OFFSIDE - Football in Exile
OFFSIDE shows the human tragedy of a country torn apart by war from the perspective of two football teams. The two teams FK Qarabag Agdam and FK Karabakh Stepanakert symbolize the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh in the Caucasus.
With the aid of Armenia, in 1994 the region broke away from Azerbaijan, but to date is not recognized as an independent state by any country. For three years Dirk-Jan Visser and writer Arthur Huizinga followed six people who are central to the exhibition and accompanying photo book. Their lives are exemplary for the daily lives of players and coaches, fighters and refugees, wives and widows. PHOTO: Picture of the team of FK Qarabag Agdam after winning the Azerbaijani championship, Respublika stadium in Baku. Azerbaijan August 1993.