Every fortnight we cover the best and worst football songs from every club in the UK from our book ‘The Sound Of Football: Every Club, Every Song’. You can buy it here

Exeter City

Nickname: The Grecians

Ground: St James’ Park

Stadium Capacity: 8,830

Song: Go West (1979)

Exeter City’s famous musical fans include Chris Martin of Coldplay and the singer, Joss Stone. Sadly, neither Coldplay nor Joss have ever provided a song for the club, but if they did, they should cover ‘Go West’ by The Village People.

‘Go West’ has been used to taunt supporters of teams from the West Country, such as Exeter City, as rival fans changed the words to: “Go west where the football’s crap”, which isn’t geographically accurate. The further west you go, the closer you get to the best football in the world – you just need to cross the Atlantic Ocean to reach Argentina and Brazil.

It is an apt song for Exeter, though, as while Scotland and Wales missed out on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, one club booked a place in the sun without having to quality, and that was Exeter City.

In 1914, Exeter became the first side to play Brazil after the Football Association was asked to send a professional team to South America to take on the continent’s top sides.

The trip comprised 15 players and, as it was before long-distance plane travel, the team had to travel by boat. The trip nearly ended before it began. During a stop-off at Santos, the entire team was arrested – they had gone for a dip in the sea unaware that bathing was banned.

After games in Argentina, Exeter played three matches in Brazil. The Brazilians selected an ultimate side from Rio and São Paulo to beat the professionals, which they did 2 – 0, and the national team was born. The playing styles were similar to today in that the Brazilian squad impressed with their trickery, and the Exeter squad displayed classic physical European play by knocking out the teeth of two of the samba superstars.

To celebrate that game’s centenary and coincide with the World Cup, Exeter took part in a glamour friendly. It played a team of players from the reigning Brazilian champions and other domestic sides in a repeat of the 1914 game.

Today, Go West is sung as a tribute to the side, and a version was recorded for charity in 2012 by Phil Smyth, the son of City legend Cecil Smyth, who played 273 times for the Grecians in the 1960s.

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