ALFIE WHITEMAN: ‘A LOAN’

In 2025, aged just 26 and still in his prime, Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman retired from football. But back in 2021, he was still a professional athlete, slogging it out on loan at rural Swedish football team Degerfors IF. Stuck out in the Scandinavian countryside – isolated, alone and bored in a small town on the southern shore of Lake Möckeln – he started taking photographs. 

The result is ‘A Loan’, a project which captures the tedium, frustration and humour of life in the middle of nowhere for an athlete who was just starting to question everything. Whiteman’s debut exhibition will run at OOF Gallery in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
1 May - 27 September 2026, featuring a wide selection of photographs from the project, as well as a full-size replica of the lakeside sauna where Whiteman spent so much of his time. 

The exhibition is accompanied by a beautifully illustrated photobook, filled with images and diary entries from his time in Sweden. The book is published by OOF and Somesuch Editions.   

Whiteman’s funny, sad, silly, angry, surreal photos capture the mundanity and repetitiveness of life as a professional athlete. But they are also the first steps in Whiteman rejecting the football dream, and realising that there must be more to life than the same routine he'd been stuck in since signing for Spurs as a 10-year-old. They’re images filled with youthful dissatisfaction; a testament to following your own path, even when everyone thinks you’re mad for doing it. 

Whiteman's final act as a professional footballer was a joyous celebration with his Europa League-winning teammates on an open-top bus parade through the streets where he grew up. He now works as a director and photographer, represented by Somesuch, after retiring from football at the start of this season. And it all started here. 

This exhibition is generously supported by Salomon. 

Opening launch Thursday 30 April from 18:30 - 20:30.

Exhibition runs 1 May to 27 September at OOF Gallery, N17. The gallery will be closed from 21 June to 14 August inclusive.

Admission is free. Use entrance for the Tottenham Experience at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Open Mon, Thu, Fri, 10-5, Sat 11-5 & Sun 12-4. Closed Tue & Wed.

Opening hours are subject to change on stadium event days. Check our website/Instagram before travelling.