A Jersey Inspired by the Place They Call Home
The latest chapter of the adidas Sportswear x Common Goal collaboration brings together South Bronx United and Design FC to tell the story of a community through a youth-designed jersey.
What does the South Bronx look like through the eyes of the young people who call it home?
That was the starting point for a collaboration between South Bronx United, Design FC, adidas Sportswear and Common Goal, bringing 50 young people and coaches together to create a jersey rooted in their community.
South Bronx United uses football as a pathway to education, leadership and opportunity for young people in the South Bronx, supporting them on and off the pitch. Design FC brings together sport and creativity, giving young people the tools and platform to tell their own stories through design.
Together, they put the young people of South Bronx United at the centre of the creative process.
Across two sessions led by Design FC, participants explored what South Bronx United and the wider South Bronx community mean to them. They reflected on the places and landmarks they recognise, the experiences that connect them and the ideas they wanted the jersey to represent.
Those conversations and ideas were translated into the final design, bringing together Bronx landmarks, the New York City skyline and a message of unity.
The result is a jersey inspired by the place they call home — but importantly, created with the people who call it home.
Not inspired by. Built with.
For South Bronx United, that sense of place and belonging goes far beyond football. Its work combines the game with academic support, college access, mentoring and immigration legal services, creating opportunities for young people and families across the South Bronx.
The jersey captures a piece of that wider story: a community connected through football, shaped by the people and places around it, and full of young people defining what comes next.
The South Bronx jersey is the latest chapter of the wider collaboration between adidas Sportswear and Common Goal launched earlier this year, continuing to use House of Tiro – adidas Sportswear’s football-inspired lifestyle collection – as the perfect canvas to connect football with communities, identity and culture beyond matchday.
The project brings organisations from across the Common Goal community into the creative process, working with them to translate their identities, cultures and experiences into designs that can reach a global audience.
At the heart of the collaboration is a simple principle: communities should not only be a source of inspiration for football culture. They should have the opportunity to participate in creating it.
The South Bronx United jersey took that concept a step further. By working with Design FC, SBU participants were able to take full control over their creative process, bringing their artwork to life from paper onto their jersey.
That connection extends beyond the design process. As part of the adidas Sportswear x Common Goal partnership, 1% of House of Tiro global net sales, up to €2 million, will support participating organisations and communities and help grow football for good around the world through Common Goal.
By combining community-led design with investment back into football for good, the partnership aims to create a different relationship between football culture and the communities that help shape it.
From the South Bronx to other communities across the Common Goal network, each jersey tells a different story. Each is rooted in a particular place, shaped by the people who know it best and connected to something bigger.
This is the South Bronx chapter.
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