Thomas Hoeffgen: African Arenas

by Ian Hawkey, Thomas Hoeffgen (Photographer)

In 1999, the fashion and advertising photographer Thomas Hoeffgen (born 1968) flew to Nigeria for a story on soccer. He became so interested in the culture around the game there that he spent the next several years making unusual photographs of players and spectators in Nigeria, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa. Hoeffgen's pictures record the frequently improvised playing fields alongside the stadiums.

Genres: Photography, Sports, Africa

144 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 2010

Reviews

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sublime series of photographs taken over nearly a decade. Though there are some shots of places like Soccer City in Johannesburg and some professional matches in a few countries, this is mostly a collection of photographs of soccer on the streets played by the people who will never make millions. Really great stuff. I'll have to check out more of this photographer's work.