Football Is Nothing Without Its Ultras

I’ve been privileged enough to attend hundreds of Chelsea matches, almost all of them exclusively from the West Stand. While our section of the stadium can be rather quiet, especially during a particularly dull game, proceedings are almost always enlivened by the Shed End over to the right. That’s where the Chelsea faithful reside, singing “Zigger Zagger,” insulting away fans, refusing to sit down, making lots of noise. While Premier League football feels increasingly safe, it’s those remaining few ultras that can make a standard fixture feel like more of an event.

Swedish director (and IFK Göteborg diehard) Ragnhild Ekner surveys fan culture in the lovingly made, dream-like documentary Ultras (2025), playing in Nightvision, taking us on a generous journey through the highs and lows of never giving up on your team. From Boca Juniors games with rampant fans going crazy behind a massive wire fence, to Swedish casuals spending untold hours making Tifos (huge flags and banners), only to throw them away at the end of the game, to Indonesian fans, many of them young women, chanting and holding posters in unison, this expansive documentary shows how its the craziest supporters that make watching live football such a unique and memorable experience.

After all, football, like most things in life, has no inherent meaning. You might even hear annoying detractors say, “It’s just 22 men kicking a ball around.” It is how one approaches the game that gives it its meaning. With its deep sense of patriotism, love of fraternal bonding, pounding drums, use of flares and creative chanting, ultras culture gives one a sense of community in a world that feels increasingly lonely and atomised. At its heart, Ultras are an intensely macho phenomenon. The women who do attend don’t wear make up or lipstick, trying to fit in with the guys. I don’t think there is the same Ultra culture in Women’s Football (although some Scandi clubs are leading the charge). The games there are quieter, less boozy affairs; once, I was even given dirty looks for insulting the referee!

In the film’s smartest choice, Ekner doesn’t have any talking heads, showing how ultras only have meaning as a collective; disembodied voices explain how it originated in Italy, inspired by the carnivelesque atmosphere in South America, before taking root across Europe and the rest of the world. Through epic tableaus, we are given access to various different stadiums, with fans in religious rapture as they cheer on their team. Football tactics, players, managers, results: all ignored.   

When tackling such a broad topic, there were only so many different types of fan cultures that she could cover, especially when it comes to the negative associations between footie Firms and racist movements back home in the UK, where it all began. The Chelsea Headhunters, for example, are, unfortunately, tarred by intense racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia. They also have documented links to the far-right Football Lads Alliance. Likewise, the entire Celtic-Rangers feud is a terrifying conduit for sectarian tensions across Scotland and Northern Ireland, to the point that merely answering incorrectly as to who you support in cities like Glasgow, Derry or Belfast could be the difference between a good night out and a broken face.

Instead, the film goes small, showing how non-league football brings back the magic of the game in the face of an increasingly corporatised and unaffordable Premier League by taking us to none other than Eastbourne Borough FC, as well as more anti-racist teams such as Clapton F.C. It feels like the smarter decision. Pinpointing the tricky racial history of far-right Firms across the United Kingdom deserves its own documentary. The same goes for Ultras across the Balkans, Russia and Israel.

Yet, the Port Said Stadium riot in Egypt, in which 72 Al-Ahly fans, one Al-Masry fan and a police officer tragically died, is covered, with the blame squarely laid on the authorities for misunderstanding the reasons for how it occurred. This puts the film, which was previously just criticising clubs for not doing more to support their most die-hard fans, into a more political sphere, asking for more understanding of why ultras culture exists — and showcasing the immense varieties within fan support —  instead of merely conflating it with senseless hooliganism. After all, the beautiful game is nothing without its insane people. Oi oi oi.