The Football Factory is a novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 by John King

John King (author)

John King is an English novelist who has written a number of books which, for the most part, deal in the more rebellious elements driving the country’s culture. His stories carry strong social and political undercurrents, and his debut The Football Factory was an instant word-of-mouth success. It...

. The book follows a group of working class English men who support Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

 and indulge in football hooliganism

Football hooliganism

Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...

. The principal character/narrator is Tommy Johnson, with vignettes from minor characters interspersed throughout the novel. The book deals with racism, sexism, class consciousness, football hooliganism and working class culture.

There is also a 2004 film adaption of the novel starring Danny Dyer

Danny Dyer

Danny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...

as Tommy Johnson.