Crystal Palace. One of the oldest clubs in English football, steeping in history dating back as early as the mid-1800s.
Now, a Premier League mainstayer, the club is taking off from its traditional roots and branching out to all corners of the globe.
Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta, you name it… the Crystal Palace Fan Token has enabled its global fans to see the stars they love in action, since launch in 2022.
A group of Crystal Palace fans from just outside Basel in Switzerland, including last season’s $CPFC leaderboard winner, Thomas, attended October’s recent Premier League game with Liverpool, a match in which the group have now made an annual fixture at Selhurst Park part of a long-weekend trip to English capital, all made possible through Fan Tokens.
The group’s main supporter, Tobias, shares his story about how he ended up becoming an Eagles fan right from the very beginning…
It all started 30 years ago when Tobias’ godmother married an English man who could not speak any German, but was a huge football fan and die hard supporter of East London club, West Ham United.
They were able to connect through football, and it was through West Ham in which Tobias grew a fond connection with the Premier League (then known as the Football League First Division) and started to gauge a wider interest in English football, most notably with the Hammers’ London rivals, Crystal Palace.
It wasn’t long until Tobias decided it was time he wanted a club of his own and after years of following the Eagle’s results through reading newspapers and on the internet, he had found the team for him: “As a boy I wanted to have my own club. I spent a lot of time researching Crystal Palace but it wasn’t until 10 years ago when they got promoted back to the Premier League when I became a real fan and started watching every game on television.”
Then, in 2016, thanks to a surprise gift from his wife, Tobias was able to go to his first ever game at Selhurst Park – an experience which he’d never forget.
Whilst many football clubs have gone on to build big, modern stadiums as a means of fitting in with contemporary ways, Crystal Palace has always been known for keeping true to its traditional roots.
It’s this “old-school” nature of Crystal Palace which Tobias initially fell in love with, citing his first visit to the ground’s Arthur Wait Stand as a key reason for his Palace support: “I was inspired by the atmosphere. Most of the fans are from the local area and you can smell the football originality, unlike other grounds like the Emirates and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which are too perfect and are all about the glitz and glamour.”
From this day onwards it’s been a love story between Tobias and Palace.
But love is infectious… so infectious that Tobias’ group of friends from Basel including Thomas, now a $CPFC Fan Token holder have also climbed aboard the Palace bandwagon and have avidly followed the club since their first group visit in 2019.
The four have now visited Selhurst Park five times including a recent upgraded VIP experience redeemed through the Socios.com app to watch their beloved team face Liverpool in which Tobias rejoices: “The experience was amazing. Despite the result (1-0 to Liverpool), we had a great day out and the atmosphere in the VIP lounge was super cool. I’m sure this won’t be the last time I go to Selhurst Park!”
Fan Tokens making dreams come true
The Swiss fans’ story truly defines the global nature of football fandom and shows how football communities are quite literally everywhere.
Crystal Palace fans now stretch out to Switzerland, Brighton and Hove Albion are Japan’s eighth-most supported club and a whopping 46% of South Koreans say they support Tottenham Hotspur.
And it’s through Fan Tokens in which these fans all around the world are realising their dreams – watching the stars they love and connecting with their clubs in unique and unprecedented ways.
$CPFC Fan Token holder, Thomas, has not only been able to realise his dreams of going to VIP match experiences at Selhurst Park with his friends, but also redeems matches and memorabilia from multiple countries and leagues across Europe: “Aside from collecting signed jerseys, it’s the VIP sports experiences I love, but not just for the English Premier League. I also follow my local league here in Switzerland as well as keeping an eye out on La Liga and Serie A results.”
“Out of all the experiences I have redeemed though, it’s the games at Selhurst Park I have enjoyed the most. Of course I am a Palace fan, but it has the best atmosphere and I cannot wait to go back!”
