Avery Dennison, a global leader in innovation and materials science, branding and manufacturing, has announced a partnership to support women’s and non-binary people’s football at a grassroots level.
Embelex is Avery Dennison’s solution for on-garment branding that provides digitally-connected and sustainable options for personalization is kicking off a collaborative project supporting both Manchester Laces and South London Laces football teams. This partnership contributes to Avery Dennison’s mission to support universal access to sport for under-served communities.
The partnership stems from shared Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) values, including teamwork, diversity, courage and integrity, and helps to promote and further women’s and non-binary people’s football with the view to provide more opportunities in their communities. Avery Dennison has also involved creative partners, Stadio, a football-focused podcast, and VERSUS, a website and publishing platform, to help amplify and support this shared vision.
In addition to the sponsorship fee, Avery Dennison has worked with the Laces teams and partner organizations to design new Home and Away Kits for both teams, featuring premium Embelex trims. Both clubs will have shirts for sale on their websites to further support and raise money for their respective organizations.
Avery Dennison will also donate the front-of-shirt sponsor logo space to Stadio (Manchester Laces) and VERSUS (South London Laces) since they have authentic connections to these communities. Meanwhile, Avery Dennison Embelex branding will be featured on the shirt sleeves.
Founded in April 2021, Manchester Laces was established as a club devoted to providing a safe space for people of all abilities, backgrounds and life experiences. In just over a year, their membership has grown to encompass over 300 regular participants for training sessions, small-sided games, full membership training and club games.
Similarly, South London Laces was founded in 2016 as a casual game at a youth centre for women and non-binary people to come together and play futsal, a football-based game played on a smaller hard court pitch. What began as a small pilot program has blossomed into a fully-fledged club, operating three training sessions per week in South London boroughs. South London Laces now regularly turn out an impressive 80+ players at their weekly training sessions.
Jeremy Bauer, global commercial director, Embelex, Avery Dennison RBIS, shared his thoughts on the partnership: “England’s victory in the Euros this summer has elevated women’s football and thrust it into the spotlight like never before, thanks to the inspiring hard work of the Lionesses.”
“Avery Dennison recognises the benefits of grassroots football – it aligns closely with our own values and shows that Avery Dennison is far more than a trims supplier. It’s a huge honour for us to be supporting both the Manchester Laces and South London Laces teams.”
“These inspiring groups of people emulate what it means to be brave, persistent and work together as a team. We hope our partnership with Stadio and VERSUS will continue to promote the important work the Laces teams are doing, and encourage many more to get involved in football and other team sports.”
Helen Hardy, Founder of Manchester Laces, says: “Manchester Laces is the first inclusive space for women, non-binary and transgender people in Manchester. So when Avery Dennison approached us about working together it made total sense to us. It’s fantastic that two organisations with aligned values are working together on a project that means so much to so many people.
“The club is delighted to have had such a huge input in the project from designing the kits to giving our players a starring role in photo shoots and video content. The ongoing support from Avery Dennison will change the lives of people in Manchester, offering them a safe and empowering space to play the beautiful game as well as supporting the growth of the women’s game as a whole.”
“Partnering with an organization that is passionate about the same values as us is a non-negotiable, and the generous investments from Avery Dennison, to support the clubs, both on an operational level and with our new kit design, makes such a difference to an organization like ours. In these new kits, the sense of togetherness has never felt so strong.”
