Have a look at the meaning of a Tifo in cricket and football
Before their game against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders supporters honoured the club and owner Shah Rukh Khan by unfolding a Tifo in the stadium.
Tifo meaning in cricket and football explained as KKR fans honour Shah Rukh Khan in IPL 2025 at the Eden Gardens
Tifo is often quite prevalent in football, especially in Europe, but the KKR supporters made the decision to introduce the culture to cricket as well.
KKR created the Tifo as a nod to the well-liked Netflix series Money Heist.
Although the custom started with club teams in football, certain national teams also have supporters that often organize Tifo. Tifo is most frequently seen during significant games, local derbies, and rivalries. Though occasionally funded or organized by the club itself, tifo is mainly organized by ultras or a supporter club as a way to express their passion for the team.
Tifo is the word used to describe a colourful, vibrant and usually choreographed visual display by football supporters and it is also a phenomenon in other sports, such as cycling and auto racing and now in the IPL as well.
Displays of a tifo normally occur within stadiums before and during games but can also take place outside a ground and in many cases the visual displays are carefully planned and often each individual supporter forms part of a mosaic by wearing or holding a particular colour.
The word tifo is Italian and it refers to the typhus fever, which can cause an outbreak of delirium in those who suffer it. Supporters who form a tifo are known as tifosi, which is the Italian word for ‘those infected with typhus’ and the choice of word in Italian is deliberate as football supporters are often depicted as being in a delighted frenzy when their team scores a goal or wins.
Similar to its name, the Tifo culture has its origins in Southern Europe and Italy, and it is very prevalent in Eastern Europe. It emerged simultaneously, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and shares many characteristics with ultras culture.
Ajinkya Rahane, the captain, chose to bowl first against Lucknow after winning the toss. Australia bowler Spencer Johnson replaced Moeen Ali as the only alteration made to the starting lineup by the hosts.
Rahane added after the toss that the hosts are not concerned about Quinton de Kock or Sunil Narine’s form.
“This game is all about starting fresh, need to take the positives, need to take one step at a time. People are going to talk about it, we know Quinny and Sunil are match-winners. We are not worried about them. Spencer comes in place of Moeen,” Rahane said.
In contrast, Lucknow got off to a fast start against KKR. After a short while of struggling to get going, they changed course. With Nicholas Pooran still to come, the team’s mood should be set by the devastating 50-run partnership that both openers, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh, stitched together.
To stop LSG’s momentum, KKR is in dire need of wickets. To yet, the hosts have attempted to break the opening combination with both of their specialty spinners, Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, but to no avail.