Off Side: Groundhopping in Belgium

'Groundhopping' is the new Urban Exploring. Soccer nostalgia, fan heroism and Belgian surrealism in one book. Groundhopping is a new trend in photography and is being picked up by media worldwide; many of Vantomme's photographs were used at the exhibition at Pitzhagen Manor House in Ealing, marking the 100th anniversary of the legendary 1914 Christmas truce Groundhoppers travel to soccer fields and stadiums for the sake of the fields, not for the game. They bring tribute to the 'fields of honour', where old and young can pretend to be the new Messi and where fans give their soul for their club. Gone glory, hilarious surrealism, impossible locations. In this book photographer Jurgen Vantomme portrays the soccer fields of Belgium. He sometimes focuses on the players on the field but more often he looks at the surroundings in which the game of games is played - from the cheering elderly in an almost empty stadium, to games in the snow. Text in English and Dutch. AUTHOR: Freelance photographer Jurgen Vantomme has combined his two passions: soccer and photography. As a passionate groundhopper he has attended hundreds of games in the most nostalgic stadiums. His work was published in diverse magazines worldwide, such as La Gazetta dello Sport, FourFourTwo, So Foot, 11 Freunde... See www.groundhopping.be REVIEWS: At the heart of each soccer tribe lies its street temple, the stadium. So strong is its magic that for a tribesman to approach it, even on a day when there is no match, creates a strange feeling of mounting excitement and anticipation." -Desmond Morris - The Soccer Tribe "Jurgen Vatomme's photos of lower league matches in Belgium show players so consumed by sporting excitement they ignore their mundane environment" -The Telegraph "His images depict the modern 'battlefield' on which footballers play" -The Guardian 120 colour photographs