The Inter City Firm (ICF) is an
English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
hooligan firm
Hooligan firms (also known as football firms) are groups that participate in football hooliganism in European countries. For groups in Latin America, see barra brava and torcida organizada.
Belgium
* Club Brugge – East Side
*RSC Anderlecht ...
associated with
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, which was mainly active in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. The name came from the use of
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
trains to travel to away games.
They were the subject of a 1985
Thames Television
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992.
Thames Television broa ...
documentary, ''Hooligan''.
History
The firm formed out of a number of other West Ham groups, including the ''Mile End Boys'' and ''Essex East London Firm''. ICF formed in the 1977/78 season.
The most notable figure associated with the ICF is
Cass Pennant
Carol "Cass" Pennant (born 3 March 1958), is an English writer and former football hooligan.
Background
Pennant's mother emigrated from Jamaica while pregnant and he was born in Doncaster, Yorkshire. Six weeks old, he was abandoned and was plac ...
, who wrote on football hooliganism in the 1990s and 2000s. In his book, ''Congratulations You Have Just Met the ICF'', as a black Londoner, Pennant maintains that the ICF was not
racist or
right-wing.
, a member of the Mile End Boys, appears on the front-cover of the original print of the book.
Carlton Leach
Carlton Leach is an author, occasional actor, and a former criminal.
Early life
Leach was born in Canning Town. A fan of West Ham United F.C., he became involved in the Inter City Firm, a gang of hooligans who followed the East London club. ...
, the main character in the film ''
Rise of the Footsoldier
''Rise of the Footsoldier'' is a British crime film, crime and gangster film franchise written and directed by Julian Gilbey, Will Gilbey, Ricci Harnett, Zackary Adler, Andrew Loveday and Nick Nevern, distributed by Optimum Releasing. The franc ...
'', is also associated with the firm. He, along with Pat Tate, Tony Tucker and Craig Rolfe, later started to get involved in the
criminal underworld in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
. They strayed away from the dangers of football fights, to focus on
selling drugs and taxing dealers. Tate, Tucker and Rolfe met a brutal end in the
Rettendon murders in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
.
The ICF pioneered
calling cards that were left on victims.
They read "Congratulations, you have just met the ICF". Calling cards would also become popular at other football clubs.
In the very late 1980s, the ICF was regularly linked to the
UK pirate radio
Pirate radio in the United Kingdom (UK) has been a popular and enduring radio broadcasting, radio medium since the 1960s, despite expansions in licensed broadcasting, and the advent of both digital radio and internet radio. Although it peaked t ...
station
Centreforce
Centreforce also known as 88.3 Centreforce and Centreforce Radio is a former pirate radio station, now legally broadcasting to London, North West England and North Wales on DAB radio. It was instrumental during the Second Summer of Love period o ...
through its founder Andy Swallow. Swallow was a one-time member of the Essex East London Firm also.
The ICF again came to prominence in 2018 when former members re-grouped as the ''Real West Ham Fans Action Group'', organising protests against the club board.
In popular culture
The ICF were the basis of
Alan Clarke's 1988 film, ''
The Firm''.
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy ...
plays Bex Bissell, the leader of the ICC - Inter City Crew. Members of the ICF were used as consultants on the film.
The 2005 film ''
Green Street'' (and its sequels) are also based on the ICF, but instead the initials GSE ('Green Street Elite') were used. The ICF make an appearance in
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...
's novellas ''
Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance''.
Further reading
*
*
References
{{West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United F.C.
British football hooligan firms
1970s establishments in England
Gangs in London