Footy Country is more than a collection of photographs – it is a journey into the beating heart of Australian life, where football is not just a game but a way of connecting people, towns and traditions.
Across 300 pages, Cory White’s lens captures the essence of grass-roots footy in all its raw beauty: the mud-stained guernseys, the creaking goalposts against endless skies, the post-match hugs and handshakes, and the quiet moments that unfold long after the final siren.
In Australia’s country towns, football is more than a weekend ritual. It is an anchor for communities spread vast distances apart, a gathering place where generations meet, and a reminder of shared identity and resilience.
White’s photographs trace this story from Kalgoorlie’s red earth to Cairns’ tropical fields, from Darwin’s dry-season ovals to Queenstown’s gravel ground. Each place offers its own flavour of the game, but together they form a mosaic that speaks to something deeply Australian: the belief that sport can bind people across culture, class, and geography.
The pages are alive with colour and character – the roar of the crowd in a makeshift grandstand, the joy of children in oversized jumpers chasing a ball twice their size, the intensity etched on players’ faces as they line up for goal.
Alongside these visual narratives are the words of players, supporters, and much-loved personalities who have lived the game in its many forms. Contributions from Brisbane Lions’ AFLW star Ally Anderson, Brisbane Broncos’ NRLW lock Keilee Joseph, musician Tim Rogers, and Coodabeen Champions Ian Cover and Jeff Richardson add texture and warmth, offering voices that echo the photographs’ themes of camaraderie, humour, pride, and belonging.
At once moving and joyful, Footy Country is an ode to the way football sustains the social fabric of regional and remote Australia. It is about the laughter in the changerooms, the rivalries carried on for decades, the volunteers who mark the lines and man the canteen, the stories swapped at the pub after the game.
It is about the deep connection between sport and landscape, where the natural beauty of Australia’s vast settings becomes the backdrop to moments of triumph, defeat, and community spirit.
Ultimately, this book is not just about football – it is about people, place, and connection. It is about how a game played on paddocks, gravel, and grass fields comes to embody the values of togetherness, resilience, and joy.
Footy Country is a portrait of who we are, and a reminder that in every cheer, every contest, and every celebration, we see reflected the very heart of what it means to be Australian.
Cory White has established himself as one of Australia’s leading photographers. Drawing inspiration from a deep connection to land, and an intrinsic and curious affection for people, Cory White’s photography obscures the line between portrait, observation and art, and sensitively communicates the landscape around us.
White’s work often explores themes of community and how Australians gather for recreation. Footy Country takes inspiration from a commercial project that celebrates the importance of regional football around Australia.
Footy Country is published by Hardie Grant Books and is available at all leading book retailers including QBD Books.
Image: Footy Country – courtesy of Hardie Grant Books