From Accra to Paris: How Palace draw eyes from around the globe

Watching the national team on the sport’s biggest stage was a football club with a clear ethos of their own. This is Crystal Palace Ghana, a community club dedicated to south London’s finest.

“When we were growing up, we had older brothers and sisters who were already in the area team,” Elvis, one of the club’s players, explains. “Quite a number of them travelled to the UK and were based in Croydon. They were Palace fans so it’s from there that everything started.”

But Elvis and his teammates have long since become more than just fans – soon their devotion to Palace caught the eye. “Everything became Palace, Palace, Palace,” he says. “For years we had been representing the club until we decided to get the official jersey in 2020.

“We created the official Twitter account and we were able to have access to Palace fans in the UK. They supported us raised and £5,700 to help us. One person who contributed was one of Palace’s owners, John Textor, who gave us £5,000 to purchase jerseys and other football materials.”

The squad now play in full kit, beating opposition up and down the country and converting swathes of new Palace fans in the process. “It got to a time where we won 10 consecutive matches and people started supporting Palace,” Elvis laughs. “Any time Palace are playing they come and watch with us.

“We watch all the games. We have a place that we all gather with the whole team, about 30 players. It’s a whole community thing. Down here we are very popular in the community. Any time [Palace] concede a goal everyone is down, but when we score we disturb the whole place!”

As we speak, conversation inevitably turns to the coming season. Elvis sings the praises of Patrick Vieira: “This is the man – he’s such a huge name.” But almost 4,000 miles away is a group of fans who know the manager even better.

“I was really happy with the appointment of Patrick Vieira,” says Julien, leader of Crystal Palace France. “We also have a lot of French players. For me, the best were Mathieu Flamini and Yohan Cabaye – and we have excellent players now like [Michael] Olise, [Odsonne] Edouard and [Jean-Philippe] Mateta.”

Julien’s route to Palace is a strange one, stretching back three generations. “My grandfather became a fan of Crystal Palace thanks to English friends he met during a trip,” he explains. “He convinced me thanks to his passion every time he talks about Palace and Selhurst Park, so I became a fan thanks to him.”

With 50 supporters spread across France, Julien is more accustomed to watching games at home with a burger and a beer – but his group often arrange trips to Selhurst Park, where he first saw Palace beat Watford almost two decades ago.

Supporting a Premier Leagues side gives him a certain soft spot for England, and while his outlook on French chances is pessimistic: “England will go all the way to the final.”

Elvis has little time for pessimism – after predicting Palace to win the FA Cup, the League Cup and qualify for the Europa League, he turns his focus to Ghanaian revenge against Uruguay following their controversial meeting in 2010. “It’s a must win match, we have to beat them. What they did was painful. It was every Ghanaians nightmare. Even if we lose the other two games, Uruguay is a must win for us.”

His hopes are pinned on a familiar name. “We are looking to Jordan Ayew – he continues to raise Ghana and Palace high. Even as I’m talking to you now I’m in a Palace jersey.” As you can tell, the line separating international and club loyalties is becoming increasingly blurred.

From all four corners of the globe, eyes are turned to the World Cup – but far and wide, in France, Ghana and more there are fans with hearts of red and blue.

We ask Elvis what would constitute ‘living the dream’, fully expecting an answer related to the World Cup. “I don’t know much about England because I haven’t been there before,” he says. “I would really love to.

“I would love to play at Selhurst Park and score, and go to the fans and sing Glad All Over in front of them. That would be the dream.”