The Viking Thunder Clap or Viking Clap is a football chant, consisting of a loud shout and a clap in unison, which is then repeated initially several seconds later and gradually speeding up over time. The chant has been performed by fans of a number of clubs, but came to prominence during the UEFA Euro 2016, when fans of Iceland national team introduced their 'viking clap' or 'volcano clap' with a 'huh' chant.
During the 2018 FIFA World Cup when Iceland were one of the participating teams, the clap once again drew attention.[1] The Viking Thunder Clap has been adopted by fans of many countries worldwide.[2]
Origin
The chant may have been inspired by the film 300 released in 2006.[3] Some believed the chant was first used by fans of Scottish club Motherwell F.C., while others suggest it had been performed by fans of the French club Lens more than two decades prior.[4] Fans of the Greek side PAOK have also chanted "PAOK" on the clap of hands since the mid 1990s.[5]
Styrmir Gislason, the head of the Association of Icelandic Football Fans stated that the chant was inspired by Polish handball chants.[6] During the UEFA Euro 2016, Iceland performed unexpectedly well and reached the quarter-finals, and the performance of the chant by their fans drew the attention of other European fans, who then also performed the chant.[7] It has since been adopted by fans in many countries worldwide.[2]
Seattle Sounders FC perform a variant called "Boom, Boom, Clap" dating to before the club was reformed in 2009, chanting 'hey' rather than 'huh'.[20]
Toronto fans have performed the "Boom, Boom, Clap" chant since 2008.[21]
Cruzeiro fans started performing the 'Viking Clap' after each home game finish since 2022, becoming a recurrent chant of the crowd in the following years.[22]; before that, Cruzeiro used a variant of the Iceland first-team jersey as their second uniform throughout the year of 2018.[23]
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