ASSOULINE Football Roots: The Spirit of the Game

This is a story of childhood, a story of play and dreams and freedom and community and escape. This is the story of football. Football isn’t born in a massive stadium or under bright lights. It is born on the streets, in parking lots, on mud and dirt. It is learned without bias of gender or race. It is practiced without shoes or goals.

For Football Roots: The Spirit of the Game, photographer Sam Robles embarked on a ten-year journey, documenting local children at play, across eighteen countries, including Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Portugal, Ghana, Turkey, Egypt, Georgia, England, Qatar, France, Chile, Nepal, and Morocco, to capture the essence of football and the purest love of the game. The process required Robles to gain access to hidden, sometimes dangerous neighborhoods, often without speaking the language or knowing where he was headed, and then build a rapport with the native children to earn their trust. However, the universal language of football prevailed. He would show images of famous players he had photographed, from Pelé to Cristiano Ronaldo, and more. Robles would then show the kids pictures of themselves playing the sport, and this connection would capture their attention. Despite the hardships many of the kids face, the game is a unifying experience, offering respite from everyday struggles—a chance to just be a kid.

With contributions from Antony, Endrick, Adriano Imperador, Giovanna Waksman, and Kauan Basile, the global nature of these formative years has proven to shape greatness and helped mold many icons of the sport. Brazilian football legend Marta shared her personal experience with the subject matter in the book’s foreword. Some of the kids Robles met may become professional soccer players, but that is not why they play. They are not driven by fame or money. They simply love o jogo bonito, le beau jeu, das schöne Spiel, el hermoso juego, the beautiful game.