What happens when a World Cup-winning footballer, a globally renowned curator, and 22 of the world’s most visionary players and artists come together in Manchester? You get Football City, Art United., the headline exhibition of this year’s Manchester International Festival (MIF25).
Held at Factory International, a venue known for pushing creative boundaries, this immersive, genre-defying exhibition presents an audacious idea: that art and football are not worlds apart, but close companions.
Conceived by Juan Mata, curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, and filmmaker Josh Willdigg, the exhibition brings together 11 legendary footballers and 11 contemporary artists, each pairing crafting something entirely new. It’s loud, playful, emotional, and reflective, and it’s all rooted in the cultural soul of our city.
Juan Mata @ Football City, Art United.
For Juan Mata, this project is deeply personal. “This is something that’s been in my heart for years,” he shared at the launch.
The former Manchester United maestro spoke with warmth and familiarity of his return to the city. “I landed this morning and felt like I was coming home. There’s nowhere better to bring this idea to life.”
Mata’s passion for art is longstanding. He sees parallels between the “trequartista”, the visionary football playmaker, and the artist. “We both try to express what we love in our own language,” he said. “Whether it’s a pass or a brushstroke, it’s about connection.”
And it’s not just nostalgia driving him. Mata wants this to be bigger than an exhibition; it’s a bridge between communities, a source of inspiration. “Art and football have the power to influence society. They create stories that shape how we feel and see the world.”
Legendary curator Hans Ulrich Obrist
Hans Ulrich Obrist recalls how the idea first kicked off, fittingly, on Instagram. “Juan liked all my posts,” he laughed. “I realised he was genuinely interested in art. We met, and the spark was immediate.”
Their first collaboration was during lockdown, but it was at MIF21, in a show mixing poets and artists, that they knew they had something bigger to explore. “Juan said, ‘what if we do this with footballers and artists?’ It was a lightbulb moment.”
Obrist describes Football City, Art United. as “just beginning.” The exhibition will go global after its Manchester debut, with versions planned in Canada, China and beyond. “But it starts here,” he said. “And Manchester’s creative spirit makes it the perfect first home.”
Shinji Kagawa: Manga, myth and the intangibles of the game
Shinji Kagawa, the elegant, elusive former Manchester United midfielder, has teamed up with acclaimed Japanese manga artist Chikyuu no Osakana Ponchan to create Intangibles – Running Through Time. The work is part illustrated biography, part surreal myth. It’s a poetic reimagining of Kagawa’s life and career, blending fact and fantasy in true manga style.
For Kagawa, this was a new creative journey. “It was something really new to me, but interesting,” he said. “I haven’t read too much manga, but I was happy to be a part of it.”
The manga taps into what the exhibition calls “intangibles”, those moments that defy analysis or explanation. The no-look pass. The goal that shouldn’t have happened. The shared breath before a penalty. The fleeting gestures that lodge in our memory. For Kagawa, they are not things he dwells on. “Those times were great, but they’re in the past. I don’t really look back,” he admitted. Yet seeing his career illustrated, told through expressive panels and fantastical flourishes, offered a new kind of reflection.
“I think people will find it interesting,” he said. “It’s astonishing to see it all like this.” In some panels, the line between football and folklore disappears entirely. In others, the simplest detail, a dribble, a gaze, becomes charged with emotion.
Edgar Davids: down the tunnel and into the gallery
When Edgar Davids enters a room, or a conversation, you feel it. His presence is intense and unfiltered. And that same presence echoes through Crowds and Power, his collaboration with American artist Paul Pfeiffer. The work is an immersive sound installation that drops visitors straight into the liminal space of a football tunnel, the electric zone between locker room and pitch.
The tunnel pulses with sound: fan chants from San Siro, the roar of anticipation, whispers of internal dialogue. Inspired by everything from cinematic battle scenes to street football rituals, it’s an audio odyssey that explores what Davids calls “the internal dialogue before performance.”
