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Dispatch: a series dedicated to immersive storytelling, where our photographers and writers journey to chosen places, combining evocative imagery with long-form editorials to uncover and share unique football cultures.




039

TO DREAM

Football on the outskirts of Lagos, especially in places like Mowe-Ibafo in Ogun State, is both an escape and a means of survival.

Only about 7km from Lagos, many of the area’s residents are migrants who moved out of the city because of overpopulation, high living costs, or simply to escape the chaos of city life. Because of this connection, the football culture here closely mirrors that of Lagos, but the atmosphere here feels less pressured and less competitive, creating more room for individual expression and visibility for players trying to prove themselves. 


Read MoreDate: August 2026
FCS-ID: D39/AB1826 —234
Adedolapo Boluwatife


038

FOOTBALL IN THE SHADOW OF WAR

What does a nation turn to when war remains a constant, and football—the pride and joy of the country and its people—sits in limbo?

From the desk of Tehran-based Writer and Photojournalist Ali Sharifzade, this question is grappled with in his recent essay “Football in the Shadow of a war,” an open letter to the sport and its affects in time of turmoil, and what role the game shifts to as Iranians focus on survival. 


Read MoreDate: August 2026
FCS-ID: D38/AZ3826 —98
Ali Sharifzade


037

KYPSELI MUNDIAL: RECLAIMING THE CITY THROUGH FOOTBALL

On an early summer weekend in the central Athenian neighbourhood of Kypseli, sixteen men's teams, four women's teams and two youth teams gather for the annual football tournament and cultural festival organised by and for the city's migrant communities: Kypseli Mundial, a tournament who’s reputation has swung between extremes over the decades, 

From the ground, Ivan Ascor and Max Pigott traces the tournament’s origins, people behind the project, and how it differs from other community football gatherings around the world. 


Read More Date: August 2026
FCS-ID: D37/JIA18626 —021
Ivan Ascor


036

IN MALMÖ, MIDSUMMER HIGHS TRICKLE
INTO FOOTBALL

Danish Writer Jonas Jørs Skovgaards takes a walk around Malmö during a Swedish groupstage match where he discovers the city’s diverse backdrop, unrelenting optimism, and a sense of nature-induced euphoria from the Midsummer the day before. 




Read More Date: June 2026
FCS-ID: D36/JJS16626 —046
Jonas Jørs Skovgaards


035

THAT 2010 FEELING

Feeling disillusioned with what it meant to be South African during the World Cup as injustices rang out through the nation, Liam Harwood traveled across Western Cape trying to find and document the “2010 feeling”: superfans and real-life stories of people who resonated with the sense of Ubuntu (a phrase in South African Nguni philosophy, meaning “I am because we are”) through real third spaces—beach football, street football and local football games—to try and regain a sense of community.

Read More Date: August 2026
FCS-ID: D35/LM18626 —010
Liam Harwood


034

NO SCOTLAND, NO PARTY

Scotland’s foray into this year’s World Cup may have been fleeting, but it left an indelible mark inside and outside the country. From the moment Kenny McLean scored the screamer from Scotland’s own half against Denmark that sent the nation to its first World Cup in 28 years, Steve Clarke’s men have captured the imagination of an entire nation. With a front-row seat to it all, Hijab Shah reflects on the to the outpouring of collective joy within Scotland.


Read More Date: July 2026
FCS-ID: D34/HS14726 —44
Hijab Shah


033

BOLATY KOUADIO SCORED IVORY COAST WORLD CUP TICKETS. IT TOOK GENERATIONS.

Out of Philadelphia, Writer Brendan Dentino covers Ivory Coast’s presence in the United States as the World Cup group stages commence, tracing the nation’s 20th-century history and how the economic turmoil has drawn the diaspora to find home on the East Coast in the 2000s.




Read More Date: June 2026
FCS-ID: D33/BD22626 —1
Brendan Dentino


032

ON WORLD REFUGEE DAY, THE WORLD CUP INSPIRES

Football for marginalized communities, always, but especially during the World Cup, is more than just a game, it is a symbol of possibility. In honor of World Refugee Day, Writer Fay Harvey talks to the Refugee community in New Jersey to document their feelings surrounding hosting a World Cup in their backyard and how the multicultural rosters are a point of inspiration. 

