Why Newcastle, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Lazio and more meet in a park in London

“There are so many people in London, but it can feel like a lonely place,” Kieran Duff explains during a stroll in Russell Square, still fretting over the fact that he forgot his football socks in preparation for the big match. “I hope someone has a spare pair.”

In the changing rooms, a welcoming and ready camaraderie of Newcastle supporting teammates wear black and white T-shirts as they reflect on their early season defeats to Juventus and Inter Milan. No one brought extra socks.

“It’s a silly thing to say, but playing with the kit and the colors feels different,” says Newcastle Supporters Club captain Tom King.

“There’s a little part of your mind that’s like, ‘I’m playing for Newcastle here.’ It makes you connect with the club in a way that I haven’t done with any other football club I’ve played for.”

Next door, boys in burgundy and blue clothes start jogging and warming up. It’s a balmy, pleasant lunchtime on a Sunday in November as Newcastle take on their Aston Villa counterparts at the Coram Stadium in central London, the last embers of autumn clinging as a stadium worker attempts to clear leaves from the pitch.

This is just the beginning of the afternoon of the London Supporters’ League which also includes AC Milan, Fiorentina, Genoa and Lazio, but on any given weekend you can find PSG, Real Madrid, Lyon, Roma, Monza or Panathinaikos here. They are all dressed from head to toe in the full club colours.

“We won the league last year, and after eight years we were finally able to win it, so we put a star at the top of our crest,” says Ludo Romagnoli, who was born in Modena before moving to Brazil and then coming to London for university. “I feel very proud to represent our club.”

Pedro Aguilar, of Real Madrid in London, adds: “It’s more fun to come up against people who feel the badge and the colors and have that passion for the club they represent.”

“Everyone has a story behind them, you have to understand why they support the team, why they love it.

“It’s great. Meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures and seeing how much they love football, just like we do, just through a different team.”