Great Stadiums of the North by Brian Sweeney
Sàr Lannan-cluiche an Àrd a Tuath
Main Gallery
12 March – 15 April
25 years in the making this exhibition comprises photographs of rural football grounds in the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Scotland: From John O’Groats, to pitches in the Western Isles.
In 1995, with a growing reputation as a music and lifestyle photographer, Sweeney went to shoot a festival in Iceland. Near Reykjavik, he passed a football pitch with a wooden stand. Not a junior club, but the stadium of the top football team in Iceland. Back in Scotland he became a proud advocate of community clubs. Since then Iceland’s community teams have become a touchstone for youth development.
These images have taken on a powerful resonance since COVID-19 and the European Super League debacle. They demand that we cast our gaze back to a simpler time, reminding us of what football can do and what it means for smaller communities. And the importance, proud tradition and unending dedication that these grounds represent.