大象传媒

All over the world people are getting together to play a game that seems quite baffling - a version of football in which three sides take part at the same time on one pitch.

The invention of the Danish artist Asger Jorn, a member of the 1960's Situationist group, the game now has its own monthly league matches in London. Ian McMillan is tempted to become a fan - but can he get his head round it?

Three-sided football was initially a metaphor for a better version of society. Nobody tried playing it for real until the 1990's. Now the game has given rise to the most philosophical , least corporate football league in the UK - and it has staged its first World Cup.

In this action packed programme, Ian McMillan meets some of Britain's best teams, including Philosophy Football FC, the Deptford Three-Sided Football Club , the Strategic Optimists FC, Aesthetico Athletico, the New Cross Irregulars and the London-based Polish side, Hussaria.

From a distance, Ian thinks it looks like a normal kickabout in the park. But when he gets closer and tries to work out what on earth is going on, he discovers a bewildering twist on the beautiful game. Imagine a hexagonal pitch, with three goal-mouths, around which three teams of five players are not deliberately attempting to score, but trying to avoid conceding goals by forming temporary defensive alliances with one or other opposing team.

A Pennine production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.