Shortlisted for Football Art Prize 2026
My painting As Long as the Lights Are On was shortlisted for the Football Art Prize 2026.
Selected from around 900 entries from across the world, the painting was chosen for exhibition at the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield before travelling to the National Football Museum in Manchester, one of the world's leading museums dedicated to football history and culture.
The exhibition was selected by a panel including Design Museum director Tim Marlow OBE, artist and writer Harland Miller, and Tottenham Hotspur Women's footballer Jessica Naz.
The Story Behind the Painting
As Long as the Lights Are On explores the quieter side of football culture.
Rather than focusing on a particular match or result, the painting reflects the routines and rituals that take place under floodlights across the country every week: training sessions, midweek fixtures, and people gathering together long after the working day has ended.
There is no crowd, no ceremony, and no dramatic sporting moment. Instead, the painting celebrates the simple act of people turning up, week after week, for the communities and places they care about.
From Stafford Rangers to Sheffield
The painting was inspired by a photograph taken at Stafford Rangers FC, a club with a long and proud history at the heart of its local community.
What has made the experience particularly rewarding has been the response from football supporters themselves. Following the exhibition announcement, the painting sparked discussion amongst Stafford Rangers fans and, shortly after the exhibition opened online, the original artwork was purchased by a lifelong supporter who has attended matches at the ground for almost sixty years.
For a painting rooted in community, it felt fitting that it should ultimately find a home with somebody who has spent decades supporting the club that inspired it.
New Conversations
The success of the painting has also opened the door to new conversations with football clubs closer to home in Cornwall.
Following the exhibition announcement, both Newquay AFC and Truro City FC kindly offered support for future projects exploring grassroots football culture and community life, providing opportunities to visit, observe and gather reference material for new paintings.
It has been exciting to discover how strongly these themes resonate beyond a single club, highlighting the important role football continues to play within communities across the country.
Looking Back
As Long as the Lights Are On is currently touring as part of the Football Art Prize exhibition at the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield, and the National Football Museum, Manchester.
While the Football Art Prize began as a single competition entry, it has already become something more: a reminder that some of the most meaningful stories can be found not in moments of sporting glory, but in the simple act of people turning up, week after week, for the communities and places they care about.
Football played for as long as the lights are on.