Dundee man chosen as official artist for World Mini Football tournament

A Dundee artist will represent his country at a global football competition next month.

But Alex Maciver, formerly of the Maryfield area, will not be kicking a ball and instead has been selected as the official artist at the World Mini Football tournament.

The star-studded event is being held in Perth, Australia and will feature former Serie A forward and Brazilian international Adriano among other former senior professionals.

More than 800 players will grace the six-a-side showcase which will be running from October 1-11.

Former Morgan Academy pupil Alex said he will be documenting the tournament as it unfolds.

He said: “It’s amazing to be selected to do this – it’s going to be an epic event.

“I was approached to be the official artist after a recent art exhibition at Stala Contemporary last month in West Perth.

“I’m going to be documenting the event in the way a camera or film crew can’t.

“I’ll be doing drawings, collage and paintings.

“This includes being on site during the tournament, experiencing the atmosphere, watching the games and speaking with fans, players and coaches.”

The Dundee FC fan admitted he was “gutted” Scotland wouldn’t be competing at the tournament.

Teams that will feature in the tournament include England, Australia and the reigning champions, the Czech Republic.

He added: “It is amazing to be representing Scotland at the event.

“It’s a shame we aren’t there competing in the tournament itself.

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“I did have prior knowledge of the tournament in USA in 2013, Mexico and then Tunisia.

“It’s a massive event which draws in some big players.

“Adriano is among a raft of players that are playing at the tournament.

“Over the course of the matches, I’m looking to do 10 drawings to convey the tournament.

“I’ll be using acrylic, oil and spray paint to showcase the event.”

It is estimated the last competition, which was held in Tunisia in 2017, was streamed to more than 800 million people.

Alex hopes the work that he creates at the tournament could go into an exhibition before they are potentially sold on.

He added: “There’s no exhibition planned as of yet but the works will likely be sold on. It is the first time I’ve worked in this way at a sporting event.

“I’ve done set design for Perth Fashion Festival which is something similar.

“I’ve been doing a lot of research ahead of the tournament to get an understanding of the fans and the players.

“Hopefully my work at the World Mini Cup will inspire a whole series of painting.”

Alex has been doing a series of interviews in Australia ahead of the tournament.

He added: “There was some jokes I could have got a team of six at the tournament to represent Scotland but I’m really looking forward to being a part of it.”

Alex is set to return to the City of Discovery for the Generator Projects in July 2020.