But at City we pride ourselves on how diverse and inclusive the Club’s fanbase is, not just in the United Kingdom, but globally.
Two of City’s fans, Rob and Clive, have had two very different journeys as fans but have both spent the past five years enjoying a new aspect to their love for the Club, getting to meet and become friends with other LGBTQ+ City fans through Canal Street Blues (CSB).
To celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month, we caught up with Rob and Clive about their love for each other, City and the Official Supporters Club CSB.
As Rob and Clive’s love for each other grew stronger since they first met 21 years ago, so did Clive’s love for City, with Rob’s lifelong adoration for the Club rubbing off on his partner.
“I wasn’t into football at all,” Clive admitted. “But I found that when he [Rob] was going off to games or going to the pub to watch games, I was always kind of interested in what the outcome was and then I gradually found myself starting to check the score while he was out.
“Then I found myself listening on the radio to the commentary when Rob wasn’t there and watching the games that were on the telly by myself too and it was just a kind of gradual getting involved. And that was it, you can’t ever really stop once you’re hooked.”
“Now he’s a City fan for life, he can’t change to any other team!” Rob joked.
“When I finally started coming to the Etihad I was properly hooked,” Clive continued. “And I probably get more worked up than you [Rob] now don’t I!”
On the other hand, Rob’s admiration for the Blues came from generations before him.
“I mean my dad has always been a City fan and my Dad’s Dad – who went to Hyde Road before Maine Road became our home for a while – so City has been in the family blood for lifetimes,” Rob explained.
“It was probably around the mid-80s when I first went to see a game. I’m not sure if it was the first game I saw but one of the games I do remember most was City getting beat by Luton Town 1-0 with four minutes to go, David Pleat ran on the pitch and all that. I remember learning a lot of new words that day because I was probably only about 10!
“My friends at school were big Manchester United and Liverpool fans and I thought maybe I should become a United fan. My Dad’s response was ‘you can pay for yourself if you want to go to Old Trafford but I’ll pay for you to watch City at Maine Road’ which helped me stay my course of being a City fan.
“I’ve since been a season ticket holder. Seen some not-so-good games, some good games – 5-1 win over United, 10-1 win over Huddersfield are standout games. I’m glad I’ve stuck by ever since.”
The pair now live in Kent so aren’t able to visit the home of the current world champions as often as they like but when they do, it’s a real highlight for them both.
“We walk up from Piccadilly, we often come up the main road or the canal,” explained Rob as we caught up with the pair outside the Etihad Stadium before our recent victory over Everton.
“We also try and leave enough time for steak frites as we call it, steak and chips, over at Blue Moon Café. And then we make sure we leave time to get into the ground and have a pint before sitting down in our seats.
“I think because we don’t get to every game we like to have at least 10 to 15 minutes in our seats just enjoying the pre-match warm-ups.”
“And home or away we always stay until the bitter end no matter what’s happened in the game and we always applaud the players,” Clive added.
The couple also get to enjoy a new aspect to their matchdays when they get to travel up to Manchester, meeting up with like-minded members of the Official Supporters Club Canal Street Blues.
CSB looks to bring LGBTQ+ Manchester City fans and allies together and help showcase how the Club’s community is a safe place for all.
And since joining the OSC five years ago, Rob and Clive have nothing but praise for the Canal Street Blues and its members.
“I think Clive found Canal Street Blues and we thought that would be the perfect group for us with similar people who have also faced similar issues in society. It’s been great becoming part of their community!” Rob exclaimed.
“If we’re honest we initially joined to have another way to get tickets,” Clive joked. “But the Canal Street Blues are really clear that they’re not about that, they want to be more of a community which is what makes them so nice to be a part of.
“We went to Leicester away, before the pandemic, and Foxes Pride hosted an evening that night where they invited CSB members to go to the game and it was great!
“It was so nice to meet the other members of CSB and we always try to make sure we see some people before or after games when we come up to Manchester. They like to arrange to meet at pubs as a group which again shows how inclusive the group is.”
“There is just a real sense of community within the group,” agreed Rob. “With us living in Kent it’s hard to be at all the events but we try to make as much of an effort as possible in being involved.”
“We interact as much as possible with their social media pages,” Clive continued. “We’ve also changed our holiday so we can come to Manchester Pride this year to show the Canal Street Blues some support.
“It will be Rob’s first pride!”
“It will be actually,” Rob admitted. “Don’t ask me why, there is no real reason, I’m delighted to finally get to do one.”
For information on Canal Street Blues, click here.
