Stormzy Partners with Adidas to Improve Diversity in Football
November 11, 2022
Award-winning British rapper, singer and songwriter Stormzy has teamed up with sportswear brand adidas to launch #Merky FC. The new football programme will focus on improving diversity in the sport by helping young people of Black heritage to secure employment roles off the pitch. The programme will start in January 2023 and be available to young people aged 18 to 24.
#Merky FC is committed to enhancing and protecting diverse representation in the football industry by providing access to multi-year paid professional placements. The collaboration will bring together an additional ten partners including Manchester United, Fulham FC and Sky Sports as part of its careers programme. Partners will each provide work placements from operations and community to creative and marketing within their businesses.
Stormzy hopes his initiative will drive change after research commissioned by adidas with FARE Network revealed that just 6.7% of senior roles in football are taken by someone who identifies as Black or mixed Black heritage. This is a stark contrast to the 39% of Premier League players that identify as Black or mixed Black heritage.
"The statistics are shocking. I think it's down to visibility a lot,” said Stormzy who, in 2020, pledged £10 million to UK organisations, charities and movements over ten years to tackle racial inequality, justice reform and Black empowerment. “We barely see any black team managers, coaches, sports presenters, assistants, ops managers, sales managers, accountants, marketing managers or physiotherapists – the list goes on, nor are many of us even aware of the vast roles available within the football industry.”
"If you can see that representation on the pitch with all the players, then it should at least be backed up by people in positions of power, positions of influence outside of being an actual footballer.”
#Merky FC intends to aid the people who may have experienced disadvantages during their football career and is strongly encouraging other companies to join in its mission. Upon launching last week, #Merky FC unveiled a video where British Olympic athlete Jeanette Kwakye, sport presenter Jaydee Dyer and Stormzy delved into a discussion around the lack of Black representation off the football pitch. The video also features television presenter and former professional footballer Ian Wright, who Stormzy describes as a trailblazer in football and the football industry.
"The initiative directly tackles some of the biggest barriers facing UK youth in football today by creating a legacy of career opportunities off the pitch," said Adidas. The sportswear brand, which is also committed to fighting for equal representation in football, notes that the launch of this initiative is only the beginning of #Merky FC and to “watch this space.”