Feature – Póg Mo Goal

In this blogpost we speak to James Carew, who set up the new Irish football magazine ‘Póg Mo Goal’ alongside his brother Kie.

The magazine was set up when the brothers decided to combine their interests with their skills. “I’m a journalist by trade whereas Kie is a graphic designer so, while we both write, he is the brains behind the look and design. The magazine was a chance to indulge our love of print and design and bring them together in one place.”

Póg Mo Goal initially started out as a website, which is still running. The brothers originally tried to take a humorous slant on football and soon realised that “one person’s funny is another person’s annoying.”

They agreed to take it more seriously, spurred on by how football blogging has grown massively, particularly in the UK where many established publications and media outlets are now using bloggers, artists and graphic designers for content.

The Carew brothers read and view a lot of content, both print and online. They are avid listeners to podcasts such as Second Captains, The Guardian, Extratime.ie and Howler (an American soccer magazine who make great content about the game globally.)

James admits that The Green Soccer Journal and The Blizzard were the main reasons they decided they wanted to make their own magazine. “These were beautifully designed, grown-up magazines discussing the game in a way that wasn’t dumbed down. They treat football fans as people who can be into going to a game and football culture, but also appreciate the design of a shirt, illustration or the architecture of a stadium. We’ve built a great relationship with Copa90 who make amazing video documentaries with fans around the world. We love people who take the time to put in high production values.”

Funding of course is a major issue for any new or independent publication because for many advertisers, print is dead. But James firmly believes it doesn’t need to be. He believes that “people still like to own and hold something of quality that they enjoy.”

The magazine relies heavily on advertising, and so far things are going good. “We’ve built great relationships with the people who do advertise in Póg Mo Goal, and share our love of design and football and also with our stockists who love when we deliver each edition. But of course, more funding would help.”

Póg Mo Goal’s third issue is out now, and contains some wonderful work, but some things in particular stand out to James from issue three. They are working with Brazilian artist Samuel Bono, who created a specially-commissioned illustration about Shamrock Rovers, and working with Japanese designer Keisuke Yamada who created an image for our story of Easter Rising rebel Oscar Traynor.

Some of James other highlights from the earlier publications include dealing with people in Adidas for Issue 1, who provided them with imagery for a piece on their famous Copa Mundial football boots. Another highlight was was an article about German team Schalke 04. The club sent James a picture of the magazine in their club archives when it was done, so the magazine is already going down in history.

However, despite all these wonderful pieces of art and the thrill of getting their hands on the first issue from the printers, James’ favourite part of putting together the magazine is it’s enthusiastic contributors. “They are grateful to be asked, but it’s us who are grateful because they give of their time and talent. Especially the international writers, designers etc. who when they learn we are Irish are thrilled to be on board.”

With some fantastic work already behind them, Póg Mo Goal are looking to the future. “We want to continue to grow, to get the name out there and to provide a platform for up and coming writers and artists along with established ones. We’re totally open to new contributors with quality ideas. Ideally we’d love to produce the magazine more times a year and we’re always looking for like-minded people who see value in this and want to support us.”

If you would like to get a copy of the latest issue, you can click this link to order.

Conor Hawkins