The vision of Hammersmith FC, London's most elegant club Dressed Kappa and sponsored by Chase & Status, he already dreams big

With over 40,000 registrations, England is by far the country with the highest number of registered football clubs on the planet. Among so many teams, it is hard to emerge and set yourself apart, especially the further we go down the system. The smaller, amateur clubs are mostly driven by a merely recreational mentality, serving as social hubs that people turn to to have fun on the weekends - most, but not Hammersmith FC.

Founded only 3 years ago in London’s Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, Hammersmith FC is a club like no other. Competitiveness, and professionalism are etched in the team’s spirit, something that is very unusual for a club that is still only taking its very first steps. In fact, both the women’s and men’s teams won their first two league titles back-to-back, proving just how competitive Hammersmith strives to be. The club is also unique in its approach to the female side of the game, with the women’s teams considered a core element of the club’s development strategy going forward.

The Kappa Partnership

But beyond the on-pitch heroics, there is a real desire to build something more than a football club, something more akin to an institution or a brand - something that can have a real legacy. This is where Hammersmith FC has recently made headlines for its three-way collaboration with Kappa and the award-winning electronic music duo Chase & Status, creating two limited edition kits in a beautiful crossover between music, fashion, and sports. «I think football, fashion, and music have always crossed over naturally, and it happens without people necessarily putting a name to it.» says Tommy Fish, serial entrepreneur and club founder. «Kappa has always been a really cool football streetwear brand. We thought that our men and women winning back-to-back league titles two years in a row was so unique, that we needed to mark it with something. Kappa was the obvious partner to go with in terms of authenticity, but also because the Omini logo is a man and woman sitting back-to-back. That's part of our ethos as a club. It's like men and women together, fighting side by side, back to back». Hammersmith FC was never just about football - it is a hub of creativity and self-expression that uses the beautiful game to disrupt a system characterized by the status quo «Rebellious, disruptive, not doing what everyone else is doing» adds Akin Okunola, Brentford Academy coach and co-founder, when asked how he would describe Hammersmith FC.

Ultimately, Fish and Akin are trying to establish an institution their way and their way only. Any preconceived ideas or methods are thrown out of the window to make way for their vision of the club and how they want to use it to advance causes dear to them. As Tommy says, «We have gone out of our way, especially Akin, to build a women's team from scratch and really boost participation in women's football in our area. This is one of the main things we stress when talking to brands and establishing partnerships. We also do outreach work with careers workshops in local state schools, where we go in and we bring in speakers from different creative industries to show the career path you can take. We want to show that you don't have to go down the linear path that society tells you, that there are things to chase in creative industries, like music, fashion, and sports».

Hammersmith FC, Kappa, Chase & Status - an unlikely partnership that unites three industries to promote a strong message: be yourself and challenge the status quo. A partnership that, as Akin states, «Not only makes perfect sense in terms of our brand, but also in terms of us not wanting to do what everyone else is doing, being unique»