If ’90s football was all about Britpop, with the Gallagher brothers permanent fixtures on the Manchester terraces, the past decade has ushered in a new link-up with British grime. Football and grime are deeply intertwined – “Football is synonymous with our culture,” notes Stormzy – with artists releasing hype songs for their hometown clubs, appearing in teams’ kit launch videos and dropping countless references to the beautiful game throughout their lyrics.
As one of the most globally-recognised artists in the British music scene, Stormzy is no different. As well as the footballer cameos in his Mel Made Me Do It video, his lyrics have referenced David Moyes, Kylian Mbappé and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and he once referred to himself as “the grime scene’s Lukaku”. In recent years, he’s taken his love of the sport even further; he’s coached a Soccer Aid team at Old Trafford, tried his hand at football punditry on Sky Sports and teamed up with Wilfried Zaha to purchase AFC Croydon, who were then promoted in the duo’s first season of ownership.
Despite growing up down the road, however, AFC Croydon were not his boyhood club – that honour goes to Manchester United, who Stormzy fell in love with for their Ferguson-era football and style. As a kid, he looked up to Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rio Ferdinand, and as an adult, his admiration is reserved for Marcus Rashford for his philanthropic work off the pitch. If he modelled himself after his boyhood heroes for their confidence and cool, he’s certainly also followed Rashford’s example in recent years with his political activism and support for his community.
If there was ever a man proud of where he comes from, it’s Stormzy. Croydon, Thornton Heath and South Norwood were emblazoned in lights during his iconic headline slot at Glastonbury five years ago and he has frequently returned home to shoot his videos.
“I’m so London, I’m so south”, he raps on his 2015 top-ten single Shut Up, a song which heralded his meteoric rise onto the UK music scene. The iconic south London chicken shop chain Morley’s, the Croydon-bound 109 bus and a South Norwood Caribbean cafe are all hyper-local references dotted throughout his lyrics. It makes sense, then, that a man who is so firmly rooted would want to give something back to the area that shaped him.
Under his brand #Merky – a slang term meaning great or quality, usually used to describe music – he has so far introduced a record label, a book publishing imprint, a Cambridge scholarship fund, and an initiative opening up jobs in football for under-represented Black communities.
His latest Merky venture takes the form of #Merky FC HQ, a new youth centre located just ten minutes from where he grew up. There has been a football pitch on this site for years – he actually played there as a kid – but the new venue is a significant upgrade. It has a brand-new 3G pitch, music studio, gaming hub and multiple event spaces, all open and accessible to anyone who wants to visit.
Giving back to his community is nothing new for Stormzy. In 2022, he was galvanised into action by grim statistics about the representation of Black people in the football industry; a report from the Black Footballers Partnership found that 43% of Premier League players are Black, but just 4.4% of management-related positions in football are held by Black people. Enter Stormzy and the launch of his #Merky FC partnership with adidas.
The FC stands for football careers, and the programme works by getting sports organisations and brands to open up specific roles for #Merky FC candidates, who are all of Black heritage and aged 18–24. So far, #Merky FC has placed 60 candidates in roles at places like Sky Sports, Manchester United and EA SPORTS in an industry where off the pitch the Black community is under-represented.
One of those placements is right here at Champions Journal – our junior publications designer Flo Katakwe came to us through #Merky FC. “I’m Afro-Caribbean and unfortunately it is harder for us to get into certain fields, including design,” she says. “I’ve always been a creative person and I love magazines and fashion, so I knew I wanted to get into publication design. I was accepted into the #Merky FC programme and then applied for the job at Champions Journal; when I got it, I was so, so happy. I’ve been working across the social channels, turning the physical magazine into digital content, which I love doing.”
The job placements are located across the UK, but with the HQ, Stormzy is turning his attention back to his childhood neighbourhood. “When I was growing up, there was nothing like this around for young people,” said Stormzy when the HQ launched in May. “It means a lot that we now have a facility like this in Croydon.”
When I visit the venue with Flo on a Friday summer morning, there’s a group of young men training on the full-size pitch, led by their coach, David. The HQ is surrounded by residential housing, giving it the feeling of an enclave amidst built-up suburban streets. The group are running football drills together and taking turns to shoot past each other into one of the goals. Their laughter and shouts echo off the walls of the nearby houses.
When I chat to them, it turns out that every one of them is from the local area: Thornton Heath, South Norwood – postcodes Stormzy knew intimately when growing up here and honoured as part of his 2019 Glastonbury set. Despite only being open for three months, the HQ is already having an impact. “Places like these are the sort of thing that’s really needed for these boys, in terms of education and structure in their life,” says David. “This place is very good for them.”
Flo agrees. “It actually feels like a community here, it’s like a whole little world that they’ve made to bring young people together. Seeing that there’s this space and a whole programme that’s actually trying to help our community is amazing. I don’t know if Stormzy understands how many people he’s helping – even for the people who are just witnessing what’s happening, knowing things like this exist could heat up something inside of them.”
Whether it’s getting a young person started on a career in football, or giving them a space to play the game, it’s clear that Stormzy is making a genuine difference to his community. One of the boys playing on the pitch today makes it clear why projects like these are so important. “It gets me out of a dark environment,” he says. “When I come here, I can just play football – I just feel free.”
We caught up with Stormzy at #Merky FC HQ to find out more about the inspiration behind the project, his love of grassroots football and whether a career in sports punditry beckons…
You’re three years on from starting #Merky FC. What have you achieved so far that you’re most proud of?
Seeing all the young adults and kids coming through #Merky FC, both Year One and Year Two, who are now in their roles thriving and excelling. We had an Old Trafford football day together and they’ve been down to see the new HQ and just being able to meet them in the flesh, spend time with them and know that there are real people at the end of this initiative who are benefiting and excelling is amazing. And, of course, opening the #Merky FC HQ building.
Why was it important to you to have the HQ in Croydon?
I’m from here, so it means a lot to have something in my hometown. It’s always nice to do something for the place where you grew up.
Tell us about your interest in grassroots football. Why are you so keen to get involved?
Anyone who’s ever seen me kick a football knows I’m absolutely rubbish, but growing up every single one of my friends played football. Some of them were at grassroots level, others at semi-pro, and some even became pros. I think football is so ingrained in the ends – growing up there, everyone was always kicking ball, or wanting to kick ball. The game is such a big part of everyone’s life and the community that even now, as grown-ups, my friends are grassroots coaches and managers. My nephew even coaches, so, naturally, it’s something that became important to me.
