As Egypt prepares to host the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) from June 21 to July 19 for the fifth time, the focus is on logistics and infrastructure in the five host cities — Cairo, Alexandria, Ismailia, Port Said and Suez. However, the Egyptian media hardly discusses the Ultras, the hardcore soccer fans who helped popularize the sport in Egypt, providing nearly as much entertainment as the games. One possible reason the Ultras are not mentioned is the key role they played in the January 25 Revolution in 2011, and their political activism since.

Because of their organizational skills and experience confronting security forces during games, the Ultras were at the forefront of the mass protests that led to the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak. But just as the Egyptians have come to see the revolution in a new light in recent years — with some now considering it a conspiracy to destroy the country — the public perception of the Ultras has been transformed: The diehard fans celebrated as heroes in the early post-revolution days are now largely perceived by government supporters as troublemakers and vandals — terrorists even. The turnabout is partly the result of a May 2015 court ruling outlawing their existence as a soccer fan club or movement. A restrictive ban on their attendance of live games, in place for the most part since 2012, also led the Ultras to lose their main space of public expression. While the ban was partly lifted in 2018, analysts such as Ziad Akl, senior researcher at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and an ardent Al Ahly fan, believes "it effectively still exists."

"We have not seen [Ultras] fans in the stadiums since 2012. Only a limited number are now allowed to watch the games live [up to roughly 5,000] but they are not the hardcore fans. They are mostly fans who have been invited to attend or members of various sports clubs." Akl told Al-Monitor.

The fierce government backlash to the Ultras' use of soccer to trumpet their political views — by way of songs, anti-government chants and banners — has also included violent confrontations with the supporters of Al-Ahly (Ultras) and Zamalek (Ultras White Knights), the country's main soccer clubs. More than 70 fans were killed and 500 others were injured in a February 2012 "massacre" at a stadium in Port Said, described by one health official at the time as "the biggest disaster in Egypt's soccer history." Clashes between supporters of rival teams Al-Masry and Al-Ahly erupted after the former won the game 3-1. Surprisingly, the violence was initiated by fans of the winning team who stormed the stadium stands and pitch after the game, attacking the Ultras with clubs and knives. Many of the deaths were caused by an ensuing stampede as the Al-Ahly fans tried to escape the carnage only to find the stadium gates tightly sealed.