Ultras

If there were ever to be a documentary that showcased the global scale of club football, then this might well be it. It doesn't just focus on huge great teams in massive stadia playing to tens of thousands, but instead focuses more on the activities and fervour of the die-hard fans across the world who follow this sport as if it were a religion and who quite possibly love their teams more than their children. Through their eyes and our ears we visit small town clubs, many on the permanent edge of bankruptcy, that offer a source of salvation to poverty-stricken communities through behaviour that is competitive and at times unforgiving, certainly, but that is also inter-reliant, loyal and caring. For many these clubs offer hope - not that their children will end up being the next Pele or Ronaldo, but that the game, the flags and the anthems allow them to forget the drudgery of their lives and celebrate - and it's quite astonishing just how consistently this reaction stretches from South America to Indonesia and touches just about everywhere in between. Many of the comments from the fans also point out what I suspect many people feel now about the objectives of the likes of FIFA in 2026 - that the game has been hijacked by big business, politicians and commercial interests and that the original sentiment that supported so many teams consisting of local kids with jumpers for goalposts has been subsumed into a capitalist maelstrom of sponsors, advertisers and exploiters. There are also elements of tribalism exposed here - sometimes less benignly than the game or their fans might like, and there are some curiously controversial opinions voiced about the role of the police, especially, in enforcing the will of a "Big Brother" autocracy that is determined to dominate what is now clearly a lucrative industry. Perhaps a little courageously, there are a few contributions from folks who just don't get it and there are those - sometimes with just cause - who find these fans inti...