By The FIFA Museum in Zurich will debut “Designing the Beautiful Game,” an exhibition from the Design Museum in London, on 13 October 2023. The exhibition explores the story of how design has been used to push the game to new limits.
“Football: Designing the Beautiful Game” premiered at the Design Museum in London last year and marked the first major exhibition focusing on the design aspects of the sport, mesmerizing audiences with captivating narratives and immersive displays. The exhibition has now been developed in collaboration with the FIFA Museum, bringing additional objects from the museum’s own collection, to create an experience tailored to the special exhibition space in Zurich.
“This wonderful exhibition allows us to look at football from another angle and shed light on the influential role that design has played in the development of our beautiful sport,” FIFA Museum Managing Director Marco Fazzone said. “Teaming up with the Design Museum has been a very exciting, creative and fruitful experience for us!”
The exhibition explores defining moments of football history through three main sections:
Performance, Identity and Crowds. Each facet approaches the game from its own unique perspective through objects, photos, films, and sound clips, bringing design’s crucial role to the forefront of our understanding of football history and development.
From the boots of Pelé to the shinpads of Lionel Messi, visitors can explore the innovative kit advancements that have developed alongside the growth of the game, perfecting the performance potential of today’s players. Objects dating back to the very foundation of association football’s 150-year history will allow visitors to examine how equipment has evolved to fit the needs of the sport, comparing the heavy leather balls of the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, to the lightweight, microchipped wonders that determined just who kicked it and when at Qatar 2022.
“Football is the great global game, familiar to more people on the planet than any other sport, but it has never been explored extensively through the lens of design,” The Design Museum’s Director Tim Marlow said. “We are delighted that our landmark exhibition looking at how football has been shaped by design is being staged at the FIFA Museum who are great team mates to work with.”
Access to “Designing the Beautiful Game” is included with admission included with a regular museum ticket.
What do you think?