London’s The Design Museum hosts a new exhibition dedicated to football, the most popular sport in the world.
All time greats Pele, Maradona, George Best and Messi share top billing in a display marking the impact made by some of the legends of world football.
The Design Museum’s exhibition “Football: Designing the Beautiful Game” will showcase the ways in which design has shaped the world’s most popular sport and is the first major exhibition that explores the story behind football.
The exhibition opens on Friday, April 8th, 2022, at The Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High Street, W8 6AG.
From the master-planning of the world’s most iconic stadiums and the innovative technology used in today’s kits, to the graphic design of team badges and the phenomenon of football gaming, the exhibition has it all covered.
The original Puma Super Atom, 1952, the world’s first football boot to feature screw-in studs. The boots were designed by Puma founder Rudolf Dassler, and developed along with West Germany’s then manager Sepp Herberger. The boots kick-started Puma into a global super brand. Copyright: Puma Archive / The Design Museum
The Design Museum is working in partnership with the National Football Museum in Manchester to produce the exhibition, providing unparalleled football expertise including over 100 significant historical objects telling the stories of club legacies and game legends such as the ultimate Football Fab Four: Messi, Pelé, George Best and Diego Maradona.
These will be paired with a wealth of contemporary design projects from prominent figures across the field, as well as major sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas, PUMA, Hummel and Umbro.
Ever changing fashions among the fans add to the cultural mix, with throwback pictures from the terraces of the 1980s featuring Lacoste and Sergio Tachchini as British clubs, and their followers, turned on the style in Europe.
Says Eleanor Watson, Curator at The Design Museum: “Football: Designing the Beautiful Game shines a spotlight on the role that designers, architects and fans have played in the history of football, from performances on the pitch to the atmosphere in the stands.
“It is the design story behind the world’s most popular sport, with designers and architects playing an important role in shaping the development of the sport for over 150 years.”
The exhibition aims to promote plurality, diversity and inclusion throughout. Everyday heroes of the sport will be celebrated, and visitors will be encouraged to share their own views and visions for the future of football. A range of programmed activities will take place in conjunction with the exhibition, encouraging people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to get involved in the game.
Football: Designing the Beautiful Game opens on Friday, April 8th, 2022, at The Design Museum. Adult tickets are available from £16.50, with children’s tickets £8.25. The full range of ticket prices including concessions can be found at designmuseum.org/designingfootball.