Cairo's Ultras: Resistance and Revolution in Egypt’s Football Culture

by Ronnie Close

The history of Cairo’s football fans is one of the most poignant narratives of the 25 January 2011 Egyptian uprising. The Ultras Al-Ahly and the Ultras White Knights fans, belonging to the two main teams, Al-Ahly F.C. and Zamalek F.C respectively, became embroiled in the street protests that brought down the Mubarak regime. In the violent turmoil since, the Ultras have been locked in a bitter conflict with the Egyptian security state. Tracing these social movements to explore their role in the uprising and the political dimension of soccer in Egypt, Ronnie Close provides a vivid, intimate sense of the Ultras’ unique subculture.

Cairo’s Resistance and Revolution in Egypt’s Football Culture explores how football communities offer ways of belonging and instill meaning in everyday life. Close asks us to rethink the labels ‘fans’ or ‘hooligans’ and what such terms might really mean. He argues that the role of the body is essential to understanding the cultural practices of the Cairo Ultras, and that the physicality of the stadium rituals and acerbic chants were key expressions that resonated with many Egyptians. Along the way, the book skewers media clichés and retraces revolutionary politics and social networks to consider the capacity of sport to emancipate through performances on the football terraces.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports

200 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Baher Soliman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The importance of Cairo's Ultras lies in their role as one of the social groups that actively participated in the January 25 Revolution of 2011, representing a direct threat to the Egyptian security apparatus both before, during, and after the revolution. As "Ronnie Close" explores in his compelling book the Ultras groups became victims of state repression, alongside other entities, and the military establishment began dismantling the Ultras as a permanent social phenomenon.

Through his book, Close seeks to document the role of the Ultras groups in Cairo, not as an ordinary group of football fans, but as a social movement that interacted with society both socially and politically. On one hand, they formed groups of resistance against the prevailing sports culture, and on the other hand, they opposed the dominant political system.

Close provided a historical overview of the establishment of Al-Ahly and Zamalek within the national context with its colonial challenges, but the emergence of the Ultras phenomenon in Egypt was a product of the Mubarak era. In 2007, the Ultras White Knights of Zamalek and Ultras Ahlawy of Al-Ahly were founded in a politically charged atmosphere, as the country grappled with the potential succession of Gamal Mubarak. The stands of "Third North" became not only a place for the Ultras' sports enthusiasm but also a platform for attacking the entire Egyptian regime.

For Ultras Ahlawy fans, Al-Ahly held historical principles of nationalism, since the 1940s when team captain "Mukhtar Al-Tetsh" defied the head of the Egyptian Football Association, "Haidar Pasha," by refusing to apologize for Al-Ahly's travel to Palestine to play matches in support of the resistance against the mandate. Ultras Ahlawy inherited this revolutionary legacy and directed it against Mubarak and his police, whom they labeled "thugs" on their banners.

Close explains that these sentiments were further fueled by the killing of Khaled Said in Alexandria in the summer of 2010, which became one of the factors that propelled them into the midst of the 2011 Revolution. They played a pivotal role in sustaining the anti-Mubarak momentum.

The Ultras participated in the Day of Anger on January 28th and defended against Mubarak's thugs in the Battle of the Camel. As Close highlights, all of this led to the attraction of many revolution youth to the Ultras. During the transitional period and after the deaths of some of their members, such as "Karika," the Ultras continued to chant relentlessly in matches, echoing slogans against the military council.The military council in 2013, and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 2015, continued Mubarak's stance towards the Ultras. In a painful chapter, Close details two massacres targeting the Ultras: the first was the Port Said massacre in 2012 under the military council, and the second was the Air Defense Stadium massacre under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi—both tragic and bloody events.Close perceives the Port Said massacre as a conspiracy between the police and the Cairo Ultras, seeking revenge for their role in the 2011 Revolution and their subsequent attacks on the military council.

After this incident, the Ultras moved their performances from stadium balconies to the streets of Cairo. As power transitioned from the Muslim Brotherhood to el-Sisi, the Ultras, like many Egyptians, became more powerless. In 2015, the Ultras were designated a terrorist organization. Close describes the dismantling of the Ultras through repression, killings, and arrests as reflective of the counter-revolution or deep state.What Close emphasizes is that the Ultras established a subculture in opposition to the dominant culture. This culture was rooted in the idea of rebellion, which was directed explicitly at the police, the military council, and the deep state. The Ultras crafted their identity through a distinct style of cheering, financial and political independence, and even set age limits for their members, drawn from a class mix of both the poor and the wealthy.

