Key Takeaways
- Bay FC’s Players of Tomorrow league enters its first full season, targeting elementary and middle school girls in underrepresented neighborhoods across San Francisco
- Girls designed their own custom team kits through a hands-on workshop with Design FC, a youth design organization focused on creative expression through sport apparel
- Visa serves as founding partner of the league and co-sponsor of the kit design initiative alongside Bay FC and Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco
- The program builds on a 2025 pilot with Soccer Without Borders in Oakland, where Design FC created custom kits for a middle school girls’ team
- Bay FC players Jordan Silkowitz and Keira Barry participated in the design workshop at the Columbia Park Clubhouse
Girls Lead the Creative Process From Start to Finish
Bay FC and Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco partnered with Design FC, a youth organization that teaches creative thinking and self-expression through sport jersey design, to bring a hands-on kit creation workshop to the Players of Tomorrow league. Girls explored the connection between sport, storytelling, and visual identity, integrating what soccer means to them and how their communities inspire them. The finished kits will be unveiled later this year and worn by each team throughout the season.
“Our goal is to expose young players to the creative side of sport and give them the opportunity to design the jerseys they’ll be playing in every week,” said Design FC Founder and Executive Director Omri Gal.
Access as More Than Field Time
The Players of Tomorrow league, launched in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, Street Soccer USA, and founding partner Visa, is built around expanding access to organized soccer for girls in neighborhoods historically underrepresented in youth sports programming. The kit design component adds a layer beyond play, giving participants ownership over their team’s visual identity from day one.
Rob Connolly, President of Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, noted the program reflects the organization’s core mission. “Having the opportunity to also express their creativity and share their unique voices through design is really empowering,” he said.
A Repeatable Model Rooted in the Bay Area
Last season, Bay FC and Design FC piloted a similar kit design initiative with a Soccer Without Borders middle school girls’ team in Oakland. That effort served as the foundation for this expanded rollout across the Players of Tomorrow league. The initiative also connects to Bay FC’s broader Bay It Forward community impact program, which focuses on access, leadership programming, matchday experiences, and nonprofit support across all nine Bay Area counties.
via: BAY FC
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