For many football fans, the end of the domestic season brings a familiar feeling, a strange mix of relief and boredom. After months of weekend fixtures and midweek drama the silence of summer can feel oddly empty.
This year, though, there’s one very obvious reason to stay invested, the FIFA World Cup, and more importantly, the return of the Scotland national football team to the global stage.
For the first time in over two decades, Scotland will be competing at a World Cup, giving Tartan Army fans a rare chance to see the national side tested against the very best.
It’s the kind of thing that changes how the whole summer feels. Suddenly, beer gardens are packed for every group stage game, holidays are planned around fixtures, and the whole country gets behind the team.
When the Premier League Stops
But while the World Cup will dominate headlines, it shouldn’t be the only thing on your radar.
One of the best-kept secrets in football is that the sport never really stops, it just shifts location.
Across Scandinavia or Ireland, for example, leagues run through the summer months, offering a completely different footballing experience.
Football Around the World
Competitions like the League of Ireland, Allsvenskan, and the Eliteserien are in full swing when the Premier League goes quiet, providing fast-paced, attacking football often played in unique, smaller stadiums with intense local atmospheres and rivalries.
These leagues might not have the global profile of England or Spain, but that’s part of their appeal.
There’s less of the hyper-commercial feel, and more emphasis on community, youth development, and unpredictability.
It’s a dying breed of football in a purer form, and it’s perfect if you’re sick of corporate sponsors being jammed down your throat as you watch twenty-two severely out of touch millionaires kick a ball around on a tv screen.
Further afield in the USA (who are hosting the World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico), Major League Soccer continues throughout the majority of the summer, offering a different kind of spectacle.
Probably the biggest of the summer leagues, it boasts a mix of established international stars and developing domestic talent, and has grown significantly in recent years, both in quality and popularity.
The time difference might make some fixtures less convenient, but the league’s entertainment value, and often high-scoring games, make it worth dipping into.
The league builds towards a playoff-style finish too, similar to other American sports, making it easy to dip in and out without feeling like you’re missing much.
Making the Summer Your Own
There’s also something to be said for using the summer as a chance to explore football more casually. Without the weekly pressure of following your own club, you’re free to watch games without stress and enjoy the sport for what it is.
You can even make a game of it, pick a team at random, follow their results with your friends, and see who comes out on top by the end of the summer.
Whether it’s tuning into a Swedish title race, catching a late-night MLS fixture, or even turning to the east for Japan’s J-League, it’s an opportunity to broaden your football horizons.
Of course, the World Cup will remain the centrepiece. There’s always something about a major international tournament that club football doesn’t quite replicate. And with Scotland involved, there’s an added emotional edge that makes every match feel personal.
But when the dust settles on those big games, the summer doesn’t have to end with it.
Football doesn’t disappear, you just have to look a little further. And in doing so, you might find a version of the game that feels just as exciting, even without the Premier League spotlight.
Featured Image Credit: Deaglán Murray
2nd year journalism and sport student at the University of Stirling, with a particular interest in music and sports. Sport editor for Brig Newspaper.
