'Football Hooligan and Proud' - On Eve Of World Cup, Shocking Insight Into 21st Century Hooliganism (VIDEO)

'I'm A Football Hooligan And Proud Of It' (CLIP)

"At the age of 13, I started to want to fight," says one Rochdale fan, aged 37. "I love fear, that's just me. Football violence is a feeling on its own."

One Chelsea supporter, previously jailed for football violence, shares these feelings. "It's an addiction and that's the bottom line."

WATCH: Our clip of 'Football Hooligan and Proud' above is honest and shocking...

On the eve of the World Cup, football fans and beyond around the world are preparing to fly their flags, embed themselves in their sofas, check the pub lock-in schedules and cheer the boys home to Jules Rimet.

For some football hooligans, it's about freedom, for others, it's an addiction

This is the heartwarming side of football fanship. There is another side, what was once called the "English disease" - football hooliganism. And if this seems like a dim and distant remnant of the worst of violence on the terraces successfully stamped out by policing and surveillance, the bad news is, in some quarters, it's alive and well.

'Football Hooligan and Proud', tonight on Channel 5, proves there are still a few gangs hell-bent on having a scrap, and speaks to some of the worst perpetrators about what on earth motivates them...

Are you surprised to hear football hooliganism is thriving in some quarters? Share your thoughts below...

'Football Hooligan and Proud' is on Channel 5 at 9pm tonight, Wednesday 11 June.

Close

What's Hot