by Nick Draper
Football hooliganism isn't as rife as it once was back in the 80s and 90s, but it still gathers plenty of interest, especially when it is portrayed in movies.
I've been a huge fan of these types of films for a number of years, and I've watched pretty much all the football hooligan movies, on offer.
So, let's take a look at some of the best football hooligan movies ever made, as I rank them from worst to best...
10. Awaydays (2009)
Awaydays is one of the best football hooligan films, enhanced further by the fitting soundtrack containing the likes of The Jam, Joy Division, and Wire. This film is about one young man’s initiation into a firm attached to Tranmere Rovers, in the 1980s, and his story growing up in a rough working-class environment, facing challenges of football hooligan culture.
9. The Hooligan Wars (2012)
A young footballer gets badly injured in a pub fight, which in effect, ruins his career. In order to pay the bills and make ends meet, he ends up getting drawn into a life of crime. He starts dealing drugs, and then he gets dragged into the Polish underworld of hooligan life.
8. The Hooligan Factory (2014)
After Dex is released from prison, he meets Danny and they travel the country to re-establish the football hooligan firm's glory.
The Hooligan Factory is a fun watch, with some comedy elements thrown in, for good measure. It's a light take on footy hooligan culture, and nothing to take too seriously.
7. The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan (2012)
The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan is a 2012 British crime film directed by Paul Tanter and starring Nick Nevern, Simon Phillips, Rita Ramnani, and Billy Murray. This classic is another film about people falling into the culture, and living with the consequences it holds.
6. Green Street (2005)
In this fan favourite, an American college dropout finds himself right in the middle of a West Ham firm, the Green Street Elite (GSE). This "Hollywood take" on football hooliganism does have some excellent elements to it, but it also comes across as a little cheesy, and unrealistic, at times.
5. Cass (2008)
Cass is about a West Indian immigrant who grew up in an all-white suburb in the 1970s. But despite his background, Cass Pennant gets involved with the Inter City Firm (ICF) for their famous dust up with Wolves fans in 1972. The film follows Cass's journey has his reputation grows within the football hooligan lifestyle.
4. Football Factory (2004)
The Football Factory is a cult-classic starring Danny Dyer as Tommy, with the primal rush of belonging to a firm and fighting with rival firms. We follow the Chelsea-supporting hooligan who’s hooked on a cocktail of fighting, drinking and womanising.
3. Rise of the Footsoldier (2007)
Rise of the Footsoldier is more of a violent drama than an out-and-out football hooligan story. It’s a gritty biopic about Carlton Leach, a ruthless East End criminal who was part of West Ham’s Inter City Firm. This dark movie is a must watch for anyone with an interest in these types of films.
2. The Firm (1989)
A seemingly respectable estate agent leads a double life as the head of a vicious, well-organised gang of football hooligans, in 1989's
The Firm. When the firm decide to confront a rival gang, it ends in tragedy. This classic is the oldest movie on this list, but not many capture its realism and intensity quite so accurately.
The 1995 classic,
I.D., is centred on a fictional East End football team, Shadwell Town, based on a combination of West Ham and Millwall. It tells the story of an undercover cop who working inside a hooligan firm, only to find himself getting uncontrollably hooked into that way of life.
I.D. was the first to film bring the world of terrace violence to the big screen, and it has never been beaten, in my most humble of opinions. If you enjoy the dark, realistic side of football hooliganism, then I.D. is an absolute must-watch.
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