Johannesburg - Fans of Brazilian football club CR Flamengo had the most tattoos of their team, a new study has found.
The research, conducted by Live Football Tickets, a leading secondary marketplace for football tickets, also found that fans of Arsenal had the highest number of football club tattoos on Instagram in the UK.
In order to compile the study, Live Football Tickets looked into which football clubs have the most popular tattoos. They analysed Instagram to see which fans are most likely to get permanent ink to show their dedication to their chosen team.
The researchers found that at number one was CR Flamengo, with 6356 tattoos dedicated to the club on Instagram. The Brazilian team, based in Rio de Janeiro, has established itself as one of Brazil’s most successful sports clubs and is one of the three clubs to have never been relegated from the Serie A league.
“It’s clear to see why they have the most zealous supporters,” the researchers said.
Meanwhile, the majority of die-hard club fans who are found under the hashtags have had the team’s red and black badge tattooed, with some adding key players to their sleeves or ‘81’, ‘19’, ‘22’ for the years the team won the Copa Libertadores tournament.
In addition, the study found that the second most devoted fans were those of Juventus FC, with 4436 tattoo-related hashtags found for the Italian team. It’s reported that the club’s fan base is one of the largest worldwide, with supporters not just coming from the club’s city of origin, but from the country and Italians around the world.
“Juventus has become a symbol for anti-parochialism and “Italianness”, with fans around the world getting inked to show their love for the team,” the researchers explained.
“Making their devotion to the club clear, tattoos primarily focus on the team’s badge and also make reference to the team’s mascot, a zebra, by using zebra stripes and animals are used throughout,” they added.
River Plate supporters came in third with 3873 fan tattoos devoted to the club on Instagram.
“With the Buenos Aires-based team winning Argentina’s Primera Division championship a record 38 times, with its latest win this year, it’s clear to see why fans of the club wish to show their loyalty,” the researchers said.
“The team is also at the top of the list in the all-time Argentine Primera Division table, being the Argentine team with most games won, fewest losses, most points accumulated, most goals scored, fewest goals against and best goal difference since the first championship held in 1891.”
The researchers added that Argentinian team’s fans favour the team’s badge when getting tattoos, although some also have opted to have ex-player Juan Fernando Quinto inked alongside the team’s red and black badge.
Meanwhile, Italian team, Inter Milan, claimed fourth spot with 2625 devoted supporter tattoos on Instagram. Formed after a split with the Milan Cricket and Football Club (now AC Milan), Inter is the only Italian team to have always competed in the top flight of Italian football since its debut in 1909.
“Loyal fans of the club sport a mixture of tattoos for the team, with some opting for the club’s blue badge, famous players for the team, a snake to commemorate the team’s mascot, or even San Siro, the club’s stadium that they share with rivals AC Milan,” the researchers said.
In fifth place worldwide, and first place for Premier League teams, is Arsenal with 2291 fan tattoos under their relevant Instagram hashtags.
“When it comes to trophy wins, the North London-based club is the third-most successful club in English football, with notable players including Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and more recently Bukayo Saka,” the researchers explained.
“When it comes to what they’re getting to show their devotion, hyper realistic portraits of players are popular with supporters.”
They added that alternatively, a common option for dedicated fans who support ‘The Gunners’ is the team’s badge of a canon, usually in black and white.
Rounding off the top 10 for football fans getting tattoos in support of their clubs was Liverpool in sixth, Manchester United in seventh, Roma in eight, Borussia Dortmund in ninth and Real Madrid in 10th.
In order to compile the research, Live Football Tickets analysed a list of the top 50 football teams which was sourced from Football Database. A list of teams in the Premier League and the Champions League was sourced from the Premier League and the Championship League Wikipedia pages and for each team on the list, relevant Instagram hashtags were identified e.g. #mancitytattoo, #liverpoolfctattoo etc.
The counts of each individual hashtag were then added up to give an overall “# count”. Eighty-six teams were analysed overall. The teams were then sorted highest to lowest, to find the teams with the most fan tattoos. This was done for the top 50 football teams and for UK teams. The data was collected on July 20 and is correct as of then.