Grassroots: A project capturing the heart of the game from Michael Morgan

It was a privilege to feature Michael Morgan's incredible photography project, Grassroots, in our third issue, capturing the rawness and relatable nature of amateur football. Here, we delve into the origins of the project, Michael's love for the game and the way football is represented in its truest form on local pitches around the world.

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 spending time travelling and freelance work. It was during this time he found a love for film photography and began to explore and experimenting by combining his interest with football. In 2020, amidst one of the craziest times for all of us globally, Michael also began a new chapter in life starting up a new creative publication in Original Magazine with his partner. 

Grassroots

Once a keen football fanatic having played football since the early age of 6 years old (and for his sins a Chelsea fan), Michael has now turned two of his passions photography and football to create a body of work that depicts the power that football has at it's purest form has across the UK. Bringing communities together to descend on any patch of grass across the UK to leave everything in life behind, for two hours of escapism and feel like they belong in a country that currently has left so many people feeling lost, trapped, and left the sense of no escape from the growing financial, political, and societal pressures in life. 

"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." 

In 2017, what started off as a University project; Michael has carried on this body of work Grassroots that has evolved and often made him questioned why so many of us continue to take part in football at the grassroots level. What is it about kicking a ball around on a field, on a cold Sunday morning, where the grass has not been cut for months, mole hills dotted around the pitch, rusty goal posts, and changing rooms that have not seen a lick of paint for decades with the smell of sweat and deepheat embedded into the fabric of the walls? 

"This question is one that I ask my younger self and it is difficult to answer. That feeling of belonging and being part of something outside of every day life but also the euphoria of winning, it's like a drug that keeps you coming back. This is now the same feeling I have as a photographer, repeatedly going back to Hackney Marshes capturing these unique moments and memories." 

In 2019, Michael visited the mecca of grassroots football, Hackney Marshes. "I was hooked from the moment I stepped out my car and onto the Marshes." Since that day in 2019, Michael has continued to regularly visit Hackney Marshes which has seen an evolution with his project and has opened up many new opportunities but still with the same continued themes and approach. 

There is no ending to Grassroots but an opportunity to constantly question why football, how we can learn from the beautiful game at is purest form, and what we can do to improve the experience for those that part take in the game. 

An absolute pleasure speaking to Michael about his wonderful project, be sure to follow him on Instagram here.