Bjørge Undheim is a Norweigan, currently living in Brazil. He speaks to us about his favourite non league grounds, about his non league blog, and why he got into football. A very interesting read for any football fan.

After finding out what non league is like in Russia, this week we found out what it is like in Brazil as we interviewed Bjørge Undheim to find out how he got into groundhopping and about his adventures in Brazil.

What encouraged you to get into football, and more importantly your groundhopping adventures?
I am not from a football family at all, but my best friend in my childhood was. He is my cousin too. So we were together at the weekends playing football and listening to BBC radio every Saturday afternoon for updates on the football scores. In addition we bought football magazines like Goal and Shoot, and football cards with a chewing gum in the pack.
Groundhopping just developed by time. My first dream was to go to the Baseball Ground as Derby was, and is my favourite team. This dream I achieved in 1991. A bit later I watched them away at Port Vale and enjoyed being at a new stadium. So I picked up a ground here and there but never considered myself a real groundhopper.

This changed in 2000, when I moved to the Netherlands. My first target was to do all the top league grounds in one season, which I achieved. In addition, I did about half of the second division as well, and some in Germany and Belgium. After one and a half years down there, I moved to London. First I concentrated on all the league grounds where were easy travel distance from London, but when these were done I started to go to non-league grounds as well. This opened up my eyes, and I have really enjoyed my journey watching football from top leagues to lower leagues. To top it off, it as a bonus as I have seen many places which I otherwise never would have seen.

Do you have a matchday routine when visiting a new ground? What team is closest to you? Could you give us some info on them?
I do not have a fixed matchday routine, but some things are the same. For example, when I went to the stadiums in the Netherlands, I used to buy a scarf from the home team. If I have time, I always spend some time in the club shops to see what is there as I do some work in that area at the moment. It is of interest to me to see if there are some new trends.

When going to non-league grounds, it is to go to the club bar at half time and at full time to grab a drink or some food. Sky is normally on there giving updates on all the football scores, and hopefully get a chat with some people as well. This also gives me a "feel" for the club.

As I am based in Brazil now, Athletico Paranaense is my closest professional club. It is in the city of Curitiba quite south in Brazil. I am a member there now, which basically is the same as a season ticket holder but it gives more value here. We are allowed to vote in the yearly general meeting, and as we pay a monthly fee all year around it gives access to all home matches. From now on it should also give us live stream on all away matches, but a bit unsure yet as due to the virus, football has been cancelled for 3-4 months now. If they do well in the cup or qualify for Copa Libertadores/Copa Sulamericana we do not pay any extra to attend those matches.

Their stadium was upgraded for the World Cup in Brazil 2014 and is one of the most modern one in the world. They have a retractable roof as well to cover when there is heavy rain in the area. It might sound strange, but they have installed synthetic grass to make it easier to use for concerts and other events.

Apart from that I have 3 amateur clubs around me, from where I live less than a couple of miles away. These stadiums are similar to a non-league clubs in the UK, but it is less community based. They only have under 19's and adult's teams. Nearly all of children's football is organised through independent football schools. Some of them might use the facilities of an amateur team though, but it is not common.

An amateur in my city is maybe the richest amateur club in the world though. They had a sell-on fee of 30% of a player who was sold from Athletico Paranaense to Atletico Madrid for an initial €20.000.000. When I lived in London I once was less than 5 minutes walk from the stadium of Leyton FC. Unfortunately this stadium is now history. In Norway,my local team is Bryne FK. They used to be in the top league but are now down to the third level. I used to live only 5 minutes walk from them and used to attend all their matches.

What is your favourite non league grounds? What makes non league unique to you? Why do you enjoy it?
My favorite one is without a doubt Claggan Park up in Fort William in the north of Scotland. It is just perfect next to the mountains and the entrance is the "good old style". Scotland has many great non-league grounds. Pollok and Cambuslang Rangers are two I certainly did like. Workington and Hitchin Town are two really good grounds in England, while Belper Town and Buxton are good grounds in nice towns to visit at the same time.

Special mention has to go to Santa Quiteria in Curitiba, Brazil. Their "ultras" were incredible and made a lot of noise throughout the whole match. They called themselves "Taliban" and had some funny banners linked to this as well.

In Argentina I went to watch FC Urquiza in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It was early afternoon kickoff, incredible hot but their 50 or so hard core supporters made noise for more than 1000. They even had the paper pieces to throw up in the air like you see in the big stadiums.

To go to a non-league ground is more to go to a family party. It just has a good feel about it with most of the supporters attending belonging to the local community. I don't remember where, but at a ground the Chairman of the club greeted supporters after they had paid and entered the stadium. When going to the pub one can see most people know each other and they have the Saturday match as a place where they gather socially. It is just brilliant. For me being a groundhopper a new ground starts the minute I leave where I am. The journey and all that comes along with it is part of it. Seeing new places and hopefully get to chat with someone as well whether on the train, bus or at the stadium. My favourite places to go in general are to clubs on the seaside. Then I always leave early so I can have a nice walk breathing in the smell from the sea.

Have you visited any obscure grounds? What made them unique to the others?
There has been some, but not that many. One of my first ever grounds was Barnet FC's old one; Underhill. This ground was famous as there was roughly one meter in height difference from one goal to the other if I am not wrong. We could clearly see the difference from the stands.

The old Colchester United ground was cool and old fashioned but in the middle of the away stand they had put up a fence so the people I met at the match was at the other side so we could not really mingle together.

