A journey with the world’s most extreme fans

1312: Among the Ultras

An explosive insider’s journey into the extreme political gangs of world football, by an award-winning investigative writer.

Utterly gripping. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

You can see them, but you don't know them. 
 
Ultras are football fans like no others. A hugely visible and controversial part of the global game, their credo and aesthetic replicated in almost every league everywhere on earth, a global movement of extreme fandom and politics is also one of the largest youth movements in the world. Yet they remain unknown: an anti-establishment force that is transforming both football and politics. In this book, James Montague goes underground to uncover the true face of this dissident force for the first time. 
 
1312: Among the Ultras tells the story of how the movement began and how it grew to become the global phenomenon that now dominates the stadiums from the Balkans and Buenos Aires. With unprecedented insider access, the book investigates how ultras have grown into a fiercely political movement, embracing extremes on both the left and right; fighting against the commercialisation of football and society – and against the attempts to control them by the authorities, who both covet and fear their power.

James Montague

A vibrant account of sport in the world's most volatile region

Passionate and moving and provides further evidence of the universality of football.

An excellent book, which is so, so much more than a book about sport or football; it is also a travelogue and a treatise on the politics of the Middle East.

A courageous, amusing and informative work

Football Revolution in the Middle East and the Road to Qatar

'Passionate and moving and provides further evidence of the universality of football' Jonathan Wilson, FourFourTwo 
 
The definitive story of the Middle East's unstoppable rise to football superpower, and the road to the Qatar World Cup 
 
When James Montague first began covering football in the Middle East two decades ago, people asked him what future there could possibly be for the beautiful game in one of the most volatile regions in the world. In the years that followed, it would become one of the biggest stories in global sport, from the from revolutionary ultras of the Arab Spring and the takeover of some of the world's biggest clubs by the Emirati super rich, to Qatar's controversial journey towards hosting the 2022 World Cup finals. 
 
The only Western journalist covering the story on the ground from the very beginning, James Montague tells the definitive tale of the region's rise to ultimate power player in the global game in a fully revised and updated edition. Travelling to every country in the Middle East and meeting fans, players, workers and campaigners, he paints an unforgettable picture of football in a controversial, vibrant and surprising new world.

James Montague

Praise for When Friday Comes

A vibrant account of sport in the world's most volatile region

Passionate and moving and provides further evidence of the universality of football.

An excellent book, which is so, so much more than a book about sport or football; it is also a travelogue and a treatise on the politics of the Middle East.

A vibrant account of sport in the world's most volatile region

Passionate and moving and provides further evidence of the universality of football.

An excellent book, which is so, so much more than a book about sport or football; it is also a travelogue and a treatise on the politics of the Middle East.

A vibrant account of sport in the world's most volatile region

Passionate and moving and provides further evidence of the universality of football.

An excellent book, which is so, so much more than a book about sport or football; it is also a travelogue and a treatise on the politics of the Middle East.

Books by James Montague

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