In a bid to spotlight the community’s diversity, Major League Soccer team Toronto FC has decided to turn typical, boring kits into creative canvases, tapping on artists from the Greater Toronto Area to leave their mark both on and off the pitch.
The special program is aptly titled Starting XI, in reference to the 11 players that start in every soccer game. Each of the artists—11 in total—received the opportunity to illustrate on the white half of the club’s secondary ‘Community Kit’ to celebrate motifs unique to their communities.
Designs range from an Eagle Feather to the 6ix, pirate tattoos, the Toronto skyline, flowers in bloom along the fence of a neighborhood field, and more—bringing to life the vibrancy and multiplicity of the city.
Additionally, four Toronto FC players, including the likes of Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Bernardeschi, Ayo Akinola, and Lukas MacNaughton, had the chance to work with the program’s artists to create their very own jerseys
These one-of-a-kind shirts will be auctioned off later in the summer to raise funds for the MSLE Foundation, a charity using the power of sport to support youth in the Ontario region. The club will also be hosting workshops for fans to customize their own Community Kits.