Since at least the early 1900s, when the phenomenon began in Britain, coloured scarves have been traditional supporter wear for fans of association football teams across the world, even those in warmer climates. These scarves come in a wide variety of sizes and are made in a club's particular colours and may contain the club crest, pictures of renowned players, and various slogans relating to the history of the club and its rivalry with others. In the United Kingdom, the most popular and traditional type is a simple design with alternating bars of colour in the individual team's traditional colours. In continental Europe many Ultras groups produce their own scarf designs.
As part of pre-match build-ups, or during matches, fans will create a 'scarf wall' in which all supporters in a section of the stadium will stretch out their scarves above their heads with both hands, creating an impressive 'wall' of color, usually accompanied by the singing of a club anthem such as "You'll Never Walk Alone" at Liverpool F.C. or "Grazie Roma" at A.S. Roma. This was initially solely a British phenomenon, but has since spread to Europe and South America.
Scarf wearing is also a noted feature of support for Australian rules football clubs in the Australian Football League, and are always in the form of alternating bars of color, usually with the team name or mascot written on each second bar.
