Ahead of Pride Month in June, Major League Soccer and Adidas have released the newest iteration of the “Love Unites” pre-match top, to be worn before Pride Games taking place throughout the summer.
This is the fourth season that MLS and its clubs have released a Pride pre-match jersey. This year, they’ve partnered with South African designer Rich Mnisi, who is known for his loud and bold graphics. “Mnisi expresses himself in a way that doesn’t fit the perceived gender binary: He dares to reimagine a world where the freedom of self-expression exists without bias,” the announcement on the MLS website reads.
The pre-match tops have a white base with contrasting black V-neck collars, sleeve cuffs and Adidas shoulder stripes. The raglan sleeves contain a pattern of abstract shapes in the colors of the Progress Pride Flag. The slogan “LOVE UNITES” is written across the chest in the same colors.
The top is guided by a key line from a love letter Mnisi wrote to his younger Queer self – “Let love be your legacy” – and features a color palette from the ally Progress Pride Flag. Each kit serves as a rallying cry for active allyship to empower and champion the LGBTQIA+ community.
— MLSSoccer.com
The Adidas logo and club crest appear in monochrome black on the chest, while each club’s usual training kit sponsor logo is rendered in monochrome black on the upper back of the jersey.
Mnisi and Adidas have also designed black T-shirts for each MLS club with the “LOVE UNITES” slogan and some of the abstract shapes from the pre-match top. The club name appears in white, and the crest appears below in full color.
MLS clubs will wear the pre-match tops prior to their individual Pride Games, which are scheduled to take place between May and August.
In addition to the pre-match tops, MLS is further supporting the LGBTQ+ community by making donations to Athlete Ally and Play Proud. Athlete Ally supports “equal access, opportunity, and experience in sports regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”
Meanwhile, Play Proud is a “grassroots-driven program that offers stakeholders a holistic and collective approach to creating inclusive soccer communities with a focus on under-resourced and marginalized populations.” They’ve worked with MLS clubs, supporters’ groups and other organizations to develop “strategies and tools to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic abuse and systemic discrimination of the LGBTQ+ community across all levels of soccer.”
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