UK rapper, Stormzy gives back to the community as he partners with sportswear company Adidas to launch #Merky FC, incorporating music, football, and gaming.
#Merky FC HQ located in his hometown, Croydon, is another new venture by Merky and Adidas encompassing a multipurpose center for young adults and teens to fuel their passion for music, football, and games. The new center houses 3G football pitches, a state-of-the-art music studio, an EA SPORTS gaming hub, and multi-purpose rooms that allow for podcasting and gaming events. While built on the existing football site known as Selhurst Sports Arena– a space managed by Communities First Foundation, the venue will continue to be open to the local community, offering year-round events and educational activities.
During the opening, Stormzy expressed his excitement about #Merky FC HQ. The award-winning songwriter and rapper said: “Working with Adidas, I’ve wanted to do this for a long, long time and now there’s a community space that everyone in the area will be able to use and benefit from. When I was growing up there was nothing like this around for young people, so it means a lot that we now have a facility like this in Croydon. Proper homegrown!”
This new project is a follow-up to the launch of the Merky FC Careers program in 2022, which targeted “racial equality in the football industry off-pitch”.
The partnership which has been in the works for 3 years is evidence of their unwavering support for the Black community.
#Merky FC aims to provide young people of Black heritage with career opportunities from across the sports industry, and music.