But here’s what most people don’t know: Davids isn’t new to the art world. “Before I was a footballer, I was already an artist,” he told us matter-of-factly. “I was a graffiti artist. Street art was my way of expressing myself.” That DIY spirit, gritty, expressive, defiant, has stayed with him. In recent years, he’s also built a successful career in photography, with a sharp eye for capturing mood.
For Davids, the boundary between football and art is imaginary. “Street soccer is about self-expression,” he said. “Just like art. You create your own identity, your own style.” That’s true on the pitch and in the gallery.
Asked what he wants audiences to feel when they walk through Crowds and Power, he shrugs. “It’s not about me,” he insists. “People will decide for themselves. Everyone has their own tunnel. It’s a metaphor, whether you’re walking into a game, onto a stage, or into any moment that demands something from you.”
Eric Cantona, Ella Toone and the spirit of Manchester
Legendary Red Devil Eric Cantona features in a spotlight installation with artist Ryan Gander. A single beam follows you through the space. “It makes you feel what it’s like to be watched, to be known,” said Low Kee Hong, Factory International’s creative director. “It plays with celebrity and identity, and the magic of being seen.”
There’s three parts to Le King’s artwork: At set intervals, speakers play ‘Le Temps Passe’, a haunting song written by Cantona and performed by Lady Sir, with lyrics meditating on the passing of time. Finally, a reproduction of the ticket from Cantona’s final Premier League appearance for Manchester United at Old Trafford in 1997 are handed at random to 500 visitors for them to keep by invigilators throughout the course of the exhibition – each inscribed with a poem written by Cantona, turning football memorabilia into personal talismans.
Wigan-born Ella Toone, Lioness and national hero, is also part of the exhibition’s broader homage to the women’s game. Ella worked on The Divine Puppeteer, a multi-sensory installation by London- and Berlin-based artist collective Keiken.
The immersive piece offers an intimate glimpse into Toone’s life on and off the pitch, reflecting on themes like fate, connection, and introspection during life’s transitions.
At its centre is a large, hanging mask inspired by Toone’s spirit animal, the Shetland pony, a nod to her late father, whose favourite song, Sweet Caroline, was inspired by Jackie Kennedy’s pony, Macaroni. His memory lingers gently in the soundscape, where the song is softly hummed, a tender tribute and enduring emotional thread.
Visitors step onto a podium and ‘wear’ the mask, entering Toone’s world through light, space and sound. Framed by Keiken’s ‘Invisible Thread Theory’, the idea that all beings are linked by unseen, emotionally charged threads – the installation reimagines football as a deeply personal and collective experience.
Suzanne Lacy and Manchester City Women’s team
Also featured is a timely and powerful collaboration from pioneering social practice artist Suzanne Lacy, who has worked with Manchester City’s women’s team. The piece centres around the question: What do women footballers want? It’s a vital reflection on equality and ambition and a moving tribute to the players pushing the game forward.What do women footballers want?
As John McGrath, Artistic Director & Chief Executive of Factory International puts it: “The women’s game is a huge part of this story. There’s something here for everyone, no matter who you support.”
Why you should come to see Football City, Art United.
If you’re wondering whether you need to know your Van Goghs from your overhead volleys to enjoy this, John has a clear message: “You don’t have to love art or football. Just come. This is exciting, stimulating work. You’ll find something here that moves you.”
The exhibition invites interaction, from stepping into iconic goal celebrations to watching stunning video portraits that follow each artist-player collaboration. It’s immersive, it’s fun, and it doesn’t talk down to its audience.
“You can try your hand at legendary football shots,” McGrath said. “You can watch, listen, laugh, reflect. This is for Manchester. And for anyone who believes culture is about connection.”
When is Football City, Art United.?
Whether you’re a die-hard football fan, a curious gallery-goer, or just someone looking for a big day out, Football City, Art United. offers something fresh and thought-provoking.
4 July – 24 August 2025 | Factory International, Manchester 🎨
Standard £15 | Concessions £7.50 | Aviva £10 | Under 16s FREE with adult | Booking fee £1.50
