ABSTRACT

This chapter explains the developments in football fandom as part of an emergent counter-movement to the social liberalism which has held sway in Europe since the post-war social democratic settlement was swept away. From this broad outline of the Ultra scene we can appreciate that, although they can be distinguished from their fellow club supporters, there is a basis for arguing that it would be inappropriate to attempt any kind of analysis which fails to recognize the heterogeneity of Ultra groups. So, in the formations of radical football groups, such as Ultras within football, it is the underlying strength of the local or regional identities of Ultras that informs the movement. With respect to this, what follows is an attempt to draw out the basis for an essentialist understanding of the Ultra movement's place, not only within football but also in the broader arena of European identity politics.