Street Soccer have teamed up with Scottish luxury textile creatives Timorous Beasties and sportswear brand O’Neills to release a one-off football shirt, which is available to pre-order now.
The announcement marks Street Soccer’s first ever collaborative football shirt, celebrating their partnership with Glasgow-based Timorous Beasties and connecting football and art with social impact to raise funds for the charity.
The kit is endorsed by Street Soccer ambassadors including Scotland Captain and Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson MBE, actor and Line of Duty star Martin Compston and Chelsea and Scotland international Erin Cuthbert, as well as other notable personalities including Susan Boyle, Nathan Evans and Saint PHNX and Jackson Irvine.
The eye-catching shirt features the iconic Timorous Beasties Berkeley Blooms design, where psychedelic florals and tangled vines twist and swirl through a classic vertical stripe, a subtle nod to traditional football shirts. Front and centre, the bold message of Hope appears as the shirt’s sponsor.
Hope has been at the heart of Street Soccer’s mission throughout its 17-year journey and remains a constant thread running through its free football sessions and wraparound community support. It symbolises the growth of participants as they progress on their path towards positive, lasting change.
Inspired by the unexpected fusion of football aesthetics and floral motifs, and rooted in the spirit of Hope, the shirt is finished with a distinctive floral Street Soccer shield crest, crisp white and navy collar and sleeve trims, and an embroidered Timorous Beasties hem tag.
Street Soccer is a charity and social enterprise supporting adults and young people experiencing complex life challenges to create positive futures. They create communities for those facing isolation and exclusion, bringing people together and providing person-centred, wrap-around support.
Running over 60 free, inclusive football drop-in sessions a week across Scotland and London, as well as specialist mental health provision and a Women’s Programme and Prisons Programme, Street Soccer have created lasting change in the lives of their players; 94% of players feel they belong to a community and over 80% of players now feel hopeful for the future.
Street Soccer Founder & CEO David Duke MBE said the collaboration showed how partners from two ostensibly divergent fields: high-end design and grassroots football could work together towards a shared vision of positive change and impact:
“We wanted to create a football shirt that felt different, and something people would be genuinely proud to wear. The Berkeley Blooms design isn’t what you’d normally expect from a football shirt, but that’s what makes it special. The flowers in bloom represent growth, and that reflects how we support our players to develop and live their lives to the fullest.
At a time when the world and everyday life can feel heavy and overwhelming, hope really matters. It’s one of our core values at Street Soccer, and this shirt becomes a symbol of that. What chance have we got if we don’t have hope?
This shirt is for everyone, just like Street Soccer. It works as a statement piece on and off the pitch and can be worn your own way. We’re delighted to collaborate with Timorous Beasties and O’Neills on it, bringing together grassroots football and world-class design, showing what can be achieved when people from diverse backgrounds come together with a shared purpose.”
Paul Simmons, co-founder and director of Timorous Beasties said:
“We have translated a bold, graphic floral pattern – traditionally associated with interiors – into the language of sportswear, through the design of a football shirt. The result challenges conventional distinctions between luxury aesthetics and social purpose, demonstrating how the two can coexist in productive and complementary tension.
By placing heritage patterning within a contemporary sporting framework, the collaboration produces something distinctly new. The collaboration signals how creative practice can cross disciplinary boundaries, supporting social impact while positioning football as a platform for art, inclusion, and change.”
Purchasing a shirt will help Street Soccer continue to change lives across Scotland and London, tackling social issues such as homelessness, adverse mental health, and isolation.
The shirts are available to pre-order now for £74.99 with all proceeds going to Street Soccer, with each shirt sold providing over 20 hours of support to players in need. First delivery of stock is expected to drop in late April.
