From the Stands to the Arena of Social Movements: Post-2011 Football Terrace Chants in Tunisia

This paper discusses the evolution of social criticism reflected in the Tunisian Ultra groups’ football chants and investigates the Ultras’ involvement in social movements. To address this issue, we developed a database of mostly published Ultra songs found on social media which was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings indicate that the Ultra phenomenon in Tunisia established its influence from the first decade of 2000, as a social pattern criticizing power, through confrontation of the regime inside the stadiums, and culturally through the production of a set of critically-loaded artistic expressions. We conclude that the extension of the circle of influence of Ultra groups is indicative of an overthrowing of cultural legitimacy standards but significantly is also reflective of the emergence of new social actors capable of redistributing power through their intense politicization of interactions that prior to 2011 had been mostly social.