adidas and Premier League club Arsenal have announced that the men’s team will wear the No More Red kit, drained of the club’s traditional red, for the first time in a home fixture when they face Liverpool in the FA Cup third round. The match, on Sunday, January 7, will mark the third consecutive season Arsenal has worn the No More Red kit. Arsenal Women will also wear the all-white kit on pitch for the first time when they face Watford in the FA Cup fourth round at Meadow Park on January 14.
No More Red was launched in January 2022 to support the long-standing work undertaken by Arsenal to help keep young people safe from knife crime and youth violence. This year, adidas and Arsenal are growing community participation in No More Red with the release of a No More Red community t-shirt designed by a young person from Arsenal in the Community.
The No More Red kit will never be for sale, but the bespoke community t-shirt will be available to purchase for £30 at Arsenal stores from January 29. £30 of the retail price of each t-shirt will be donated in equal proportions to each of the following No More Red Charity Partners: The Arsenal Foundation, Abianda (Abi Billinghurst & Associates); Octopus Community Network Limited; Box Up Crime; Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation; Ben Kinsella Trust; Copenhagen Youth Project; and St Giles Trust.
In 2024, adidas and Arsenal will build on the work done since the inception of No More Red by:
Investing in more safe spaces to play football with the opening of a third refurbished community pitch at Mayville Estate, Islington in early 2024 – the two pitches refurbished since the launch of No More Red have seen 650 hours of organised activity delivered on the new pitches, engaging more than 500 participants across 200 sessions, as well as more than 9 000 open access hours provided for the local communities
Continuing its mentor-led Social Action Projects which have so far given 83 young people an opportunity to gain experience in the creative industries
Continuing its volunteer incentive scheme alongside the No More Red charity partners where supporters can donate their time to support the charities as volunteers
Awarding No More Red shirts to community champions who are making a positive difference in their communities, adding to the 79 community champions who have been recognised with a shirt since the launch of the initiative.
The No More Red community t-shirt has been inspired by the commitment from supporters and the local community to support No More Red. The t-shirt was designed by Nellie-Rose, a young person from Arsenal in the Community who took part in one of the 2023 No More Red Social Action Projects, which bring together groups of young people from the local community and connect them with inspirational talent from the creative and sports industries.
Taking place over four days in 2023, The Fashion Project saw Nellie-Rose and thirty young people visiting the adidas LDN flagship store to learn about football shirt styling. Following this, Arsenal led a class on product lifecycle and t-shirt design to prepare the young people to take part in the t-shirt design competition.
The final parts of the experience included a styling session led by celebrity stylist Georgia Medley at the Arsenal Hub, and a workshop hosted by leading ethical garment manufacturer Fashion Enter, who equipped the participants with skills in making and designing t-shirts.
Nellie-Rose’s design was chosen based on its celebration of Arsenal as a place of diversity and togetherness, and for representing the club’s role as a home for the local community – a message reinforced by No More Red’s commitment to provide safe places for young people to play football.
Speaking about the community t-shirt, Nellie-Rose said: “It has been so exciting to be involved in this project. Community is everything and it is what No More Red is all about, so it was important this was brought to life in my design. I feel proud that my creation was chosen to represent the campaign and provide the community with another way to support and feel connected to the initiative.”
Freddie Hudson, Head of Arsenal in the Community, said: “No More Red provides a unique opportunity to highlight almost four decades of our local community work that has helped to keep thousands of young people safe. Throughout the first two years of No More Red, we’ve worked in our local area with adidas, our local authority and our charity partners to build on our support for young people by providing more high quality safe spaces to play sport, access to trusted role models and to shine a light on the positive work being done across our community.
“Young people face multiple challenges as they grow up in today’s world and we don’t have all the answers, but we are confident that by acting together and shining a light on the support network available across our community, we can make a significant contribution to the lives of our participants.”
Chris Walsh VP Brand Northern Europe at adidas SA: “Since we first launched No More Red in 2022, we have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm from supporters wanting to contribute to the initiative. We always work closely with our charity partners and the community, and following last year’s launch it was clear supporters wanted to be more tangibly involved in the campaign.
“While the No More Red shirt will never be commercially available, the introduction of the No More Red community t-shirt will give supporters an opportunity to show their support for No More Red, and a way of making a direct impact.”
No More Red was first launched in January 2022 to support the long-standing work being done by Arsenal in the Community to help keep young people safe from knife crime and youth violence. According to the latest data by the Office of National Statistics, there were 13 503 knife-enabled crimes in London between June 2022 and June 2023, up 21 per cent on the previous 12-month period.