10 Irie Photos Of Bob Marley Playing Football

Chris Wright

20th, August 2011

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By Chris Wright

Woke up feeling decidedly ‘irie’, and as such felt compelled to put together a ten-strong gallery of Robert Nesta Marley indulging in his first love

Marley practices his kick-ups after a match in Paris against a team of French celebrities was cancelled due to bad weather, 1977

Marley has a backstage kick-about with rest of The Wailers, 1976

Bob Marley and the Wailers play football at an empty stadium in Brussels while waiting to sound-check before kicking off the Belgian leg of the Exodus Tour, 1977

Marley relaxes with a soda after playing a game alongside Paolo Cesar Caju (a member of Brazil’s 1970 World Cup squad) at Brazilian musician Chico Buarque’s private pitch in Rio, 1980

Marley pulls on a ‘Pele 10’ Santos shirt during a visit to the Brazilian club’s stadium in Rio, 1980

Marley plays football with the ‘Am/Jam’ Team (America and Jamaica) against Haiti in Miami, September 1980 – he was diagnosed with cancer two days later and died in May the following year

Bonus footage of Marley in action…

[Photos: Corbis]