Every football club has unseen spirits, born not from trophies — but from the songs their fans sing. They live in the stands. They carry the chants through hard seasons. They never leave.
Chantlings come into existence when fans sing with enough belief — not volume, but meaning. A first chant from a child. A stubborn song on a cold Tuesday in the third tier. A roar that shakes an away end. Each one a spark.
Chantlings are made of their stadium. The specific smell of the pitch, the acoustics of a particular stand, the angle of the floodlights on a winter evening. Go too far from home and they begin to fade. Most never leave.
A new Chantling has no name. Names come later — given by older Chantlings or earned through the seasons. They reflect what the Chantling was born from, what they carry, and what the club means to the people who sing for it.
"The songs don't need a full stadium.
They just need enough people who mean it."
Each Chantlings story is rooted in the specific history, songs and identity of one club. They work for children encountering their club's mythology for the first time — and for the adults reading alongside, who recognise everything.
Every story is unique. Every universe is shared.
Roker Park · The Away End · Boxing Day 1996
Pilgrimling is a rare thing in the Chantlings universe — a Chantling with no ground of his own. Born in an away end, groundless and wandering, he travels from stadium to stadium, carried by whichever songs will have him. He is your way into the universe, and the first story you'll be able to read.
Read Pilgrimling's Story (PDF)Liverpool FC · Anfield
Tottenham Hotspur · N17
Manchester United · Old Trafford
Arsenal · North London
The universe is growing one ground at a time. This first roll begins in the north-west and in north London — and new clubs are joining on a regular basis, not tied to any fixed date.
Celtic, Nottingham Forest, Blackburn Rovers, Bristol, FC United, Wrexham and Aberdeen may all be on their way. If you're a superfan of one of them, we'd love to hear from you.
Each club that joins the Chantlings universe receives a story that is entirely, authentically their own — rooted in their history, their songs, their ground. The universe grows. The stories endure.
Chantlings isn't only written for supporters — it's shaped by them. Tell us who you are as a fan, and every book sold gives something back to the football community too.
Never missed a home game. Know every word to every song. This is where your story becomes part of the Chantlings universe too — some entries may be featured on our website or social channels. Tick the box below, and superfans also get first access to read their own club's story and give input before it's released — nobody knows the tone and the details better than a real supporter.
Chantlings is a small, new start-up — so in the first year or two, what we're able to give probably won't be huge. That's honest, not a shortfall. A share of every book sold goes into a pool for a football-community cause, and it grows as Chantlings does.
Chosen by public vote of the Chantlings mailing list, once a year.
An example of the kind of cause we have in mind: Fans Supporting Foodbanks — a fan-led charity founded by Liverpool and Everton supporters, tackling food poverty around matchdays. Just an illustration — any football-community cause can be nominated once voting opens.
Nominating and voting is open to Chantlings mailing list subscribers. Join the list to take part in the next round.
Read the Full Charity & Voting Rules →Leave your name, your club and your email — you'll receive short stories from Pilgrimling as they're published, and be first to know when your club joins the universe.
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