THE STORY OF football, fan power and political extremism is told in a powerful new podcast series for The 42.
Enda Coll’s On The Right Wing shines a light on the secretive and shadowy world of ultras and examines the power they wield.
The podcast, available to subscribers to The 42, examines the politicians and figureheads who have harnessed the visceral appeal of football and used it for their own ends.
In a series which charts the most voluble and volatile supporters over a span of decades, and from South America to Europe, Coll hears from experts who have devoted their professional lives to understanding and telling these extraordinary stories.
In the first episode of the series, Tim Vickery, the BBC’s South American football correspondent, and Brazil football correspondent for Reuters Andrew Downie talk about Brazil’s shift to the political right.
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They explain how Jair Bolsonaro used football as a vehicle for his message, why some of the country’s famous football stars backed the former military leader and how the famous yellow short was hijacked by his supporters during the 2022 election.
The link between football fan groups in Germany and far-right extremists in the country is the focus of the second episode.
Author Robert Claus who specialises in far-right extremism and football looks at how the football culture evolved in the country from hooligans in 1980s to the ultra movement fighting back to take control of the stands.
The third episode of the series turns to Italy and the birth of the ultra movement. Coll delves into the fascist history of Italian football, and the impact their past continues to have in the stands of modern-day Italian football. Paddy Agnew, news and football reporter in Italy, and Simon Martin, author of Football and Fascism, the national game under Mussolini, provide insights throughout.
Coll looks at the central role football hooligans played in the setting up of the far-right group The English Defence League in episode four. Matt Slater, senior football reporter with the Athletic, explains how the authorities feared a return to the bad days of the 1980s when fan unrest spiked in the post-Covid world.
The final episode of the series is an illuminating interview with award-winning author James Montague. They discuss his time spent living in the world of ultra fan groups, what he learned from the experience and why some football fan groups are attracted to extremist ideology.
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