The 10 Fiercest Ultras in World Football Right Now – Ranked

Walk into the right ground and the match hits you before a ball’s even kicked — the colour, the smoke, the bass-drum thud in your chest. The English game’s got its own flavour — Crystal Palace’s Holmesdale Fanatics keep Selhurst bouncing — but scan across Europe and South America and you’ll find proper cauldrons where sight and sound swallow you whole.

This is a celebration of atmosphere, not aggro. If you love the theatre of the terraces — and, yes, you fancy a flutter — have a nose around the best betting sites. But remember: the best ultras create an edge without crossing the line.

10) Fenerbahçe (Turkey)

European nights in Kadıköy are no picnic. Genc Fenerbahçeliler marshal a wall of noise at the Şükrü Saracoğlu, choreographing huge tifos and showers of red flares that turn the place into a furnace. It’s an intimidating welcome for visitors and, as reported last season, there were unsavoury clashes involving travelling Manchester United supporters ahead of a Europa League tie — a reminder that the passion can spill over. On pure atmosphere, though, this lot bring the heat.

9) Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)

Delije by name, daunting by nature. At the Marakana, Red Star’s ultras belt out a soundtrack that makes the away end quake. The word ‘delije’ nods to strength and courage, and the displays live up to it: relentless songs, sweeping banners, and enough pyro to light the whole of Belgrade. A bucket-list trip for the brave — unforgettable, and just a bit terrifying.

8) River Plate (Argentina)

Los Borrachos del Tablón bring South American intensity in industrial quantities. In Buenos Aires, the barra culture blurs the line between fandom and full-time vocation, and River’s end at the Monumental is a seething, singing sea. The Superclásico remains football’s most combustible rivalry; the atmosphere is gripping, though the darker side of the scene is never far away. As a spectacle, few can match it.

7) Marseille (France)

The Vélodrome doesn’t just echo — it roars. OM’s diehards are fuelled by civic pride, a left-leaning identity and a long-standing loathing of Paris Saint-Germain. You get the rumble of drums, the whip of flags and a chorus that doesn’t relent. Marseille’s following has had its flashpoints at home and abroad, but when channelled properly, the noise level is off the charts and the choreography is top drawer.

6) Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)

Prague’s derby is a culture clash and then some: Sparta’s gritty working-class roots versus Slavia’s middle-class sheen. Sparta’s ultras crank up the volume at Letná with pyro, banners and the sort of bite you feel in your bones. The group’s drift towards hardline politics has brought UEFA sanctions for discriminatory behaviour — a stain on what is otherwise a formidable atmosphere.

5) AC Milan (Italy)

Curva Sud is a gallery and a bear pit rolled into one. The Brigate Rossonere helped set the standard for tifos in the 80s and haven’t eased off since. Think of that sly masterpiece against PSG — a Matrix-style bullet-dodging riposte to Paris’s gun graphic — and you get the idea: wit, scale and swagger. On big nights at San Siro, the red-and-black choreography is as much a show as the football.

4) Galatasaray (Turkey)

UltrAslan turn RAMS Park into an away-day fever dream. Politics? They mostly park it; the mission is simple — make life miserable for the opposition. Their pyro output once forced a match stoppage after thousands of flares were lit in a derby with Fenerbahçe. Security checks have tightened, but the decibel count and the dread for visiting sides remain sky high. “Welcome to Hell” wasn’t a slogan; it was a promise.

3) Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

The Bad Blue Boys flood Maksimir in a sea of cobalt and song. For all their fearsome rep, there’s a code — a well-known no-knife stance — and a strong community streak. After a major Zagreb earthquake, BBB members mucked in alongside emergency crews, and they were early, vocal supporters of Ukraine. Inside the ground, it’s noise, choreography and an intensity that never dips.

2) Hajduk Split (Croatia)

Torcida Split — Europe’s oldest ultra group, founded in 1950 and inspired by fans at the Brazil World Cup — are as storied as they come. Their pageantry on the Dalmatian coast is stirring, but the temper is volcanic when standards slip. In April 2024, anger boiled over after defeat to Dinamo, with fans confronting players on the pitch and disorder spilling into the streets. At their best, though, Torcida create a din that makes Poljud throb.

1) Legia Warsaw (Poland)

Legia’s ultras are, quite simply, notorious. The choreography is vast, the messages are often provocative, and the atmosphere can rattle even the hardiest pros. Controversy follows — from confrontations to contentious tifos — but there’s no doubting the fervour. On a pure sensory scale — volume, visuals, vertigo-inducing tension — Warsaw is right at the summit.

Rankings like these always stir debate — and that’s half the fun. However you slice it, the best ultra scenes turn football into theatre. Keep the colour, keep the noise, and keep it the right side of the line.