It's known as the beautiful game – despite its fair share of setbacks and disappointment. But scientists finally know what makes football fans come back for more, even after defeat. Witnessing your team scoring a goal releases a cascade of feel-good chemicals in the brain, such as dopamine, which creates the same sense of euphoria as winning the lottery, according to a study. The team from King’s College London say the ‘high’ may be more intense than for other sports, because comparatively fewer goals are scored.
![[The research found that the ritual of trekking to football grounds is comparable with Neolithic man making the journey to Stonehenge for feasts (file photo)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/02/08/23/95013195-14376565-image-a-107_1739059119611.jpg)
And fans may feel the need to watch matches frequently to chase the same dopamine ‘hit’ because it is unpredictable, they suggest. When watching football, fans experience an increase in heart rate to over 100 beats per minute and the body releases more testosterone. Football fans keep coming back for more in order to get that dopamine hit when their team scores, a study has found (file photo). The research found that the ritual of trekking to football grounds is comparable with Neolithic man making the journey to Stonehenge for feasts (file photo).
The hypothalamus also produces the so-called ‘cuddle hormone’ oxytocin which strengthens bonds between fans. And they found that when football fans came together on match day, they shared traits with Stone Age man. The ritual of trekking to football grounds is comparable with Neolithic man making the long journey to Stonehenge for winter feasts. ‘Sacred locality was seemingly as important to our ancestors as it is to football fans today,’ said research fellow at King’s College London Dr Matt Butler, ‘where the sense of place, the stadium, is indelibly linked to the sometimes profoundly emotional memories of matches.’.
