Learning from Adjacent Fields: The Relation between Extremism and Hooliganism

'If we were interested in football, we would have become footballers.' These words, displayed by a member of a Polish hooligan group under an image of hooligans showing far-right extremist symbols (1), reflect the problem of extremism in football stadiums. Although the majority of ultra supporters and hooligans do not support extremist ideologies at all and their situations differ across EU countries, far-right extremism (FRE) is a highly prominent—and increasing—phenomenon among hooligan and ultra groups. Participants in the RAN Warsaw study visit on 25 and 26 October 2018 explored the relation between extremism and hooliganism.

Far-right extremists use the stadium to recruit members, showcase their propaganda and coordinate (international) actions. Hooligan groups are used as the 'soldiers' of far-right extremist ideologies in what some have termed 'the white jihad'—and these groups should not be overlooked in the prevention and/or countering of violent extremism (P/CVE).

Measures for the prevention of hooliganism can be of value for P/CVE, and vice versa. However, extremists within hooligan and ultra groups constitute a specific group, calling for a tailor-made approach. Such made-to-measure approaches for dealing with extremism among hooligans and ultras are still novel in Europe, and should receive more attention from both policymakers and P/CVE practitioners.