Taking their slice of the London football scene on tour, Soho Warriors headed to Paris and to the home of the Le Ballon Football League to bring two creative collectives together in the name of the good game.
Both Le Ballon Football League and Soho Warriors share a mutual appreciation for the creative side of football. Both on their own respective shores, each set-up has formed a community of their own and allowed exploration both on and off the pitch. For Le Ballon, their now long standing league stretches with talent from the music industry through to fashion front runners. Similarly for Soho Warriors, they are spoilt for riches as they have assembled a squad containing people packed with talents of multiple disciplines. So, at long last, it's only right that these two tribes got together for a straight up game of football.
Heading from Hackney to the Stade Bauer, also home of Red Star F.C. this diary extract in pictorial form takes us all on the ride as the teams went toe-to-toe.
Naturally, it's on the field where these two teams play out their exploits though both have taken the game to experiential places. Le Ballon League was started from a Parisian pub, while the Soho Warriors would always end their Friday Night Lights match days in a famed Hackney Boozer. Mutual interests creatively too, from the adidas Fanatic tournaments (2015 & 2016) through to custom threads, the pair have been instrumental in helping to shift the compass while football mixes with fashion and art.
Two fixtures swiftly played out over a long weekend, the first game saw Le Ballon steal the show as 4-2 victors. In the second fixture, Soho Warriors dealt the hammer blow winning 1-4. Make that a 5-6 aggregate score to the travelling side and Soho Warriors returned home with the bragging rights. A tight margin that will have the fans asking for a follow up fixture, of course.
Continuing to embrace an independent game where you can make your own kits, rock your own look and lead your own way, it's a good way to embrace football as well as inspire others.
Photography by @matthewgoderdent @namkunn @osssssannnnng @kikoseiz @sammargetts10 @lewis_tosey @mattypoulton
