After meeting on the Internet, supporters of rival football teams came face to face in the real-world - on a football field - last Sunday.

A team of subscribers to Tottenham Hotspur's mailing list, the appropriately-named Internet Hotspurs, took on their opposite numbers from Arsenal's - the Cybury Gooners, whose name, for the benefit of readers who might not have realised, is a pun on Highbury Gunners.

"It was a serious game once it got going," said Russel Goldsmith, the Spurs captain, "but it was a good social occasion too. And it all came about just through communication on the Internet."

Following the success of the match, the Internet Hotspurs plan to take on subscribers from other teams' mailing lists to coincide with Spurs' forthcoming Premier League clashes with Everton and Manchester United.

In fact, there are official, unofficial and semi-official Web sites and mailing lists for almost every team in the Premier League, bringing together fans from all over the world. The Spurs mailing list alone has over 600 members, and a group of UK subscribers meets every month or so in London. Another contingent meets regularly in New York.

Many of the lists have quite a few female subscribers, though they were relegated to the touchlines for Sunday's match. And the result? "I'd have to say football was the winner," said Goldsmith. "You can quote me on that. Oh, all right then, Arsenal won 2-0."

23 November 1995

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