Arsenal’s new away kit is designed by an immigrant.

Foday Dumbuya, the founder and creative director of London-based menswear brand Labrum, wants you to know that.

Forget the demeaning connotations foisted upon people who have put down fresh roots in a country they weren’t born in by those who seek to divide — Dumbuya’s heritage is a point of pride, so much so that Labrum has used “designed by an immigrant” as a slogan on numerous products.

In collaboration with Arsenal’s usual kit supplier Adidas, Labrum has dressed manager Mikel Arteta’s side for away games next season, creating a kit that pays homage, directly, deliberately and unashamedly, to the club’s players and fans shaped by the African diaspora.

Predominantly black with red and green details to mimic the Pan-African flag, Arsenal’s away kit also boasts panels with a black-and-white zigzag design, intended to represent the flow of people who emigrated from African nations in the 1920s and the art that came with them.

This is not a football kit that only Black people can wear but it is designed to tell a story, and this project, which shines a light on Arsenal’s connection to Black culture, wouldn’t have been the same if it involved another Premier League club.

Fashion brands collaborating with recognised manufacturers to make kits is nothing new.

Juventus’ fourth strip in 2019-20 was co-produced by Palace, Daily Paper lent its style to Ajax’s 2022-23 third shirt, the Jamaica national team’s kits in 2023 were made in collaboration with Wales Bonner and last season, AC Milan released two strips designed in partnership with LA-based label Pleasures.

So what makes Labrum’s association with Arsenal stand out? For starters, this is the strip Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and company will likely wear at Old Trafford and Anfield in 2024-25.

This is no throwaway side collection to be quietly buried among a season’s worth of releases. As Arsenal’s primary away kit, it will be seen — and is designed to start a conversation about the club’s Black influences.

“With Arsenal, they have a huge African fanbase,” says Dumbuya, who was born in Sierra Leone and moved to London aged 12. “From when (Nwankwo) Kanu, (Emmanuel) Eboue, Kolo Toure and all those guys used to play for Arsenal; I think African fans gravitate to that because they can see themselves in those players.

“The next thing will be, ‘How we follow through with this?’. Can we connect conversations and can we influence a community of people to understand Africa as a whole, understand being Black in London, Pan-Africanism, and also the work that Arsenal has been doing for a while now?

Arsenal’s new away kit (Daniel Barnes/The Athletic)

“Sometimes, you educate yourself by seeing something and you don’t have a clue about what it means, but now you’re prompted to go and investigate it. People talk about Pan-Africanism. Now it’s in your face.”

Labrum’s name is a Latin term that loosely translates as ‘having an edge’.

Its clothes are inspired by west Africa and in 2023, Labrum won The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, which Dumbuya received from King Charles.

Last year, ex-Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright walked the runway for Labrum at London Fashion Week. Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah has modelled for the brand. It has also designed clothes for Saka, Arsenal team-mate Reiss Nelson and former England international Rio Ferdinand.

When Netflix sponsored Hackney Wick FC — of Eastern Counties First Division South, tier nine of the English football pyramid — Dumbuya designed their kits. Labrum also outfitted the Sierra Leone team at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago and, in partnership with Adidas, will do so again at this summer’s Games in Paris.

Ian Wright and England rugby union star Maro Itoje have modelled for Labrum at London Fashion Week (Getty Images)

Yet designing an African-inspired Arsenal kit feels like a landmark moment for Dumbuya, who founded Labrum in 2014 and expects to see his designs worn in a game for the first time when Arteta’s side face fellow Premier League club Bournemouth in a friendly in Los Angeles on Wednesday (the early hours of Thursday UK time) to begin a three-match U.S. pre-season tour.

“I don’t know if another club would have done this, how it would transcend to those African fans, because they might not have a huge African fanbase,” says Dumbuya.

“Talking to Arsenal and Adidas, they’ve both always pioneered Black culture, Black history — from hip hop to other cultural stuff — that’s why we thought it’s a relationship and collaboration that was bound to happen.

“They chose wisely to find a brand; not just because we’re big and noisy, but more how authentic we are and that we tell stories about where we’re from, about London, and about west Africa. When things feel natural, people gravitate to it.”

How does one define the particular nuances of Arsenal’s connection to Black culture?

Lots of clubs have Black fans, of course, but Arsenal’s unique relationship is distinct, the outcome of a swathe of geological, societal and cultural factors, including the different Black heroes numerous generations of fans have seen play at the club’s former home Highbury or the Emirates Stadium.