This hybrid composition created its unique culture and infiltrated society. The security apparatus viewed this as a threat to stability, as the Ultras members lost trust in any security official, instead directing their loyalty towards the "capo," the leader of the Ultras group inside the stadium. This type of relationship was different, and to understand the nature of these relationships, Close invokes the ideas of Jacques Rancière about producing a new vision of the world—a vision based on estrangement, its causes, and its effects on individuals politically and socially.Close also spoke about the aesthetics of the Ultras—the body movements during cheering, the rhythmic appeal of their songs, and their chants against the interior ministry, Field Marshal Tantawi, and the military council. However, the Ultras were dissolved by the authorities, who then created what was called "the good fan."

The Ultras' displays of "tifo," fireworks, and chants were a source of annoyance to the authorities.In the conclusion of his book, Close argues that the dissolution of the two Ultras movements (Ahlawy and Zamalek) in Cairo was to appease the Sisi government, and control over access to the stadium was established through security screenings for anyone requesting a ticket.Despite the tragic end of the Ultras, Close paints a poetic vision of the future, asserting that the stalling or even the demise of movements resisting hegemony does not mean they are incapable of influencing the near future.

[Adil Mohammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ronnie Close’s book is a very important contribution to our understanding of the underlying dynamics for the 2011 revolution in Egypt, it’s manifestation and execution, as well as the aftermath. Ronnie Close has studied the Ultras in Egypt perhaps more deeply than any (other non-Egyptian). In this book, he shares his findings and builds on it to extrapolate to class struggles and social change more generally. Essentially, he covers the Ultras phenomenon across a wide array of concepts, ranging from from dissension, to aesthetics to participative art forms. He contrasts the Egyptian manifestation of hooliganism with the manifestation in other cultures - from that in various European countries to Brazil.

The book does get very heavy on academic theory as well as philosophy and sociology. As such, I can imagine, many readers will find it too intellectual at times. The title and cover conveys a more ‘mainstream’ treatment of the subject. In fact, however, some of the chapters are anything but mainstream and may only appeal to a narrow segment of readers with a common research interest.

I still give the book 4 stars because of the significance of the topic and because the author fearlessly deals with it. Actually, when in Cairo, I could hardly find any book analysing the period after the revolution…and when speaking to people, the reason is that this topic is now seriously repressed by the authoritarian regime. Ronnie’s book was one of the only ones, if not only one, that deals with topic head on, is honest and provocatively aggressive on it stance and says it as it is.

[Rithwik Hari · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the prose was a bit confusing and repetitive at times, this book is a fantastic look at the Ultras of Egypt, describing who they are and the evolution of their opposition to the state during and after the revolution against Mubarak.

The book then situates Egypt’s ultras in relation to those in other parts of the world and unpacks the role that their performances, actions, and resistance plays in galvanizing opposition to a suffocating totalitarian regime.

It was awesome reading this after Bevins’s If We Burn - Bevins mentions football ultras’ role in several global uprisings, including Egypt - Close goes into the specifics of how they operated and the unique role that they can play by infusing daily life with anti-authoritarian ideas and practices, contesting one of the only spaces available under a brutally repressive state. The possibility of this dissent metastasizing across society is one that can inspire hope where there is little else to be found, despite many such horizontals movements ultimately failing to accomplish structural change.

[foxfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book all around, an excellent contribution to the scholarship of ultra culture. Ronnie Close gets it and very succinctly contextualizes not just Cairo's ultras but also the practice of ultras in an age of capitalism and spectacle. There were a couple of theory heavy turns with regards to conceptualizing the role of ultras and tifo in a spectacle-society, and so that will either be a huge attraction for some readers or detractor for others, but regardless this book will be enjoyed by many football fanatics.

[Elizabeth Managan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a good review of the facts of the Ultras' history, which has been distorted by the government, but the 2nd and 3rd to last chapters had way too much academic mumbo-jumbo that took away from my understanding.

[Abdalla Nasef · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of its kind.

My podcast episode with the author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyQCF...