As the world’s most popular sport, the influence of football (or soccer) is hard to overstate. That assessment could seem overblown to those not familiar with ‘the beautiful game’, even though there has been greater scrutiny of it in recent years, with global-scale corruption, sportswashing, FIFA’s deepening links with the Trump administration, and the corporatisation of clubs and institutions once thought of as community assets. However, the role and deep history of football fandom remain poorly understood outside those communities. These things once prompted Terry Pratchett to write, in ‘Unseen Academicals’, that “the important thing about football is that it is not just about football.” Ragnhild Ekner’s ULTRAS understands this and delivers a film that communicates it tremendously effectively.

‘Ultras’ is the term for fanatical supporters of a football team, and Ekner’s film focuses on several different communities of them across the globe and the role they and the sport serve within their communities. ULTRAS opens with the suspicion of hooliganism and violence that often precedes their reputation; men clad in balaclavas make ‘wanker’ symbols, and someone says, “I want to be over there, where it’s dangerous”. What follows is a vibrant tour of Sweden, Italy, England, the barrios of Buenos Aires, and more, focusing on how the sport has enabled different communities and subcultures to foster a sense of identity and even a collectivist ethos.

ULTRAS moves with dexterity between the ultra-machismo of some South American groups (“You have to be like a man”), the ‘Ladies Curva Sud’ of Indonesia’s PSS Sleman, and the Italian ultra scene’s complex blend of fascist and socialist expressions, found both coexisting and opposing one another. Interviewees’ voices are disembodied from the speaker and blend across boundaries, augmenting the film’s visuals as they glide easily across geographically distinct settings.

“The clearest theme that emerges is how strongly sport enables expressions of solidarity in places and times that increasingly push people to individualist mindsets.”

At all points, Ekner’s camera is observant, allowing the scenarios and individuals to speak for themselves. The clearest theme that emerges is how strongly sport enables expressions of solidarity in places and times that increasingly push people to individualist mindsets. The way this can intersect with widely varying political sympathies is a strong reminder of how difficult it is, in reality, to fit people neatly into boxes.

“ULTRAS’ primary focus is the expressions of identity and belonging demonstrated by these communities, as well as the impact those expressions have on the fans’ relationship with broader society…”

ULTRAS’ primary focus is the expressions of identity and belonging demonstrated by these communities, as well as the impact those expressions have on the fans’ relationship with broader society: “Societies are made up,” one says, “at least we made up [the rules in the stands] ourselves”. Clashes with police are also framed in a questioning manner (“they never help, they just destroy”). The film emphasises the far-reaching role of this strain of subculture when it concludes by examining the Port Said Stadium riot: an event in which seventy-four people were killed, with the tensions reportedly heightened as a result of ultra groups’ roles in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

The sweeping scope of ULTRAS conveys the breadth of material that exists even beyond its reels. The fan reaction to the proposed European Super League, for instance, was a reminder of the power of collectivist protest not depicted in the film, but evoked when discussing “something beyond the economy’s wish for people to submit themselves”. In that respect, when one of the subjects of ULTRAS intones “the stadiums are a testing ground for repression”, the film highlights how they are a testing ground for so much more as well: identity, protest, resistance, equality, and bigotry. Football is not an escape from society, or even a reflection of it – it is a key thread running through the tapestry of communities across the globe.