Festival of Football
There are some events that are easy to photograph because there is so much happening. There are other events that matter because of what sits underneath them.
Team Evie’s annual Festival of Football is both.
This was the second year I have photographed the weekend, and once again it was a privilege to be there with a camera. Across the pitches there were children running, tackling, celebrating, laughing with teammates, listening to coaches, getting muddy, tired and then somehow finding another burst of energy for the next game.
Around them were parents, grandparents, volunteers, coaches, organisers, sponsors and supporters. People under gazebos. People on touchlines. People carrying boots, water bottles, coats, team sheets, raffle prizes and packed lunches. It had all the ingredients of a proper grassroots football weekend, but with something much deeper at its heart.
Team Evie was created in memory of Evie Johnston, with a mission to help sick children and their families facing challenges similar to those Evie faced during her life. The charity now supports families and hospitals in so many ways, including parent bags, portable libraries, sensory toys and equipment, family rooms, medical equipment and peer support.
For me, this is personal too.
Greg and Jill, Evie’s parents, are friends of mine. Evie matters to us all, and I know how much of themselves Greg and Jill have put into building something positive, generous and lasting in her name. Team Evie began from the love, support and hope that surrounded Evie during her life, and after she died, that community continued through the charity.
At one point during the weekend, I sat at the side of the pitches for a moment and just looked around.
There were matches in every direction. Children playing football. Families cheering. Volunteers helping. Coaches encouraging. People giving their time, their energy and their weekend to support something good.
And I had this really clear thought:
None of this happens if Evie wasn’t born.
That stopped me for a moment.
It is an enormous thing, really, to see a child’s legacy in motion like that. Not as an idea, not as a line on a website, but as people gathered together in a field, making memories, raising money, building community and helping families they may never meet.
That is the power of Team Evie.
As a photographer, my job at events like this is not just to capture the football. Of course, the action matters, the tackles, the goals, the near misses, the concentration, the moments of bravery that happen in youth sport. But the wider story matters just as much.
The supportive hand on a shoulder.
The team huddle by the goal.
The quiet volunteer keeping things moving.
The flag on the corner of the pitch.
The parents watching from under a dark sky, hoping the rain holds off.
The smiles between games.
The sense that everyone is there for something bigger than the result.
That is what I love documenting.
The Festival of Football is an FA sanctioned fundraising children’s football tournament, with proceeds going to Team Evie. But it is also a reminder that community does not just happen. It is built by people who care enough to keep showing up.
Evie’s story is heartbreaking, beautiful and powerful. We know Evie was happy, loving, brave and determined; a little girl whose personality and strength touched so many people during her short life. To see her name carried forward through a weekend like this is very special.
Thank you to Team Evie for having me back again.
It was a joy to photograph, but more than that, it was a reminder of why stories matter and why some legacies are way bigger than we can ever really measure.
[Links to photo’s are below, for a £5 donation to Team Evie I can send full sized images for download or print.]
Saturday’s gallery:
https://www.picdrop.com/clarkphotographic/V11FW4tAwh
Sunday’s gallery:
https://www.picdrop.com/clarkphotographic/cMoJ9ofJh8
And you can find out more about Team Evie, support their work or get involved through their website:
https://www.teamevie.org/