Description of Fan and Ultras Practices

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to explore the complex interplay between warfare and football, particularly through the lens of football fandom and ultras culture. The pourpose is to uncover the continuities and
discontinuities between these two seemingly disparate worlds, suggesting that the dynamics of support in football, both in its more peaceful aspects and in its confrontational dimensions, can be understood within a framework that parallels the logic of warfare. The paper draws on ethnographic textual elements to explore this comparison further, positioning the stadium as a battleground where performances of identity, honour and territorial allegiance unfold in a symbolic struggle. The analysis goes beyond the mere physicality of matches to explore the symbolic warfare that fans engage in, representing their communities and ideologies in a space that transcends the physical confines of the football stadium. This exploration sheds light on the ritualistic, performative aspects of football fandom, where the stadium becomes a stage for the enactment of social, cultural and even political struggles, highlighting football’s deep rootedness in the fabric of social identity and conflict.