There are few football clubs with the global appeal of Liverpool. From Africa to Asia, South America to South Australia, there are vocal supporters, as passionate and faithful as those who live on Anfield Road.

The scale of LFC’s global fanbase has been made more apparent by the many pre-season tours of the last few years. This is now a truly modern club – perhaps the biggest in the world – connected to all corners of the Earth by the internet, by social media and fan forums.

On a Saturday afternoon, it is not just at Anfield where fans gather to watch their team, to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone and feel a part of something. It is in Ulaanbaatar, in Nova Scotia, in Kigali and in Buenos Aires too.

LFC Stories spoke to several fans from around the world on supporting the club from afar, and the inimitable appeal of Liverpool for people of all backgrounds.

Amarsaikhan Orso – Mongolia

I live in Ulaanbaatar – the capital city of Mongolia. I watched the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain on a black and white TV as an 11-year old boy, which is probably my earliest recollection of being drawn to football as a sport. Back then Mongolia was under a socialist regime; we had a single national and one other Russian channel. It was a lucky chance that the Russian team was participating that year, so I was able to watch multiple games broadcasted.

My father who worked for a political party read a lot of Russian newspapers, including Soviet Sport (now Sport Express) and Football & Hockey. I found out about Liverpool, which was dominating the fields of England and Europe, from the publications and was instantly a fan of players such as Ian Rush. After watching the FIFA World Cup in 1982, I decided to root for the team of England. Maybe I was drawn to their style since as a kid I liked to play as a winger and do header goals.

At the start of 2000, I started working as a brand manager to import the Carlsberg beer from Copenhagen, Denmark to Mongolia. Now everyone knows that Carlsberg was the main sponsor of our team at the time. I’d like to believe that at this point, I connected with Liverpool on a deeper level and it became a very special part of my life.

After the 2005 Istanbul final, Liverpool fans in Mongolia experienced a spike in numbers. During that time, social media platforms weren’t as prominent as they are now, so we used to gather on sports forums to discuss our opinions, predictions, and commitment to our club. This was a start of great friendships and companionships within the fan club. In 2009, a couple of fans decided to organise a meet up and proposed the idea of creating the fan club, which officially opened on 7 November 2010. I was chosen as the Head of the Fan club and I am still carrying the role to this day with pride.

Within the fan club, we have organised various games and events such as The Reds` League and Reds` Cup. It’s become a habit of ours to gather and watch the games together for the Champions League games. Over 1500 Kopites came together to watch on TV this year`s Champions League Final in Madrid. We have been included in multiple promotional videos of Liverpool FC and we are extremely happy about being a part of this global fan base.

There are over 5000 fans of Liverpool in Mongolia at the moment and the number is expected to grow even higher. Our fan club Facebook page has over 11k likes, the Facebook group has over 4000 members, and over 10k twitter followers actively following the news related to Liverpool. The national sports of Mongolia, otherwise called the “Three games of Men”, are traditional wrestling, horse riding and archery. The general population is very fond of the three games, but their acceptance of football is growing.

I am glad to say that our Liverpool fan club has made a considerable contribution to advancing the fan culture. The Mongolian team won a match against Myanmar in Qatar FIFA 2020 Preliminary Qualification Round. This has been a good indication of the quick growth of the sport.

The time difference of 7-8 hours usually means I watch the games at midnight or even later. We usually like to gather around and enjoy the game as a group. For Champions League games, we usually wake up around 4 am to watch but nowadays we have gotten so used to it that it’s hardly a problem.

Also, it’s harder for us to watch it live since we live so far away. The British visa requirements have gotten so strict that not many fans get the opportunity to travel for a game. It is a pity, but we have organized group tours to Anfield multiple times now. Ten members of the fan club took part in the dream tour to Anfield in 2013, four in 2017, and three for the one planned this year.

It may sound a little dramatic, but being a Liverpool fan is a badge I wear with pride and honour. There has been a drought of big wins for the team in the past decade but that never stopped us from supporting and believing in the team.

I strongly do believe that Liverpool will bring the English Premier League title to us very soon. It will be a joyous moment that I am very much looking forward to.

Steve Kempton – Halifax, Canada

The first televised English First Division match I ever watched was Liverpool v. Nottingham Forest, 50 years ago! My family was living in Montreal, I had just started playing soccer, and an American public broadcasting station would air the First Division "Game of the Week" on Monday evenings. As we tuned in and the sides were announced, my dad said: "I like the sound of Nottingham Forest, I'll cheer for them!"

