The State of the Beautiful Game

It’s a cold Sunday morning, the wind ripples the shirts of 22 fired up footballers, and the referee’s whistle blows. What happens when the ‘the beautiful game,’ becomes a survival ground?

Sunday league football is very rarely publicised and when it is, the stories are brief. When a tackle becomes assault, should we take a closer look?

Charlie Knight, 21, was a victim of the leagues brutal nature when after just 20 minutes he saw his professional ambitions crushed. He described the moment: “I toe poked the ball to my teammate and this lad stamped on my standing right ankle, breaking the bone, he pushed off on it causing the lower and middle part of my leg to break under the pressure, I went straight into shock.”