Stormzy has joined forces with Adidas to announce a new centre for music, football and gaming called #MerkyFC HQ.
Announced today (May 2), the centre is a newly built centre in Croydon, London, which has been developed to help give the community access to new facilities including a brand-new hub, housing football pitches, a state-of-the-art recording studio, a sports gaming hub and multipurpose rooms.
The development is built on the existing football site known as Selhurst Sports Arena – a space managed by Communities First Foundation that seeks to empower local communities through access to sports and employment support.
With the investment from Adidas, the venue will host year-round events and educational activities both on and off the pitch, and provide access to development opportunities for young people in the local area and beyond.
A music studio has also been added to the centre, intended to allow aspiring local artists to have more opportunity to go and record their own music. It will also serve as an accessible space for all other multimedia uses, such as Podcasts and gaming events.
Finally, a sports gaming hub is included thanks to a collaboration between #MerkyFC, Adidas and EA Sports, and allows young people to test their skills on the latest EA Sports titles, including EA Sports FC 24 and EA Sports F1 23.
The launch of #MerkyFC HQ marks the second pillar of the collaboration between Adidas and grime star Stormzy, and follows on from the initial #MerkyFC Careers programme.
First established in 2022, the project was built to address racial equity in the football industry and provide opportunities for UK Black Heritage Youth to access jobs in the football industry. In the time since its launch, the movement has seen over 60 individuals placed in roles across various brands.
“I’m gassed that we can finally open the doors to #Merky FC HQ. 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,” Stormzy said of the new development. “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!”
Steve Marks, Senior Director of Brand Communications for Adidas shared a similar sentiment, adding: “We’re proud to launch #MerkyFC HQ the next chapter in Adidas’ ongoing partnership with Stormzy. Supporting the development of spaces for the local community to connect, play and collaborate is a vital part of our ongoing drive to cultivate opportunities for young people.
“The centre is a space for everyone including those who enjoy taking part in football, but also for the discovery of other creative passions such as music and esports,” he added.
Find out more about the new announcement here.
The news of #MerkyFC HQ arrives after Stormzy – along with other artists including Clairo – performed a benefit concert to raise funds for those in Palestine and Sudan.
Held in New Jersey, the event was titled ‘Artist For Aid’ and saw numerous musicians from all genres come together to help raise funds for the ongoing humanitarian crises in the countries.
Before then, the artist ushered in the next chapter of his #Merky FC partnership with Adidas, confirming that the scheme would “broaden its scope and impact by tripling the number of roles available”.