Leeds in 50 countries. A never ending away day.
My missus convinced me to become a digital nomad, but there was one condition.
Leeds on tour!
My girlfriend and I have impulsively decided to travel the world in 2023. We’re going to be visiting up to 50 countries across South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. We have don’t have much of an itinerary, but we’ve got a year to visit every place we can imagine.
Being the difficult sod I am, I’ve made sure she agreed to one non-negotiable during this trip. I will watch Leeds United play every time Jesse March’s men [bravely] take the pitch.
I don’t ask for much, so she’s conceded this one to me. As we embark on this journey, she’ll be searching for restaurants, tourist attractions and romantic getaways.
And I will be searching for places to get pissed, shout profanities and watch my beloved Leeds United.
Answering those “where to watch Leeds” tweets
While I’m on this journey, I had the idea of documenting every place I watch Leeds play. Whenever I’m in another city in the US, I find a pub that has the match on. For all the frustration Marsch has brought, Leeds’ new American presence has made them immensely more popular, which sees them appear on the main screen quite frequently.
But I imagine that Buenos Aires and Bangkok might not be as straightforward! So, I’m planning on documenting and answering this common question from Twitter:
“Where is the best place to watch Leeds in ____?” cc @TheSquareBall
My goal is to watch every Leeds matches in a bar, restaurant, or pub in each of the cities we visit. As mentioned, we’re heading to quite a few places so I’m sure there will be some unique and interesting experiences. I’ll document each experience, the process of finding a place to watch the match, and any challenges that needed sorting out.
I’m sure most instances will be normal. In a big city, I’ll likely just head to a pub and ask for the game. A bit boring right? But, for the times where it’s a more complex, I’ll share the workarounds I deployed.
So I’m excited for the challenges surrounding this! I’m sure there’ll be a number of obstacles: language barriers, lack of premier league coverage, no Guinness. But, I’ll survive.
Watching Leeds in a foreign city is a special experience. It’s a lonely world out there, and going to a pub for the football can provide a nice lift when you’re on the road.
So I’ll do my bit to find the best places worldwide to grab a pint, enjoy some company and watch ninety minutes of heart-wrenching penis ball.
I’m documenting everything on Substack and Twitter
To keep things really simple, I’m going to keep all of the content on Substack. Here’s the process I’ll follow after watching a Leeds match in a random place:
I’ll post a short piece (500 words) on the city/establishment where I watched Leeds, how I found they were showing the match and how much the experience cost.
I’ll also do a quick recording that outlines the process and provides a bit more nuance than the written piece. That will be posted at the bottom of each newsletter.
I will create a small webpage that contains a list of the cities I’ve traveled to. These cities will contain a link to the corresponding blog post.
I’ll be posting all relevant updates to my twitter account. I’ll do all of this right after the match, so you can expect some Guiness-induced emotion!
Thanks for following along
As I leave the comfort of the United States, and NBC’s coverage of the premier league, I’m a bit nervous! America makes it quite easy to follow Leeds nowadays.
But, I’m excited to write about something related to the whites. I do quite a bit of blogs, podcasts, etc, for work, so it’ll be nice to channel my energy into something personal.
So here we go! I’m going to watch Leeds United in fifty different countries, starting this Saturday.
And to make it that much sweeter, I plan finish this season off in Elland Road.
Leeds in 50 countries. A never ending away day.
Sounds great. I suggest you bece a member of WACCOE.com if you are not already. Whilst ti can be a bear-pit, there will always be people on there who have watched (and are often watching) Leeds games from afar. Said people can often source a useful link or two abroad to help watch games.
Good luck mate! Just saw your post on Twitter - did some travelling a quite a few years back and remember having to find internet cafes to find out the scores. Flickering screens and slow loading only to find we had lost... all worth it though. Hope you manage to watch as many games as possible and also have a brilliant time
MOT!