Reality Football is a photographic project by Alan Powdrill. It focuses on portraits of the unsung heroes of Sunday Leagues, Pub teams and local parks from all over the UK – and their genuine love for the game. The timing of the exhibition allows a stark juxtaposition to the overpaid, world-famous stars of this summer’s World Cup. The comparison was brought into even sharper focus by having the France v. Mexico game playing in a corner of the studio on a flat-screen TV. (As a side point I thought it would have been interesting to have the live match playing on a battered old CRT TV to further illustrate the comparison, but perhaps the studio thought that wouldn’t have shown them in the best light.)

It was a genuine pleasure to visit this exhibition and be reminded what football is all about. The last twenty years in English football have changed the way we view the beautiful game. The Premier League is now a lot like Amanda Holden’s face. The football is merely the make-up faintly disguising the horrible mess beneath whose crumbling infrastructure costs an awful lot of money to upkeep. Unlike Amanda’s face, the mugs of the players in the exhibition are pleasingly real and genuine. The muddy pitches they stand on, with electricity masts and tower blocks in the background, remind us of what football is really about, once the manicured lawns and packed stadiums have been stripped away. All that remains are real men with a real love for the game.

I really enjoyed the exhibition and if you are at all interested in football, I whole-heartedly recommend a visit. Entry is free and is open from June 18^th – July 13^th 2010 at theprintspace Gallery in Hoxton, London. Below I’ve picked out a couple of my favourite compositions and why I enjoyed them.

This ‘keeper from Nottingham really looks like he means business. I like the way he’s holding his hands. His trousers-tucked-into-socks avec shorts look is a real winner. I like to think he turned up to the game in cavalier fashion just before kick-off on his quad bike.

This guy looks like he hails from the 1970’s. I love his confidence to pull off that hairstyle in the testosterone-fuelled world of Sunday League. Pure brilliance.