Dangerous games: football hooliganism, politics and organized crime in the Western Balkans

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Football hooliganism has received considerable attention from sociologists and anthropologists, who analyze its cultural aspects, as well as the police, who study ways to prevent and control it. However, few studies have examined the relationship between football hooliganism and organized crime.

Unlike studies that focus on football hooliganism in particular countries like Croatia or Serbia, where there is extensive research into the links between football and violence, this report fills a gap by analyzing the issue in a broader regional perspective.

The report begins by mapping the main football supporters’ clubs in each of the Western Balkan countries. It then identifies which of these groups can be considered “ultras”. Further analysis helps identify which of these ultra groups exhibit attributes of football hooliganism and how this hooliganism is linked to organized crime and politics.

This report takes care to make a distinction between ultras and football hooligans:

• Ultras are groups of die-hard football supporters affiliated with a particular team;
• Football hooligans engage in violence within football and some of them are involved in organized crime.

The report recommends paying greater attention to the social conditions that lead vulnerable young people to become involved in football hooliganism, which can serve as a gateway to organized crime. It also suggests ways to identify and break links between hooligan groups and organized crime.

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