Following on from last year’s introduction, adidas and Stormzy launch the next chapter of the #Merky Football Careers partnership – expanding the roles from 15 to 50, and we’re proud to say that we’re on board with the initiative with two exciting SoccerBible positions – Social Media Editor and Creative Producer.
Mercy FC, the national programme created by Stormzy and adidas to enhance and protect diverse representation in football, launched late last year, and now it’s back – bigger and better – for a second season. The initiative is looking to broaden its scope and impact by more than tripling the number of roles available, expanding from 15 to 50. To inspire the entire football industry and community to make the assist, they have published a new report that uncovers the barriers faced by young Black people and the #Merky FC approach to changing the game.
This year sees both adidas and Stormzy bringing together a collective of allies to form part of the careers programme kick-starting in January 2024, with SoccerBible lining up as one of 25 leading brands that also includes Manchester United, Arsenal, Sky Sports and Electronic Arts. Each placement will provide work opportunities spanning operations and community to creative and marketing, in a bid to change the game for Black and Black mixed heritage youth.
To inspire the entire football industry and community to make the assist, they have published a new report that that highlights the impact of allyship in the football industry, finding that a large proportion of people of Black or mixed Black heritage are more likely to apply for a Merky FC role if it’s recommended by a friend.
Stormzy said: “We launched #Merky FC last year to help level the playing field off-the pitch by providing career opportunities for young Black people. I am so pleased that we’re back this year with the same focus but with an increased recognition that there is still a lot of work to be done. This requires a collective effort from the whole football community and it’s the reason we published this report – we want to show how everyone can do their bit.”
Steve Marks, Senior Director Brand Communications, adidas commented: “We’re extremely proud to launch the next iteration of #Merky FC with Stormzy. We commissioned this report to demonstrate the tangible power of allyship – in a model projecting how we together can boost representation by 40% over five years through a simple act of allyship. Since its inception our goal for #Merky FC has been to not only cultivate new opportunities for young Black people, but to inspire an industrywide movement to create a more diverse and representative world of football.”
Visit merkyfc.com to find out more about the positions available – including SoccerBible’s Social MediaEditor and Creative Producer roles – and register your interest.
