'You don't pick your club... Leeds United picks you' - meet the Whites Scandinavian fan base

We explore Leeds United's devoted Scandinavian fan base in the first ever We All Love Leeds feature.
Svend Karlsen presents academy manager Adam Underwood with an illustration describing the connection between the club and Nordic fans.Svend Karlsen presents academy manager Adam Underwood with an illustration describing the connection between the club and Nordic fans.
Svend Karlsen presents academy manager Adam Underwood with an illustration describing the connection between the club and Nordic fans.

Leeds United boast one of the most passionate and loyal fan bases in world football.

No matter how far you go or where you travel, you're never a great distance from a club crest, scarf, car sticker or even welcoming a friendly salute, such is the outpouring.

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It is a football club that has tested the very core of its support during ups and downs on and off the pitch in recent history.

Those far and wide, though - just like the city of Leeds - have remained steadfast and unwavering in their loyalty to the team that plies its trade in Beeston.

And today, in the first installment of the Yorkshire Evening Post’s new We All Love Leeds series, which looks at supporters groups around the world and their passion for Leeds United, we explore the club’s devoted following in Scandinavia.

Whether in Leeds, Norway, New York or Australia - the Whites are a fever that is hard to shake once under your skin and in your blood; the 130 Norwegians who chartered a plane from Kristiansand to Leeds last season will attest.

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Svend Karlsen has a story to tell just like thousands of others with an association to LS11.

LUSCOS members Svend Karlsen and Anders Palm present Eddie Gray and Peter Lorimer with their special edition beer.LUSCOS members Svend Karlsen and Anders Palm present Eddie Gray and Peter Lorimer with their special edition beer.
LUSCOS members Svend Karlsen and Anders Palm present Eddie Gray and Peter Lorimer with their special edition beer.

Each one is unique and deserves to be heard, but those who listen closely will notice a familiarity in all of the endings: all Leeds, aren't we.

United are a team that connect deeply with their fan base - no matter where they're born, reside or watch from. Once Leeds, always Leeds.

Supporters crave hard work and commitment between the white lines over flair and fancy flicks; if you give everything on the pitch, they'll give you everything in the stands.

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Svend - who was born and lives in Fredrikstad about an hour from Oslo in Norway - is fervent in his support. His Leeds United journey began at the age of nine.

As a youngster, he travelled to Elland Road for the first time for a game against Wimbledon, along with his best friend, the son of Thorbjorn Lerfald, a founding member of the Leeds United Supporters Club of Scandinavia.

The bright lights and a 4-0 victory were enough to convince any lingering doubts that his team - the one he was born to support - hailed from West Yorkshire.

"I know a lot of fans say 'you don't pick your club, your club picks you'," he told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

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"I had this incredibly strong feeling that it was my club and I belonged to it. It blew my football supporting mind. I had no idea what I was walking into."

Such was his love of the club, Svend moved over to Leeds for a year when he finished school to take up a season ticket alongside his studies.

Unfortunately, the club were relegated from the Premier League and tears were shed as he made the trip to Bolton on the final day of the 2003-04 campaign.

His most recent visit to Leeds, though, provided a happier memory and one he will cherish forever.

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"When I was over for the game against Bristol City in February it was my 50th match," he said.

"It was a very proud moment for me because it was the first game for my son and my father was also there, so we had three generations of the family.

"Many people ask me if my father supported Leeds but he didn't really have an interest in English football.

"He's always been supportive of me and he is a huge fan now as well - all my family are members of our branch and have shirts and scarves."

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Svend is now a board member of LUSCOS, the group set up by his childhood friend's dad, and is one of the 6,000-strong members who pledge their allegiance to Leeds from right across Scandinavia.

The branch celebrates 40 years of its existence this summer and was born out of a need for information on all things Leeds United in the early 1980s and 1990s.

It's founders Thorbjorn and Arild Bekken would produce letters on typewriters to send out to members full of the latest match reports, news and travel guides to the city, such was the clamour for information.

"English football has been hugely popular here since 1969 when they started showing Match of the Day," Svend said.

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"It was the only thing you could watch on a Saturday because Norway only had one television station so everybody watched it.

"That's why English football is strong here and obviously through the first decade of those matches Leeds were incredible with the likes of Allan Clarke, Peter Lorimer and Eddie Gray.

"It built a generation of Leeds fans which laid a platform for supporters here."

The group now produces a 100-page magazine and has a podcast suitably called 'White Noise'. They even brewed beers in ode to their heroes, selling a combined 8,000 bottles of 'Pale Eddie Gray' and 'Lorimer's Lash'.

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Like with anything, membership fluctuates and interest comes and goes but Scandinavia has always been a Leeds United stronghold for as long as Svend can remember.

"This is what I am most proud of I think," he said.

"Even if we have been in the Championship or League One, we have had so many people being loyal. I don't think we have ever been below 4,000 members. We've had so many people travelling.

"There was one weekend where we had 500 fans over for one game - people have supported the team regardless.

"This is their team and community - going to Leeds is a big part of their life.

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"It's not just about watching the game. It's coming together as fans. We love going to England to meet up at the pub and take part in the community.

"The members we have now really are the core group. I'm sure we will get more as we head into the Premier League but these fans really are the core of the fan base over here.

"Even if we go down to League One again they will be there and travelling over."

For fans across the world, promotion to the top flight this season has been a long time coming - 16 years to be exact - and it's being felt already in Norway and beyond.

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"We've had a few hundred fans join in the last few weeks," Svend said.

"I don't think those people have suddenly just become Leeds fans. It's not like they have just discovered them.

"But the boost with promotion has given us people who have had Leeds in their heart for a long time, but maybe they just haven't been active. It's something very exciting.

"I don't know if you can call us an underdog but there is something different in the culture [at Leeds] because we have been relatively untouched by the Premier League.

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"The club still has that soul that English football should represent and stand for. It's so central to the identity of the club."

With supporters currently absent from the terraces at Elland Road, fans in Leeds have been relying heavily on social media for their matchday interaction.

But for those abroad, it has and will always continue to play a vital role in their connection to the club and the team that they love.

"For us we are always at a distance," Svend said.

"We follow Leeds from afar always but especially now with everything that is going on.

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"Social media and the online community has been very important to us for our relationship with other fans and the club.

"We can connect to more people and supporters can connect to one another. We're one big family wherever we are."

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