In Sao Paulo I would say Pacaembeu as it is called, is quite strange as well. It is owned by the government, and is very beautiful on the outside, but one of the stands behind one of the goals is quite far behind the goal and just a straight wall. Very different from the rest.

Once I was taking a flight from Brazil back to Europe I had planned to watch a match close to the airport as I had 7-8 hours to spare. While I was walking around waiting for the match I bumped into a really obscure ground. Match I watched there was not even in an official league. The pitch was a mix of sand and grass. The whole middle part was sand, and towards all the corner flags there were grass. The best part though was it had the coolest shed I have ever seen!

What is the best game you have ever seen, live and in general? Have you ever seen any historic wins?
The match with the best quality is probably Athletico Paranaense against Flamengo in Brazil. It was the first leg of QF of the Brazilian Cup in 2019, and it was full speed from start to finish. Incredible it just ended 1-1. When it comes to entertainment it was a match in the second league in the Netherlands between Stormvoogels Telstar and VVV Venlo in 2001. It ended 4-2 for Stormvoogels and it had everything from bizarre own goals and mistakes to the most brilliant goals I have ever seen live. On top of it we had entertainment from a legend in the area; Jomanda from Telstar. A supporter from the area playing his trumpet and/or guitar in front of the supporters on one of the stands.

Best match I have seen in general might be the QF of the 1986 World Cup between France and Brazil. That match incredibly enough just ended 1-1 after extra time with chances galore.

For historic wins I attended the second leg of the Copa Sulamericana (South America version of Europa League) between Athletico Paranaense and Junior Barranquila from Colombia in 2018. First match had ended 1-1 and it was the same score in the second leg after extra time. Athletico Paranaense won 4-3 in the penalty shoot out. The last penalty was taken after midnight around 12:30 as the match had started 9:45pm local time. First ever international title for Athletico Paranaense, and what a party it was! Junior Barranquila missed a penalty just 10 minutes before the end of extra time as well.

As a groundhopper, you probably buy a lot of programmes. What makes a good football programme to you? What is the standard of programme over in the coutries you have been to?
I used to buy a lot of programmes, but not anymore. I think it partly has to do with the digital age we live in, and when I lived in the Netherlands I never saw programmes for matches. Then I started to buy scarves of the home team instead. The programmes in the 90’s from Derby were superb though. Just what I wanted as a supporter with presentation of players and all kinds of stuff regarding the club.

The information I used to get in the programmes are mostly online these days. For a smaller club with lower crowds I just expect some updates on what is going on at the club, some words from chairman or manager and some statistics about the opponent.
I don’t remember if they had programmes in Germany and Belgium either, but I don’t think so. In Argentina and Brazil they have never sold any outside stadiums as far as I have seen. Athletico Paranaense sends out a brief e-magazine before all matches which is quite basic and no new information of the club. It is more a reminder of upcoming match with table, other upcoming matches, squad and some advertising.

Do you have any superstitions or rituals when it comes to watching your team?
At the moment no. The reason is now I bring my son to most of the matches so it is a bit different in that way. Now it is more just to get ready and on time.

When I lived in Norway and supported my local team it was different. As I lived close to the stadium we met in my house, walked to the stadium together, and had the same spot at the terrace for every match. It meant if some couldn’t come in advance to my place, they knew where to find us. It was more a ritual and not superstitious. We used to wear the same hat or caps for matches as well.

When fans are allowed to get back to football, what grounds are the next grounds on your list? Can we expect to see you at Squires Gate in the future?
As I am based quite south in Brazil at the moment, number one on the bucket list is Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay. Typical South American old fashioned stadium, and it was where the first ever World Cup final was played in 1930.

As I will be here for a bit longer I would like to get both stadiums in Porto Alegre; the Brazilian teams Gremio and Internacional. I would also like to get Palmeiras new stadium in Sao Paulo. They built a new one where the old one was, and I was at the last match on the old one some years ago. A bit further north in Rio de Janeiro, Vasco da Gama's Sao Januario is on the list. Maracana too after it was refurbished for the World Cup 2014. In England I would like to close in on the 92 league grounds, and new London grounds will probably be the first ones; Tottenham, Brentford and Wimbledon. Newport County is the one I really would like to do of those missing. In Scotland I need to get to Aberdeen, Brechin and now Cove to complete all league grounds.

For non-league I have Wick FC, Burnley United and Llanwith Major in Wales on the list, and now your club is on it as well. These are all clubs I have been in touch with one way or the other through Twitter. It has been an honour taking part in this interview so hopefully one day we will meet in person.

But, at the moment I would just be happy to get into any football ground. Normally the amateur league here in Curitiba starts July/August, but we do not know this year when it will be on again due to the virus. Just to get into one of my 3-4 missing grounds to watch a match again would make me feel like a child again.

You run the online blog “funwithfootball” what can readers expect to read on your page? Anything you would like to promote, etc?
The blog has some news about football in general from non league to champions league. Some articles I find of interest to share or some special goals and incidents from matches.
The plan was to have more written stuff from matches I have attended but it is difficult to find time for everything. It has sort of stopped for a couple of years.Also a section of retro football to go back memory lane. Nothing special to promote for the time being.

Thank you for welcoming me to Squires Gate FC and thank you for the opportunity to give this interview!

We like to thanks Bjorge for his time and if you would like to read more of his stories check out his blog on:http://funwithfootball.wordpress.com

If you are a groundhopper, and would love to share your stories. Get in touch through social media! We are always looking to get you involved with the club in whichever way possible.