Football’s Transcendent Power Explored In Maputo, Mozambique

In his recently published photobook Ball, Copenhagen-based photographer Simon Heger Knudsen explores the transcendent power of football on the fields of Maputo in Mozambique.

The series documents the ‘world game’, but in a different way: It is an exploration of football as culture, and the games ability to eclipse differences. An avid football player himself, Heger Knudsen took items precious to him during childhood to Maputo, gifting his iconic noughties jerseys to the kids he met in the hope that the magic he had felt as a child was transferable. His images portray neither a game nor a narrative of it, instead, friendships from the dusty fields of Maputo are shown. Ball illustrates the intangible quality of a sport like football, and its ability to affect and improve the lives of those who play it. As Heger Knudsen notes, it really is “the most beautiful game.”

All images © Simon Heger Knudsen