Read More Date: June 2026
FCS-ID: D31/FH20626 —1
Fay Harvey



031

WATCHING FOOTBALL AT DAWN OVER THE BOSPHORUS

On June 13, Turkish fans wanted only one thing: victory. The game, however, did not go according to plan; yet still, nothing had been lost. In Istanbul for Türkiye’s first World Cup match since 2002, Football Case Study Member Akis Katsoudas’ notes paint a portrait of a city collectively experiencing the highs and lows of a long-awaited return to the world stage.



Read More Date: June 2026
FCS-ID: D31/AK17626 —90
Akis Katsoudas



030

A TEAM BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES


Separated by a border but united by football, this story follows a club and community whose identity exists between two nations. Through matchdays, family histories, and the everyday experiences of players and supporters, the piece explores how migration has shaped a team that represents more than a place—it represents a shared cultural identity that stretches across countries and generations.




Read More Date: June 2026
FCS-ID: D30/AS20626 —98
Ali Sharifzade


029

FOOTBALL INSIDE THE FORTRESS


Football Inside the Fortress explores how Shohadaye Shahr-e Qods Stadium, a small and aging venue on the outskirts of Tehran, has unexpectedly become the temporary home of Iranian football’s biggest clubs during the renovation of Azadi Stadium. Through vivid observations of long travel routes, crumbling infrastructure, safety concerns, and the surreal atmosphere surrounding the ground, the piece reflects on the broader deterioration of sports infrastructure in Iran’s capital. 



Read More Date: May 2026
FCS-ID: D29/AS10626 —98
Ali Sharifzade


028

THE 9 LABORS OF IRAKLIS: A CLUB THAT REFUSED TO DISSAPEAR

Iraklis, the oldest football club in Thessaloniki, went through countless hardships, even reaching the point of competing in the very last amateur division of the city to face neighborhood teams. After 9 years, it managed to return to the top division, and the battle to get there feels even more epic than the 12 labors of Iraklis in Greek mythology. In this dispatch fresh out of the nothern port city, FCS Member Akis Katousdas tells it all alongside modern day imagery.
Read moreDate: April 2026
FCS-ID: D28/AK40426 —30
Akis Katsoudas


027

PAN-AFRICANISM BEYOND CELEBRATION: OUR SHORTCOMINGS THIS AFCON

Yale student Sityana Abdu traveled to Morocco during AFCON 2025 to observe football's role in Pan-Africanism firsthand. But what began as a month of cross-continental unity, with strangers bonding across fan zones, Moroccan crowds honoring Senegalese anthems, and flags from all 24 nations adorning the streets, quickly unraveled after a deeply controversial final. In this on-the-ground piece with retrospective reporting, Abdu reflects on the fallout, and what it exposed about unity, hostility, and nationhood.
Read moreDate: April 2026
FCS-ID: D27/SA10426 —212
Sityana Abdu


026

AMID FEAR AND FIREWORKS, A HOMECOMING FOR ALEJANDRO GUTIÉRREZ MORA

Alejandro Gutiérrez Mora reflects on the first time he truly experienced Mexican Football while documenting the national team on home soil. Set against a tense national backdrop following a major federal operation against cartel leadership, the friendly between Mexico and Iceland in Querétaro becomes more than a match — it becomes a moment of collective resilience, pride, and identity. Through his lens, the stadium transforms into a space where football, memory, and homeland converge. 

Read moreDate: February 2026
FCS-ID: D26/AGM30326 —52
Alejandro Gutiérrez Mora


025

TO BE A BADGER

To Be a Badger explores what it means to belong — not just to a team, but to a way of life. The piece follows the experiences, rituals, and identities woven through generations of supporters, showing how fandom becomes a cultural anchor that shapes community and personal history. It’s a meditation on loyalty, place, and the emotional architecture of being a fan in a world that constantly changes.
Read moreDate: February 2026
FCS-ID: D25/LH10226 —27
Liam Harwood


024

EMERGENCY EXIT

Emergency Exit turns its attention to a stadium on the brink of transformation — a ground shaped by decades of memory, noise, and routine, now facing structural change that reaches far beyond bricks and seats. As redevelopment looms, the piece examines what happens to the communities that orbit these spaces: the vendors, the families, the lifelong supporters whose identities are tied to matchday rituals. It’s a reflection on how altering a stadium can quietly reshape the social fabric around it, forcing a neighborhood to confront what is gained, and what might be lost.
Read moreDate: February 2026
FCS-ID: D24/GB40226 —55
Gabriel Borelli



