Thanks to our revolutionary new machinery, we were able to give a group of kids from Football Beyond Borders the opportunity to create their own match kits. The results? Outstanding.
Apparently we’re a cool business now. We have enough Instagram followers for people to be able to swipe up on our story. We’ve just launched our first-ever podcast series. And, seemingly, kids want to tour the headquarters of Kitlocker.com. It’s all a bit mad to us. We’ve had to start Googling ‘how to cope with fame’ recently.
Who Are Football Beyond Borders?
Football Beyond Borders (FBB) is a wonderful education charity that brings underprivileged children together and, through the power of football, helps them to achieve their goals and fulfil their potential. FBB works with over 700 young people each week in over 40 schools across London and the North West. They focus on students that are underachieving in school but have a passion for football.
Joe Wafta, Head of Delivery at FBB, told us that the charity targets the downtime in the academic calendar to give such children the opportunity to participate in transformative ‘real-life’ projects.
“Every year for 14 weeks young people are not at school. While for many young people this is a chance for trips abroad or to participate in a range of enriching activities, for other young people it is a period of inactivity. When this is coupled with a lack of academic engagement during holidays, data suggests that students reading age regresses by 3 months over the course of the summer holiday, with this far more pronounced in young people from underprivileged backgrounds. To this end, over the past two years we have worked with our participants during extended breaks.”
When FBB asked if we could help them out with a project based on producing their own football shirts, we jumped at the opportunity. In partnership with Alphabet, a renowned design agency based in Manchester, the kids set out to produce some extraordinary kits here at our brand new home. They didn’t disappoint either, with the three groups involved each creating something of real beauty.
“The project was split into four areas,” Joe told us. “There was the initial interrogation of the brief and Research, followed by Design work with Alphabet, Storytelling – where the students were given time to tell the story and inspiration of their kit – and Production at Kitlocker.com. The aim of the summer school was to explore the intersection of identity and design through the creation of the kit.”
Giving Concept Kits a #PowerUp
Thanks to our game-changing new printing machinery, we were able to turn ideas into reality. Better yet, the kids were able to see their concept kits be produced in front of their very eyes. Three unique designs (two featuring a lovely Manchester-based theme) were applied to the blank canvas that is a Nike Park VI jersey. Take a look at the result of their #PowerUp below and see how good they look for yourself.
As well as witnessing their designs go through the production process, the boys and girls also talked us through their inspiration. We can safely say that A LOT of detail went into their work. We loved hosting Football Beyond Borders and giving young people the opportunity to turn their ideas into tangible results. Plus, we just love seeing really great kits.
It was a pleasure (and it also felt a little bit surreal) to host Football Beyond Borders and give them a tour of our brand new facility. You’re welcome back any time, guys!
You can find out more about the charity by the visiting their website HERE.