Groups of fans of the same club are like tribes in the way they congregate in large numbers and travel to matches home and away every weekend. Where and when they congregate is decided entirely by fixture lists. Match days, as well as bringing two teams together on the field of play, see two opposing tribes go head to head in the stands. Of course, most supporters are there simply to cheer their team onto victory (they hope) and see watching football as nothing more than the fun and recreational activity it was intended to be. However, not everyone in the average football crowd is like this and despite the increasingly lowering level of general hooliganism in recent years and decades, extreme groups known as “Ultras” are still very much part of the game.
Ultras take fanatical support to a much higher level and, to them, supporting a football team means much more than simply going through the turnstiles on a Saturday afternoon. They see football, or specifically their club, as a way of life. Whilst it’s normal for fans to sing and chant together and exchange banter with opposing fans, at the end of the day it’s quite light-hearted and doesn’t go any further than the terraces. It’s also normal for games between rival clubs to get more “heated” than usual. However, there is a clear distinction between this and the way Ultras show their support. It’s as if they’re fighting a campaign on behalf of their club week in, week out.
When two groups of Ultras clash it can, and often does, escalate into violence. Having said that, this is quite rare, especially in the UK. Most Ultras don't intend to start fights and prefer to focus on supporting their own team by creating an intimidating atmosphere by using giant banners, flags and flares. They often gather inside stadiums and completely fill entire sections of seats to create a wall of noise and colour. Whilst Liverpool's famous "Kop" end at Anfield is renowned for being one of the most vociferous stands in English football, its atmosphere is merely lukewarm in comparison to some of the hostile, cauldron-like venues in Europe and South America in particular.
Ultras are often confused with the more hooligan-like "Firms". Firms are groups of fans which arrange fights with firms from opposing teams at specific places at specific times before or after games. However, whilst Ultras are indeed groups of ultra-passionate fans, they also share many other deeper ideological beliefs about football and how it has developed. They see "Modern Football" as the enemy and this is what they are committed to rebelling against as a number one priority.
"Modern Football" is a term used to describe everything that they believe that is wrong with what football has become today. Most of these are linked to football traditions and the way the game has been commercialised and dictated by money. In their view, clubs and players are being treated like commodities as players are being bought and sold at ridiculous prices and that super-rich owners are taking over clubs and treating them like toys. They also despise the rising cost of ticket prices and club merchandise as they believe that this is pricing the most passionate fans out of watching their team and replacing them with a "prawn sandwich brigade".
Traditionally, football has always been viewed as a working class game for working class people. As the amount of money involved in all aspects of the sport rises, they believe that it is becoming more inaccessible to those working classes who are seen as most passionate. Not only that but they believe that they are being replaced with a new, wealthier audience who are less passionate.
What can't be questioned is that the Ultras are the most passionate cult-like followers of the beautiful game around and the pictures showcase that level of dedication very well. Also see our media section for the first in a trilogy of films about the Green Street Elite, a firm that supports West Ham United. Whilst the "GSE" are a firm and not a group of Ultras, their ideology is much the same.
Ultras take fanatical support to a much higher level and, to them, supporting a football team means much more than simply going through the turnstiles on a Saturday afternoon. They see football, or specifically their club, as a way of life. Whilst it’s normal for fans to sing and chant together and exchange banter with opposing fans, at the end of the day it’s quite light-hearted and doesn’t go any further than the terraces. It’s also normal for games between rival clubs to get more “heated” than usual. However, there is a clear distinction between this and the way Ultras show their support. It’s as if they’re fighting a campaign on behalf of their club week in, week out.
When two groups of Ultras clash it can, and often does, escalate into violence. Having said that, this is quite rare, especially in the UK. Most Ultras don't intend to start fights and prefer to focus on supporting their own team by creating an intimidating atmosphere by using giant banners, flags and flares. They often gather inside stadiums and completely fill entire sections of seats to create a wall of noise and colour. Whilst Liverpool's famous "Kop" end at Anfield is renowned for being one of the most vociferous stands in English football, its atmosphere is merely lukewarm in comparison to some of the hostile, cauldron-like venues in Europe and South America in particular.
Ultras are often confused with the more hooligan-like "Firms". Firms are groups of fans which arrange fights with firms from opposing teams at specific places at specific times before or after games. However, whilst Ultras are indeed groups of ultra-passionate fans, they also share many other deeper ideological beliefs about football and how it has developed. They see "Modern Football" as the enemy and this is what they are committed to rebelling against as a number one priority.
"Modern Football" is a term used to describe everything that they believe that is wrong with what football has become today. Most of these are linked to football traditions and the way the game has been commercialised and dictated by money. In their view, clubs and players are being treated like commodities as players are being bought and sold at ridiculous prices and that super-rich owners are taking over clubs and treating them like toys. They also despise the rising cost of ticket prices and club merchandise as they believe that this is pricing the most passionate fans out of watching their team and replacing them with a "prawn sandwich brigade".
Traditionally, football has always been viewed as a working class game for working class people. As the amount of money involved in all aspects of the sport rises, they believe that it is becoming more inaccessible to those working classes who are seen as most passionate. Not only that but they believe that they are being replaced with a new, wealthier audience who are less passionate.
What can't be questioned is that the Ultras are the most passionate cult-like followers of the beautiful game around and the pictures showcase that level of dedication very well. Also see our media section for the first in a trilogy of films about the Green Street Elite, a firm that supports West Ham United. Whilst the "GSE" are a firm and not a group of Ultras, their ideology is much the same.
Ultras supporting SC Braga in Portugal (left) and San Jose Earthquakes in the US against Houston Dynamo (right).
By Nathan Hill