023

FIVE DAYS IN GEORGIA REMINDED ME WHY I LOVE FOOTBALL SO MUCH

In Five Days in Georgia Reminded Me Why I Love Football So Much, the author reflects on a journey through Georgia’s football landscape that reawakens the pure joy of the game,  from matchday atmospheres to the people and traditions that make football meaningful. Through immersive observation and personal introspection, the piece connects the spirit of fandom, community, and place in a way that captures why football remains so deeply resonant.
Read moreDate: February 2026
FCS-ID: D23/AK40226 —995
Akis Katsoudas


022

ACROSS THE US-MEXICO BORDER, FOOTBALL CONTINUES SHOUTING THE SAME MESSAGE.

Crossing the U.S.– Mexico border to photograph San Diego FC’s debut against Pumas UNAM, Tijuana-based photographer Alejandro Gutiérrez Mora finds football unfolding against a backdrop of heightened immigration tension and political unease. Inside and outside Snapdragon Stadium, chants, protest banners, and shared emotion blur lines of nationality, revealing how football culture, activism, and identity collide in San Diego. The match becomes secondary to what truly matters: a reminder that even in moments of division, football still creates space for collective voice and belonging.
Read moreDate: January 2026
FCS-ID: D20/FH60226 —1
Fay Harvey
Alejandro Gutiérrez Mora


021

A FOOTBALL JOURNALIST TRAVELED TO ALGERIA TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH. NOW HE FACES SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON

On a rain-soaked night in Nantes, a mother’s voice breaks into a Coupe de France broadcast, revealing the imprisonment of sports journalist Christophe Gleizes in Algeria. This piece follows a football journey into Kabylie that becomes inseparable from questions of power, identity, and repression, tracing how reporting on a historic club led Gleizes from the stands to a seven-year sentence. Moving between matchday atmospheres and political reality, it asks what it truly means to understand the world through football—and what it costs those who try.
Read moreDate: January 2026
FCS-ID: D20/CLT10126 —213
Christian Letourneau


020

IN DEFENSE OF AIDA’S PITCH

Set in the shadow of the separation wall in Aida refugee camp, this piece follows the girls of Aod Football Academy as they carve out space, joy, and ambition through football under occupation. Written by Freddie, it documents how a single pitch has become a rare site of safety, community, and possibility—now under imminent threat of demolition. Through voices of young players and life inside the camp, the story captures what is at stake when access to play, freedom of movement, and the right to dream collide.
Read more
Date: January 2026
FCS-ID: D20/F10126 —970
Freddie


019

AT MONTJUÏC, PALESTINE FOUND HOME FOR AN EVENING

More than 30,000 people gathered on a Tuesday night in Montjuïc, Barcelona, for a match between Catalonia and Palestine at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. It wasn’t a final, nor an official fixture, yet nothing about the atmosphere felt routine. In this dispatch from Sports Journalist Leyla Hamed, we’re brought into the stands that transformed into a space where football shared its spotlight with grief, solidarity and a sense of collective presence.
Read more

Date: December 2025
FCS-ID: D19/LH11225 —1
Leyla Hamed


018

A BALANCE BUILT TO LAST


Major League Soccer’s 2025 season—and its Cup Final between Inter Miami and Vancouver—signaled a turning point decades in the making. This piece examines how MLS has finally balanced global star power with genuine player development, pairing figures like Messi and Müller with academy graduates and rising young talent to build something durable. What emerges is a league that feels less like a spectacle passing through, and more like a football culture taking root, one capable of generating real stakes, belief, and emotional investment.
Read moreDate: December 2025
FCS-ID: D18/MH51225 —1
Marvin Heilbronn

017

FROM WORLD’S FAIR TO WORLD’S GAME


Every weekend in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, the fields beneath the Unisphere erupt into one of Queens’ most vibrant football worlds — a living mosaic of Latin American communities where teams from Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, and beyond compete with intensity, pride, and decades-deep tradition. Families, food vendors, children, and elders turn the park into a cultural home away from home, where soccer becomes the thread binding migration, memory, and belonging. Photographer Noah Weinbaum brings this universe into sharp, human focus, documenting the rituals, rivalries, and rhythms that shape a fiercely competitive and deeply communal scene.
Read moreDate: November 2025
FCS-ID: D17/NAW11125 —1
Noah Aryeh Weinbaum

