Ultra Groups as Social Space for Leisure

The paper aims to demonstrate that violence is far from a regular practice in Ultra groups, despite its notorious visibility as transmitted by the media. The paper attempts to demonstrate that Ultra groups are a social space of leisure for young people, rather than a space for violence. Actually, having used observation through direct participation and having registered the discourses of Ultra group members, it is possible to demonstrate that life in these groups represents, for many, not only a break from difficult everyday life, but also the only and/or the most important moment of social leisure in their lives.

The object of this research was four Ultra groups who support the teams of Oporto City: Super Dragõe, Colectivo Ultras 95 (both support Futebol Clube do Porto), Panteras Ngeras (supporting Boavista Futebol Clube), and Alma Salgueirista (supporting Sport Comércio e Salgueiros). The research was based on observation through direct participation made among the groups over six years. Also conducted were 90 semi-structured interviews, 20 autobiographical narratives, and surveys (sample 206 for estimated n=1766).