“Well, I'm definitely going for Liverpool then!" I declared, and that was that. After that, I would anxiously await the Monday morning newspaper and scan for the English Leagues standings (all four divisions), and I rapidly learned English geography through football. Playing youth soccer, I always sought the no. 7 jersey, and when both Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish took the no.7, I'd kid my father that they took my number, not the other way around.

Since we formed our supporters club last year, the experience has been fantastic. Through our expanding circle of supporters, we've seen new friendships made and grown, and we know that other Premier League team supporters in Halifax (and some pub owners!) are more than just a bit envious of our club and our matchday atmosphere.

The Champions League final at our host pub was insane. We chartered a red antique double-decker bus and sang and stomped our way through the city on a pre-match pub crawl, and our host pub was filled to capacity with Reds supporters. The coffee shop one floor below the pub thought the ceiling was going to come down on them, and we were told that patrons in the pubs a block away on each side couldn't just hear us, they could feel us. My ears were ringing for hours after the final, and three days later my voice was still shot to pieces. We've got supporters coming to join us in Halifax for matches from towns and cities hundreds of kilometres away, and we're already planning reciprocal road trips to boost our presence in the Maritimes.

The exponential increase in media coverage of the EPL has allowed supporters all over the country to coalesce around their favourite teams, and Liverpool is no exception. We have Official Liverpool Supporters Clubs in Canada from coast to coast now, and we're always excited to have "come-from-aways" join us on matchdays when they're visiting Halifax: we've had Liverpool supporters from the UK, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, New York, Alabama, California, Boston, Calgary, New Zealand, Egypt, Indonesia and even Gambia join us at our host pub.

I've been to two matches at Anfield. The first time I brought my daughter along with me while she was bouncing around Europe on an extended backpacking trip. Before she left Canada, I had tucked the words to ‘You'll Never Walk Alone’ in her travel diary along with the instruction "commit to memory", and when the first notes rang out over the Anfield sound system, I think I got light-headed and shivers went down my spine. We both sang, cheered and soaked up the Anfield experience, and chuckled the next morning when both of us were croaking instead of speaking in a normal voice... Someday, I'd love to be in the Kop just to feel what it's like to be in the best section of any stadium, anywhere!

It really is more than a team, isn't it? It’s a community, it’s an outlook, an ethos, it’s a camaraderie, and it’s perseverance through good times and bad. It’s the embodiment of "You'll Never Walk Alone". And hey, it's a great way to have a pint or two with friends and sing our heads off to boot.

I've been a supporter for 50 years now, and sometimes I think the only way I could be more of a supporter would be to move to Liverpool.

Eyðun Trúgvason – Faroe Islands

I started supporting Liverpool when I was around 10 years old, which means that I’ve supported the club for about 17 years. I wasn’t interested in football until I started school. It was my uncles who influenced me to start supporting them. The Premier League is very popular on the Faroe Islands, and everyone on my mother’s side of the family supports Liverpool, which made it easy for me. All the other boys in my class supported Manchester United. That just made it more special to be a Liverpool fan.

There are many possible explanations for why Liverpool is so popular on the Faroe Islands. I think The Beatles have played big a part, since there are many ‘older’ Beatles-fans who also support Liverpool. Another reason is that English football was always shown on television back in the day, which made young Faroese football fans fall in love with the successful Liverpool teams. I think most of the younger Liverpool fans today (myself included) are influenced by their parents, older siblings, or other members of the family, who have seen Liverpool play back in the glory-days.

We have a Facebook group called “Liverpool Føroyar” where we discuss everything about Liverpool. We currently have around 3,000 members in the group, which is a lot for a country of only 50,000 people. In the capital (Torshavn) around 50 fans usually meet up at a café every time Liverpool play.

Football is clearly the biggest sport in the Faroe Islands. We have our own league and our national team that we are very proud of. It is because of football that many foreigners know of the Faroe Islands. When they get a good result, especially when it is surprising, it will be talked about for months.

Since football is so big in the Faroes, almost everyone plays it as a youngster. There is a lot of time, energy and resources spent on football. There is both paid work and many local volunteers around the country. Lately, a lot of the best Faroese footballers have gotten professional contracts in other countries, like Denmark, Norway, Germany and Iceland, and this has most definitely raised the level at the national team.

