Off to the Match

Karel Lek’s woodcut, with its emphasis on the importance of football supporters dressing up for the game, highlights a sense of character and carnival amongst football fans.

Off to the Match is reminiscent of the photographs of football supporters, often eccentrically dressed, that featured prominently in popular magazines such as Picture Post from the 1930s onwards.

Karel Lek (1929-present) is still a working artist, living in North Wales.

“I loved watching the spectators, and I didn’t care who won …You felt that Saturday afternoon was a time when these men were let loose, they worked in factories all week and were bossed about. They could vent a lot of their aggression – in a friendly sort of way.” - Karel Lek, speaking to the National Football Museum, November 2017