What to Wear to a Football Match in the UK During Winter: The Complete Guide

There is nothing quite like matchdays in the winter: wrapping up for the cold, putting on your club’s scarf, heading to the ground in huddles, enjoying the warmth of food and drink and most importantly, football underneath the floodlights.

With temperatures dropping in the UK to the point where weather warnings have been issued, it is essential to wrap up warm this winter, no matter the occasion. Therefore, for cold football games, it is a must that you keep yourself protected from the cold and not let the thrill get the better of you.

Sometimes, spectators misjudge the harsh conditions of winter in the UK, with difficulties in choosing what to wear to a football match during this exciting yet cold season.

Fortunately, we have curated this list of what to wear to a football match during the winter season, including options for both men and women. Although we have tailored this guide for matches across the UK, winter’s cold temperatures affect other countries too, so follow this no matter where you’re reading from.

Headwear

With this article structured from head to toe, we start with different types of headwear; not only must you ensure your head remains warm, but also your ears.

For Men:

Knitted headwear, like beanies or wool caps, is perfect for ensuring your head stays warm in these cold temperatures, whilst also offering protection for your ears.

For Women:

As well as beanies, an additional option for what women can wear to a football match in the winter would be there are even ear coverings, such as ear muffs. Ear muffs are much more suited for female spectators, but are equally great for children.

Neckwear

Neckwear is one of the most underrated parts of keeping yourself warm during the winter because it blocks the cold weather from entering down your upper body through open airways from a coat or jumper.

For Men:

Perfect types of neckwear include scarves or neck warmers with provide comfort and withstand the cold extremely well. Scarves are highly accessible, being sold everywhere around stadiums and, of course, in club shops, even counting as memorabilia to take home.

For Women:

An extra neckwear item we would suggest is a snood, an item commonly worn by women, but can be worn by the opposite sex, too. Snoods are quite trendy in the winter because of their unique look and versatile use. As well as keeping the neck warm, most snoods feature a hood, stopping your head and ears from getting cold. So snoods are advantageous as you gain a two-in-one covering!

Upper Body

For cold football games in the winter, it is important to layer up, especially for the upper body. Here, we recommend applying three layers to ensure warmth is retained at a football match in the winter.

For Men:

For your first layer, you should ideally wear a base layer which footballers themselves use and are perfect for insulation because they trap body heat. Alternatively, you can wear a long-sleeved t-shirt, which may not be as effective as a base layer, but will still provide warmth and comfort.

Secondly, over the top of the base layer or long-sleeved t-shirt, you should wear a jumper or thick sweatshirt. This will act as a solid layer over your first layer, giving extra warmth and comfort whilst adding a sense of style to your outfit.

What if you want to wear your football jersey? Not to worry, you can pop it over the top of your base layer or even over your jumper. Nowadays, most football tops are manufactured out of synthetic materials like polyester, making them extremely thin and lightweight, so they wouldn’t act as an additional effective layer protecting you from the cold.

The final layer for the upper body is a waterproof jacket or a thick coat. Either a jacket or a coat is perfect for the journey to the game in winter, not to mention the trip home too.

For Women:

Women attending a football match can also wear a base layer ot long-sleeved t-shirt for their first layer; however, that may cause some discomfort, so a different option could be a long-sleeved gym top.

Not too much difference now with the next two layers between the men, as for women, a jumper, sweatshirt or hoodie is perfect, and of course, you can add a football jersey over the top.

The final layer for women would be a puffer jacket, which finishes the outfit off perfectly, whilst keeping you warm on your journeys and inside the stadium.

Hands

Your hands are vital in keeping warm, as cold hands result in stiffness or pain, causing discomfort, which is most certainly not ideal when you are supporting your club at a football match.

For men:

One of the most essential items to wear for a football match in winter is gloves, to stop your hands from getting cold. Like scarves, gloves with a club’s crest on the face of the accessory are typically sold at stalls outside the stadium or in club shops.

For Women:

Gloves are perfectly fine to wear for women, but an aesthetic and alternative choice would be wool mittens. Mittens are commonly worn by women during the winter and would be perfect when watching a football match in this cold season.

Lower Body

Similar to your hands, your legs are important for keeping warm, as, depending on the distance, some journeys require lots of walking, and also, various stands in a stadium will expect all fans to stand up and watch the game, which is fairly uncommon in the UK but can happen in big games like derbies or rivalries.

Layering doesn’t only apply to the upper body, as, if necessary, it is beneficial to add an extra layer to keep your legs warm. We would ideally recommend wearing leg thermals underneath the outer layer of jeans or trousers, which are perfect for men and women.

Understandably, not everyone owns a pair of leg base layers, and they can cause discomfort, so, therefore, an alternative can be shorts that at least protect you from cold seats.

For men:

The best clothing to keep your lower body warm includes tracksuit bottoms, leggings, trousers or jeans. Tracksuit bottoms are ideal because most are thick, providing warmth when you are sitting down on a cold seat and are also comfortable. Trousers and jeans are suitable for a football match in winter, but do take into consideration that both clothing items are not great at resisting the cold. As a solution, layer up.

For Women:

Leggings are perfect for female supporters, with many types of leggings specifically designed to prevent your lower body from feeling the cold due to insulated material.

Feet

Finally, for your feet, it is the obvious pairing of socks and shoes, more specifically, thick socks and leather trainers or boots. Most socks are fairly thick; however, if you are concerned about the solidity of your socks, then simply wear two pairs, as that will ensure your feet stay warm.

For Men:

Leather trainers sound like a problem until you realise that most Nike footwear is manufactured out of leather, like the popular all-white Air Force 1s. Again, thin shoes are not a huge issue, but we would reinforce to double up in the sock department, as identical like your legs, your feet are essential in getting you to the stadium and home, so they must be kept warm.

For Women:

One of the most popular types of footwear worn by women during winter is Ugg boots. Ugg boots feature fleece material inside the shoe, acting as an extra layer itself to keep your feet warm. They are also very comfortable thanks to a synthetic sole and remain in fashion year after year. Of course, remember to wear socks, but Ugg boots’ fleece material stops the idea of doubling up on socks.

Complete Outfit for Men

Headwear: Beanie

Neckwear: Scarf

Upper Body: Coat, Jumper, T-Shirt, Base Layer (Football Jersey over the jumper is optional)

Hands: Gloves

Lower Body: Tracksuit bottoms, Leg Thermals

Feet: Trainers, Thick Socks

Complete Outfit for Women

Headwear: Ear Muffs

Neckwear: Snood

Upper Body: Puffer Jacket, Jumper, T-Shirt, Base Layer (e.g. Sports Long-Sleeved Top/Quarter-Zip)

Hands: Mittens

Lower Body: Leggings

Feet: Uggs, Thick Socks

Whilst it is common sense for most to wrap up warm when attending a football game in the UK during wintertime, travelling fans from abroad should look to take inspiration from this guide so that warmth and comfort are met when watching their team. If your team is playing this winter and you can’t get access to football tickets, check out our ticket page, where we cover all Premier League games, along with other leagues and competitions.