016

34 YEARS LATER, PISA SC RETURN TO THE TUSCANY DERBY


After more than three decades away from Italy’s top flight, Pisa Sporting Club has finally returned to Serie A — and with it, one of Tuscany’s most storied rivalries. In this dispatch, writer Fay Harvey and photographer Lorenzo Gargiulo trace the club’s turbulent journey from its golden era under fiery president Romeo Anconetani, through bankruptcy, obscurity, and rebirth, to the long-awaited renewal of the Derby Toscana against Fiorentina
Read moreDate: September 2025
FCS-ID: D16/FH50925 —39
Fay Harvey

015

FOOTBALL ON THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY


On the rugged Atlantic edge of Ireland’s “forgotten county,” football is more than a pastime — it’s a lifeline. In The Highs and Lows Within Keadue Rovers, writer Ryan O’Donnell traces how a small club founded in 1896 in a village of just 154 people has become the beating heart of County Donegal’s identity. From nurturing local legend Packie Bonner to uniting generations around a shared love for the game, Keadue Rovers’ story is one of resilience, belonging, and the enduring power of football to shape community.
Read moreDate: September 2025
FCS-ID: D15/RoD10925 —353
Ryan O’Donnell

014

FOR GIRLS IN CASABLANCA, DREAMS OF FOOTBALL GO BEYOND THE PAVEMENT

While driving to a match between Nigeria and Tunisia, the Football Case Study team, based in Casablanca for the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, stumbled upon a youth girls club that is redefining the ways young women approach football in the region. By finding inspiration through the Moroccan women’s national team and recieving support from their families, the young footballers see no limit in their future. 
Read moreDate: July 2025
FCS-ID: D14/FH40725 —212
Fay Harvey

013

ETHIOPIAN SPORTS FEDERATION IN NORTH AMERICA: WHERE FOOTBALL IS A VESSEL OF CULTURE

Every summer, the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) brings together 32 teams from across the U.S. and Canada—not just to compete, but to connect. From hotel lobbies to late-night stages, the tournament fosters a sense of kinship that stretches beyond city borders or final scores. For many, it’s the only place where culture isn’t just remembered, but relived.

Read more
Date: July 2025
FCS-ID: D13/MH50725 —1
Marvin Heilbronn

012

SWEDEN’S SOFT HOOLIGANS



Estrid Kjellman doesn’t fit the image of a typical football ultra. But in a yellow jersey and with a megaphone in hand, she leads the Soft Hooligans, a growing group of Swedish fans cheering on their women’s national team at Euro 2025. Football Case Study Member headed to Zurich, Switzerland during the UEFA Women Euros to learn more about the group taking the world by storm.

Read moreDate: July 2025
FCS-ID: D12/AK30725 — 46
Akis Katsoudas

011

THE FIGURES BEYOND THE PITCH

While the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations fields are graced by elite athletes representing their nation, beside them stand local and international photographers, journalists, dancers and ball girls inspired by the women’s athletic perseverance, excellence and dedication to their homelands. As the tournament progresses, Writer Fay Harvey spoke with the key figures that strengthen the tournament’s goal of making the continent the home of football.

Read moreDate: July 2025
FCS-ID: D11/FH30725—212
Fay Harvey

010

BRAZILIAN FANS REASSERT FOOTBALL’S FORGOTTEN POWER

Throughout the Club World Cup, Marvin Heilbronn attended matches of Palmeiras and Fluminense, where he experienced the strength and fervor of the Brazilian clubs’ support and witnessed the prominence of Brazilian football reignite on the international stage. Fans from around the world united for these games; games that offered something deeper than football: a connection to home and to family. 

Read more
Date: July 2025
FCS-ID: D10/MH40725—1
Marvin Heilbronn


09

COMMUNAL OVENS AND SHARED SPACES: THE POWER OF ACCESSIBILITY AT WAFCON


In Morocco, communal ovens known as furans serve as more than just places to bake—they are social spaces that nourish both body and community. From low-cost tickets and free transportation to women attending their first-ever matches, the tournament embraced inclusion across generations. Whether in a Casablanca bakery or Rabat stadium, these public spaces demonstrated how openness, generosity, and cultural values can elevate women’s football and strengthen community ties through shared experience.

