IBWM: For those that don’t know you, tell us a bit about Glory Magazine. 

Glory is a high-end football, travel and culture publication. Each issue is dedicated to a different country or region and documents the football culture and landscape through photography, design and written journalism. We launched Issue 1 in March 2016 and we’re now about to launch Issue 3 next month.

IBWM: What was the inspiration behind starting the magazine?

Glory: In truth, for me personally I was frustrated by not being given opportunities with other football publications, so thought why am I relying on others when I could create my own? But I knew I couldn’t do it alone, so I ran the idea past my good friend and very talented creative director, Lee Nash, who loved the idea and was keen to get it going. We knew we needed a third person and through a mutual friend we found Louis, whose passion for football and written journalism meant we had a core team to get Glory started. We also felt there was a gap in the market for a high end football publication that generated original experience-led content.

IBWM: We love Glory because it’s a bit different. You actually go to these places and immerse yourselves into their culture, the fans and the football. How important is that for in what you want to do?

Glory: For us, we feel that’s really important. To actually meet fans, club members, players, coaching staff and immerse ourselves in their football culture is what makes Glory. And we feel we’re one of a few magazines actually doing that. I think our readers really appreciate the lengths we go to to document this and for us we want to give an accurate account of our experience, but also tell great stories and highlight the amazing people involved in football across the globe. What we want to showcase is the beauty of the game and what it brings to people’s lives.

IBWM: You’ve done the Faroe Islands and Kosovo so far, what were the moments that stood out during these trips for you? Were there any moments that you thought ‘we’re crazy doing this’?

Glory: I think every trip we’ve been on we’ve felt lucky to be able to do what we do. There have been moments when we’ve pinched ourselves and said to each other ‘Can you believe we’re actually doing this/seeing this?’ Everyone we’ve met on our travels has been so welcoming and accommodating and hopefully that will continue. Some highlights have to be experiencing stadiums surrounded by mountains and fjords in the Faroe Islands to witnessing history when Kosovo played their first world cup qualifying home game against Croatia.

IBWM: Sweden is up next, what can you tell us about that trips and what you’ve got planned for that issue?

Glory: We’re really excited to be launching this issue – it has the potential to be the best yet! You can expect more fan insights, design quirks and unique photography. I think one thing we’ve been really surprised by is how readers of Glory have immersed themselves in different football cultures off the back of reading previous issues. We’ve had numerous people contact us saying they’ve booked trips to the Faroe Islands, which is amazing. That’s exactly what we’ve set out to do – educate and inspire! So you can expect more of the travel elements to be featured in this issue too.

IBWM: After Sweden, what’s next for Glory? Do you plan on heading outside of Europe?

Glory: Yeah absolutely – we were due to go further afield for Issue 3, but unfortunately that didn’t work out. But yes that’s definitely the plan. Watch this space!

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Issue 3 of Glory Magazine is out now. You can purchase it here.