When sport becomes folklore.
In 1975, Athlone Town faced AC Milan in the UEFA Cup — a tiny Irish club taking on one of the giants of European football. The match became one of those rare local events that grew far beyond the game itself, gathering myth, nostalgia and legend with every retelling.
What interested me most wasn’t the result, but the story's personality. Through interviews with people who were there, I kept hearing about the occasion's absurdity: Milan players described as Greek Gods, stories of a goat leading a pipe band onto the pitch, muddy surroundings, imported chefs, and a missed penalty that became part of local folklore. Some details may be fact, others embellished over time — but that became the point.
I wanted the visual identity to reflect that sense of myth and exaggeration. The creative direction developed into a deliberately theatrical, absurdist world, influenced by Monty Python and Terry Gilliam, with goats, gods and football imagery collaged together in a bold black-and-yellow visual system.
As the project developed, I began to think of the story less as editorial design and more as a performance. The enthusiasm of the people retelling it felt theatrical, which led me to imagine Gods Led by Goats as a stage play — part football story, part local legend, part Greek tragedy.
The result was a complete visual world spanning identity, editorial design, posters, programmes, environmental graphics, kit design and stage concepts — all built around the contrast between the glamorous “Gods” of Milan and the local underdogs of Athlone.
The full essay can be read here.
