Sheffield-based graphic designer Matthew J. Wood has translated his passion for football into a delightful series of retro-style illustrated posters. His work has attracted the attention of major football clubs.

For football fans, stadiums are more than just structures. According to designer and illustrator Matthew J Wood, they are the one constant element fans can always hold on to. While players, managers, and kits may change regularly, stadiums endure, allowing supporters to develop deeper connections.

To celebrate their significance, Matthew has been travelling around the country's stadiums, immortalising them in wonderfully retro illustrated posters. With a wide range of architectural styles to depict, from the iconic Archibald Leitch-designed stadiums of the early 1900s to modern purpose-built arenas, there is plenty of history captured in these images.

"Further down the leagues, there are all sorts of architectural gems and curiosities that I'm invariably drawn to," Matthew adds. "Ultimately, I love drawing football stadiums because of my passion for the game!"

To optimise his illustrations, Matthew prefers to draw the stadiums in person whenever possible. However, the geographical spread of the grounds can make this challenging, especially since access is usually limited to match days.

"When I'm at a ground, I'll try to take as many photographs as possible for reference, but it's as much about getting a sense of place as it is about working out which elements of a stadium to focus on," he adds.

This search for a feeling taps into what makes stadiums so special for Matthew and football fans as a whole. With a spectrum of emotions experienced within their walls, they are significantly more than the sum of their parts.

"All fans remember their first visit to a ground in their childhood, perhaps more than the game itself — the dazzling green of the pitch, the echoing walls of sound, the endless amount of people, the smells (oh the smells)," Matthew explains.

"The football pyramid in this country is vast, and the fans are just as passionate at the base of the pyramid as they are at the top. The grounds become their churches and cathedrals, their weekly places of worship."

In terms of style, Matthew's main inspirations for the series are the golden era Railway posters created between 1923 and 1948. Cassandre's dramatically heightened sense of perspective also influences how he depicts the stadiums. "I initially wanted to focus tightly on a particular aspect of a ground (the clock at Hillsborough, Highbury's East Stand entrance, for example) but have gradually pulled back a bit more," he reveals.

Other sporting memorabilia have also informed his approach to depicting the beautiful game. "I'm just about old enough to have grown up with a Subbuteo set, and there's something so iconic about the figurines," he says.

"For the team designs, I wanted to simplify the illustrations of each player to make them instantly recognisable but not too detailed. The solution I found was to turn each player into a (lightly customised) Subbuteo figurine."

It's a creative approach that has paid off, as Matthew has been fortunate enough to collaborate with various clubs. "Arsenal wanted to use one of my Subbuteo designs on their merchandise, and West Ham commissioned a design of the London Stadium for one of their match programme covers," he reveals.

"It's such an honour to be involved with clubs at any level, and the prints have ended up in the hands of some amazing figures within the game, including Marcelo Bielsa and Emma Hayes."

As for his personal preferences, Matthew's favourite poster from the series is his design of Rodney Parade. "The composition creates so many diagonals, and it really leans into focusing on the stand itself, as opposed to the playing surface," he concludes.

"It's a stand with a huge amount of history that has witnessed all sorts of highs and lows, and the design feels like a glimpse into that, with the eye being drawn into the heart of the stand. Also, the name – Rodney Parade – is hard to beat!"