Football is fundamentally about community and shared identity, where supporters unite to celebrate their teams. This collective memory includes significant individuals like managers and players, increasingly recognized through statues that immortalize their likeness in impactful poses. The Sporting Statues Project reports over 100 football statues in the UK, largely created post-2000. Sculptor Alan Herriot, who began his football sculptures in 2012 with Denis Law, reflects on the enduring legacy of these figures and their connection to fans. Commissions like the Denis Law statue emphasize local heroes with global influence in the sport.
The people responsible for these defining moments, shrewd managers, inspiring captains, and prolific goalscorers, are increasingly immortalised in statues, preserving their likeness in a single definitive pose.
According to the Sporting Statues Project, which is run by Chris Stride and Ffion Thomas, there are more than 100 football statues in the UK, with the vast majority made since the turn of the millennium.
Alan Herriot, a sculptor, created his first football sculpture in 2012 of Denis Law, a player he admired since childhood, capturing the iconic finger-in-the-air pose.
The Denis Law Legacy Trust commissioned a statue to honour Law, intended to reflect his local hero status and his global impact after winning the World Cup.
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