Culture Clubs and Soccer x Skate Collabs

In this edition of The Forty-One Life we catch we take a look at the North American clubs making an effort connect with the Trillion dollar untapped market that is “Black Culture”. We take you through some of our favorite collaborations with skate brands and MLS Clubs. The American acquisition blitz on European clubs continues with Everton’s pending sale and Admiral teams with the legendary Rochester Lancers on a new kit collection paying homage to one of the club’s long-time fans.

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FEATURE

Culture Clubs: Our shortlist of Concacaf clubs who have been successful tapping into Black Culture

It's no mystery, in order for soccer to grow in the states, the game has to be adopted at scale by the African-American population. Leagues and brands alike are trying to figure out how to crack the code, while progress has been made, theres still a ways to go.

There are some clubs that have done a great job of consistently tapping into the unique Black culture in the cities that they play in. In no particular order, here are some of our Culture Club picks.

MLS Clubs have been going hard with Skate brand collaborations

Each year MLS clubs seem to have a systemized collaboration strategy, with teams collaborating with local brands in a particular industry segment, this season being Skate brands.

It’s an interesting strategy, but in a single entity league like MLS where all the teams are franchises owned by the league I can see this bulk strategy being an easy “catch all” way to push some of the mid to lower profile franchises into cool local collaborations that they probably would not have done on their own.

We reviewed all of the MLS x Skate collabs to date and pulled out a few of our favorites:

Kitboys Club and Umbro link up for Terrace knit jersey capsule

Atlanta-based Kitboys Club is back with another drop! This time with longtime collaborator Umbro. The pair are getting us ready for fall with a Kitboys spin on Umbro’s Terrace knit jersey.

Grab yours at kitboysworldwide.com

More Style News

Nike is putting a soccer twist onto the Cortez and Killshot

MOVES

American takeover of European Soccer continues as Everton Says It Has Deal to Sell to U.S. Billionaire Dan Friedkin

Dan Friedkin, the U.S. billionaire who owns Italian club AS Roma, has agreed to take over current owner Farhad Moshiri’s 94% stake in the team. The deal will need approval from the Premier League, the FA, and the U.K.’s financial regulatory body.

All of this takes place against the backdrop of Everton's complex financial position. The team was fined six points for violating financial restrictions by losing too much money in one season. According to The Athletic, the team's external debt is around $800 million, with approximately $266 million due to Friedkin. The team is also currently constructing a new stadium, which will open next season, and it is off to a poor start in the Premier League, sitting second-to-last.

MORE MOVES

NWSL’s Spirit Sign First Women’s Team Betting Deal With Fanatics

Classic Football Shirts continues to bring in investment capital

Lionel Messi Launches Production Company 525 Rosario

ON THE PITCH

Rochester Lancers and Admiral Team Up for 2024-25 Kit Collection

Two of the oldest soccer brands – the Rochester Lancers of the MASL and UK-based sportswear brand Admiral – have joined forces for a new kit collection that honors a local legend.

The two brands will release a new collection of home, away and alternative kits for the Lancers’ 2024 season. These new kits pay tribute to Salvatore “Soccer Sam” Fantauzzo’s support of the team, which he brought the team’s name & image to re-introduce the team to a new generation.

PITCHSIDE

Messi’s first match in Atlanta for Inter Miami CF

Messi’s first time playing in The Benz for Inter Miami? Of course we had to be in the building. Let’s go pitchside through the lens of Nomadic Lens

Photographer’s takes on shooting the match:

“The moment definitely speaks for itself, from the atmosphere to how it felt like the stadium moved with Messi. One aspect that surprised me is when Atlanta equalized, the momentum very briefly switched to all 70k in attendance looking for an Atlanta winner, not just a Messi moment.

Of course photographing a player like Messi is always going to lend itself to really great moments, and having him here was a really special moment for a lot of people who otherwise didn’t get the chance during COPA”