Led by Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, the goal of the search is to capture the best moments of the top English soccer matches next season and immortalise them in verse.

"The appointment of a Chant Laureate demonstrates that chants are an art form and should be recognised as such," Motion said in a statement on Tuesday.

Each weekend English soccer terraces echo to the chants of rival supporters praising the talents of their heroes and denigrating the opposition.

Sometimes the chants are just crude, but increasingly they are using humour to make the point.

A fine example comes from the repertoire of Arsenal supporters, sung of their arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur to the tune of "Seasons in the Sun".

"We had joy, we had fun,

We had Tottenham on the run,

But the joy didn't last,

Because the bastards ran too fast."

The winner will be paid 10,000 pounds to wax lyrical through the season, using insight, humour, observation, an ear for a good rhyme and the ability to avoid profanity in equal measure.