Inter City Firm

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The Inter City Firm ('ICF') is an English football hooligan firm mainly active in the 1970s,1980s and 1990's, associated with West Ham United. The name came from the use of InterCity trains for away games.^[1]

One figure associated with the ICF was Cass Pennant^[2], who wrote on football hooliganism in the 1990s and 2000s. He is the subject of the film Cass, which was released on 1 August 2008.^[3] In Congratulations You Have Just Met the ICF, Pennant,a black Londoner, maintains that the ICF was not racist or right-wing. Mark Davies, Carlton Leach and Andy Swallow were leaders.

The ICF were the basis of Alan Clarke's 1988 film, The Firm. Gary Oldman plays Bex Bissell, the leader of the ICC - Inter City Crew. Members of the ICF were used as consultants on the film.^[1] The 2005 film Green Street was based on the ICF, but not by name. Instead, the initials GSE (Green Street Elite) were used. The main character within the film Rise of the Footsoldier (Carlton Leach) is also associated with the ICF. The ICF make an appearance in Irvine Welsh's novellas Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.

ICF left a card on the bodies of those they attacked reading, "Congratulations, you've just met the ICF". This became, "Congratulations you've just met the famous ICF" when they were the subject of a Thames Television documentary, Hooligan, which featured members of the ICF including Cass Pennant.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Pennant, Cass (18 August 2003). Congratulations You Have Just Met the ICF. Blake Publishing. ISBN 978-1904034858. 
• Gardner, Bill; Pennant, Cass (25 August 2006). Good Afternoon, Gentlemen, the Name's Bill Gardner. John Blake Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1844542611.