The Premier League is also huge on the Faroe Islands, and it feels like everyone is following English football. I just started in my new job, and I have found that English football and the ‘Fantasy Premier League’ are the hottest topics amongst my new colleagues – and definitely the easiest way of getting to know and talk to new people.

I have been to Anfield three times, and I’ve now finally seen them win! The first time was Arsenal in 2012, which we lost 1-2. The second time was Everton (May 2013), which was a goalless draw. And the third time was February this year when we won 3-0 against Bournemouth.

It means a lot to support Liverpool. It’s a part of my identity. I spend a lot of my time watching games, discussing, and reading about Liverpool. It’s a regular subject when I’m with friends, and simply a big part of my life. There’s a social aspect to it: you get together, make some coffee and enjoy watching the match together.

I don’t think it matters that I’m not from the city, since I still feel connected to the club. I can watch every match and support from home. The accessibility through social media is amazing and has probably just made me an even bigger fan.

Innocent Spencer – Rwanda

I was introduced to Liverpool by a British man in 1989. At this time he was my neighbour and he showed me films of Liverpool teams throughout history. During that time in Africa there were no TVs that could show the Premier League. But in 1995 I got my first chance to watch an amazing Liverpool team.

Currently in Rwanda we are enjoying being fans because of the good performances from the team. But that wasn’t the case before. When the team was struggling, between 2006 and 2010, some TV companies started to deny rights to show Liverpool games, and some fans couldn’t even sit in a bar wearing the jersey. The fan base was reducing.

But Liverpool has brought people in Rwanda together. It was a form of reconciliation during the genocide of 1994. People could come together, watching football, to forget. Millions of our family members were killed.

I have never been to a game, but I plan to one day. Being a Liverpool fan means more. It is more of a family than a fandom, even more so when you support Liverpool.

You become a lover, not a fan.

Kyran Culhane – Buenos Aires, Argentina

My father introduced me to Liverpool. I was drawn to Barnes, Rush, Fowler and McManaman, and no.17 was my first jersey!

LFC has a good following here in Argentina. The other big European clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona do command a bigger following, obviously, but I would say out of the English clubs it has the biggest support. Football is religion here.

Supporting from Argentina presents some challenges considering the time difference: games can be very early in the morning. With that said my experience supporting the Reds from afar has been positive, even if I would like to get to Anfield more often. It is always a pleasure to accommodate visiting Reds and Argentines who find our supporters club.

I try to get to at least one game a year. I have been to many football grounds around the world but there is nowhere like Anfield. And the current team is the best I have ever seen. It is difficult to pick a favourite player in this team, but I love Bobby Firmino. He is such a great team player.

Supporting Liverpool means everything to me. I am always asked who is my Argentine team? I simply reply none.

I would find it difficult to share any of my support or heart with another team.

Mustaffa Abood – Baghdad, Iraq

I began supporting Liverpool in 1987 when I was five. My father and eldest brother support Manchester United and they tried to convince me to do the same but my heart was beating to the Liver bird. I remember watching the match between Manchester United and Liverpool with them, and when Aldridge scored I was celebrating. From that time I knew my heart was with Liverpool.

My first hero was John Barnes and since then I haven’t been able to stop loving Liverpool. The biggest happiness in my life was the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul. I didn’t sleep for two days with all the celebrating. I learned that impossible is not in the club’s dictionary.

From my experience, I learned that love doesn’t care about place, distance or culture. It’s about emotions, passion, loyalty growing inside you, occupying your heart and soul.

Supporters here meet each week to watch Liverpool on TV. The bond they feel with Anfield helps to ease the stresses and strains of everyday life in Iraq.

The association was a spark in our minds and we decided to establish the first foreign club supporters branch in Iraq. We were four guys and it has gradually grown bigger and bigger, with more than eight thousand fans now. The people here may live on the other side of the world but they have great passion for the club.

I think Liverpool are so popular in Iraq because of the great history of the club in the 70s and 80s. Everyone here speaks about Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly and what they achieved in that period. Many fans here have a nickname like Keegan, Dalglish or Rush. The most loved are King Kenny and lionheart Steven Gerrard. Stevie is a phenomenon in terms of his loyalty and love for the club and a real legend here. Also, we can’t forget the new era of Jurgen Klopp and his legendary heroes.

Being with Liverpool fans makes us feel that we are all together as one. It allows people from different ages and different religions to unite. Liverpool, for me, means a way of life. I would describe the club in three words: life, love and global.

I learned from Liverpool that we can come back from the darkest times.