Words and Photos: Michael Morgan
With a very unorthodox approach to life and his career, Michael found photography in his mid-twenties, having gone back to university after a spell travelling and doing freelance work. It was during this time that he found a love for film photography and began exploring, combining his new interest with football. In 2020, amidst one of the strangest times for all of us globally, Michael also began a new chapter in life, starting up a new creative publication, Original Magazine, with his partner.
Grassroots
A keen football fanatic who's played since the age of six (and, for his sins, a Chelsea fan), Michael has turned two of his passions — photography and football — into a body of work that depicts the power football has, at its purest, across the UK. It brings communities together to descend on any patch of grass across the country, to leave everything behind for two hours of escapism. It's a chance to feel like they belong, in a country that's left so many people feeling lost, trapped, with no sense of escape from mounting financial, political, and societal pressure.
"I often sit and reflect on this project across the years and think to myself: is football on a Sunday with your mates one of the only remaining forms of escapism left in 2026?" — Michael Morgan
What started in 2017 as a university project has carried on and evolved into Grassroots, a body of work that's often made Michael question why so many of us continue to take part in football at grassroots level. What is it about kicking a ball around a field on a cold Sunday morning, where the grass hasn't been cut for months, mole hills dotted around the pitch, rusty goalposts, and changing rooms that haven't seen a lick of paint for decades, the smell of sweat and deep heat embedded into the fabric of the walls?
"This is a question I ask my younger self, and it's difficult to answer. That feeling of belonging, of being part of something outside of everyday life, but also the euphoria of winning — it's like a drug that keeps you coming back. It's the same feeling I have now as a photographer, going back again and again to Hackney Marshes, capturing these unique moments and memories." — Michael Morgan
In 2019, Michael visited the mecca of grassroots football, Hackney Marshes. "I was hooked from the moment I stepped out of my car and onto the Marshes." Since that day, he's continued to visit regularly, watching the project evolve and open up new opportunities, all while staying true to its original themes and approach.
There's no ending to Grassroots — only an ongoing opportunity to question why football, how we can learn from the beautiful game at its purest, and what we can do to improve the experience for everyone who takes part.
