exhibition
Boards

The Mondiali - festival and protest


In the mid 1990s the Italian media adopted a racist tenor in their support of Fortress Europe while at the same time celebrating the European Championship.

The sole Italian fan project, Progetto Ultrà in Bologna, and the anti-fascist history institute, Istoreco, therefore decided to invite friends and acquaintances, the illegalised and the criminalised, and football fanatics and dilettantes to a festival and protest.

The Mondiali Antirazzisti has been an annual event ever since. Women and men play alongside and against each other in almost 200 teams. Who wins is not important. The main prize does not go to the most successful team, but to the one that has excelled in its efforts against racism. The Mondiali has grown into an international festival that lives from its atmosphere, an atmosphere in which keen (and not so keen) football fans party together - beyond the realm of political meetings, mind-numbing drinking sessions or charity migrant work.

As some teams cannot afford to come to Italy, appeals are made for money to be collected to meet the costs of travel. The Mondiali helps existing migrant projects to gain a profile and gives them an opportunity to party without worry with people from other countries, to network with other groups and to launch further initiatives through the contacts made at this gathering of football fans, migrants and anti-racist activists of both sexes. Participation is free of charge and includes concerts, discussion meetings, exhibitions and camping. The teams taking part primarily represent football fans, migrants and anti-racist activists.

Fortunately, though, a lot of people come who don't belong in any particular pigeonhole. In 2005 some 6,000 people from nearly 40 countries on all continents, though mainly from Europe, attended the event. Each year there are teams who register but cannot take part because of the Italian immigration laws. And each year this is criticised by the awarding of the Invisibles Cup, which is left behind on the stage on its own.