about us for the first time as our global reach increases.

"Others are this new wave of American soccer fans who love the Premier League and have a new club.

"We have to figure out ways to appeal to them and what they want. We're here for anyone over here who wants to support Leeds. That's our way."

For anyone who is interested in joining the Leeds United Americas supporters group they can be contacted on [email protected]