Read moreDate: July 2025
FCS-ID: D09/FH20725—212
Fay Harvey

08

NEW TRADITIONS & OLD PASSIONS


At first glance, the sprawling parking lot at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium seemed to represent the familiar, subdued atmosphere that too often surrounds football in America. But what initially felt like another missed opportunity for meaningful matchday culture revealed itself to be the birthplace of something new, a fresh form of football culture grounded not in European mimicry, but in American reinvention through the form of tailgating. 

Read moreDate: July 2025
FCS-ID: 
D08/MH30725 —1
Marvin Heilbronn

07

AS A NEW CLUB CLOSES IN, SAN FRANCISCO CITY FC FIGHTS FOR PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY


Kezar Stadium in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park has recently been made the grounds for a dispute between USL League Two team San Francisco City FC and Golden City FC, an in-development MLS NEXT Pro team being backed by the Mayor, the city and tech investors. As the new club makes its way into town and treads on SF City’s home stadium, Fay Harvey shines a light on how the community feels and what can be learned from clubs of the past.

Read more
Date: June 2025
FCS-ID: D07/FH10525—1
Fay Harvey

06

UNDER THE RELENTLESS SUN


While Brazil is often celebrated for its footballing legends and global success, a quieter, more enduring story lives on beyond the bright lights. In this piece, photographer and writer Gabriel Borelli journeys into the overlooked corners of São Paulo’s football landscape, where lower-division clubs carry the weight of memory, identity, and local pride.

Read moreDate: April 2025
FCS-ID: D06/GB10425—55
Gabriel Borelli

05

FAITH AND FOOTBALL


Faith and football intersect across continents in Faith and Football: Ramadan Reflections from the World’s Game. Written by Ili Hyseni de Brissac, this piece explores how Muslim footballers balance the demands of the game with their spiritual devotion during Ramadan. Through stories from the UK, the US, and Qatar, it captures how faith quietly fuels dedication, shapes ambition, and strengthens the bond between players and their communities.

Read moreDate: March 2025
FCS-ID: D05/IHdB20325—1
Ili Hyseni de Brissac


04

A LEAGUE WITHOUT LADDERS


In a country where football culture often feels constrained by closed-league structures, Orange County SC stands as both an example of potential and a symbol of limitation. In A League Without Ladders, Marvin Heilbronn explores how the lack of promotion and relegation in the U.S. soccer system stifles club growth and fan engagement. 

Read moreDate: March 2025
FCS-ID: D04/MH10425—1
Marvin Heilbronn

03

BUILDING TRADITIONS WITH COMO WOMEN


When Mercury/13 took over FC Como in March 2024, they set out to reshape the very idea of a women’s football club in Italy. Under the leadership of Victoire Cogevina Reynal, the independent team—free from the shadow of any men’s side—has embraced a bold, entrepreneurial spirit, carving its own path with innovative partnerships, player-focused initiatives, and a fresh narrative that challenges the old norms of the sport. 

Read more
Date: January 2025
FCS-ID: D03/IHdB20125—39
Ili Hyseni de Brissac

02

IN THE PALISADES, FOOTBALL OFFERS A WAY THROUGH THE TRAUMA


Ili Hyseni delves into how football provides solace and strength for Los Angeles communities grappling with the aftermath of the devastating wildfires. In Pacific Palisades, Mele French and the L.A. Bulls unite families through grassroots football, offering a sense of normalcy amidst the chaos. 

Read more

Date: January 2025
FCS-ID: D02/IHdB10125—1
Ili Hyseni de Brissac

01

NO VAR LAND 

 
Akis Katsoudas explores Swedish football culture, where fans passionately oppose VAR to preserve the game’s raw emotion. Through democratic ownership, supporters work to keep football grounded in tradition, resisting the push for technological change. This portrayal captures the vibrant atmosphere, from pre-match gatherings to the electrifying energy within stadiums.

Read moreDate: September 2024
FCS-ID: D01/AK10924—46
Akis Katsoudas
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