Ultras Groups in Tunisia: The Intersections of Sports, Politics and Religion

This paper examines the practices of ultras groups in Tunisia through sports, politics, and religion. It traces the extensions of their identities and their mutual social influences. The paper depends on the semiosociological reading of the technical blogs like songs, slogans, practices of the ultras groups inside and outside of the stadium, in addition to interviews with a number of these groups' members. The paper aims to understand the connotations and the symbols revealed through the practices of the ultras in multiple social spaces. The intersections of sports with politics and religion have resulted in new forms of dissent that groups of ultras transferred from the space of daily life in the popular neighbourhood of Al-Houma to sports, which gives new dimensions to the freedom of forming parties and non-governmental organisations.

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This paper examines the practices of ultras groups in Tunisia through sports, politics, and religion. It traces the extensions of their identities and their mutual social influences. The paper depends on the semiosociological reading of the technical blogs like songs, slogans, practices of the ultras groups inside and outside of the stadium, in addition to interviews with a number of these groups' members. The paper aims to understand the connotations and the symbols revealed through the practices of the ultras in multiple social spaces. The intersections of sports with politics and religion have resulted in new forms of dissent that groups of ultras transferred from the space of daily life in the popular neighbourhood of Al-Houma to sports, which gives new dimensions to the freedom of forming parties and non-governmental organisations.

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