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“I’m not an Arsenal fan per se, but I’m certainly one in the sense that I’m a Londoner and to be involved in Black identity and Black people, you have some affiliation with Arsenal at some level, be it in the playground, in the cultural spaces like the churches and the barber shop,” says Clive Chijioke Nwonka, associate professor of film, culture and society at University College London and co-editor of Black Arsenal, an upcoming book that explores the club’s place in Black British culture.

Arsenal’s players departed for their U.S. tour earlier this week wearing items from the Adidas-Labrum collection (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

“This is a shirt that attempts to celebrate what has been largely recognised, which is a movement towards Arsenal by people of the Black diaspora over a number of years — not just recently — and it’s only natural that brands and manufacturers move to that kind of space, and make it something that can be tangible and can be packaged for mass consumption.

“I think when we are talking about and describing Black culture, and Black culture production, we must also just be cognisant that what is really important is Black people and Black people’s experiences of that, which often sometimes is lost when we begin talking about brand culture.

“That being said, I am relieved that the final design was done using a Black designer, because that hasn’t always been the case.”

Authenticity matters and Arsenal, Adidas and Labrum all have a responsibility to ensure their partnership resonates.

That can be particularly difficult when a nod to culture is communicated through a piece of sportswear, a tangible item that people will purchase and wear.

The African diaspora is defined as the movement of people outside the continent and, subsequently, the people living around the world who can trace their roots back to Africa, whether that movement happened willingly or by force.

Expect to see this Arsenal away shirt. A lot. It’s bound to be popular and in 2024, football kits have evolved into desirable fashion items.

Labrum founder creative director Foday Dumbuya (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)

It will also carry a particular weight and provide a knowing nod to Black culture, no matter who wears it and where they come from.

“I think this is something that we would struggle to conceive of and even accept if another club had done something similar but that’s also why it needs a particular form of ethics around it, and curation and description, because it can’t just be ‘business as usual — here is another brand product’,” says Nwonka.

“I welcome the shirt and I celebrate the shirt because I know that is something that’s only possible through the optics and lens of Arsenal, and no one else.

“I think the best way that I can describe this in a broad way is that the Black Africa shirt attempts to capture and materialise what is already in existence or has already been expressed. They’re not creating Black Africa. The Arsenal connection already exists. Here is something that is now able to be distributed and shared.

“Of course, there’s an economic dimension there — but that’s neither here nor there, because everything we do in terms of being fans is a transaction in many ways — but it’s capturing and packaging and kind of materialising what is already present, already expressed, already felt by people.”

“I want people always to remember the first club that actually celebrated their fanbase outside of their territory and also included everything about that particular territory, which is Africa as a whole,” says Labrum creator Dumbuya, who is an Arsenal fan.

“It hasn’t been done before. The players that came from abroad have actually changed this league and have added so much depth and culture, so when people sort of remember the kit, I’m hoping that’s what they remember — that it was a celebration of those past players and the Arsenal African fanbase.”

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(Top photos: Adidas/Labrum)

Rams coach Sean McVay flashed his trademark smile when reporting Tuesday that quarterback Matthew Stafford was in camp, but this wasn’t a celebratory moment.

This was more of a sigh of relief.

Stafford had the Rams by the you-know-what, and he knew it. The Rams also knew it, which is why they had no choice but to modify his contract to ensure he would be present the next day at the first workout of their training camp at Loyola Marymount.

To keep their most important player from holding out, the Rams allowed themselves to be held up, and as much as McVay tried to portray the negotiations with Stafford as positively as he could, the Rams couldn’t be pleased with how the situation unfolded.

“Ultimately,” McVay said, “all we can do is the next right thing.”

In this case, that meant doing everything in their power so that Stetson Bennett wouldn’t be their starting quarterback in Week 1 in Detroit.

The Rams may be spared that disaster scenario, but that doesn’t mean they’re in the clear. They were a surprising 10-7 last season, but that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily trending in the right direction.

They don’t have Aaron Donald anymore.

Donald’s absence was a complete afterthought Tuesday, as McVay spent virtually his entire 15-minute news conference answering questions about his quarterback.

“That’s all you had?” McVay joked. “You guys suck.”

Months from now, McVay could be wishing his quarterback’s contract status was his greatest concern.

Donald was one of the most dominant forces in NFL history, and his importance to the Rams’ defense can’t be overstated. The All-Pro tackle often attracted two or three blockers at a time, which created openings for his teammates.

How good is second-year tackle Kobie Turner without Donald? What about the team’s other second-year pass rusher, linebacker Byron Young?

Defensive back Quentin Lake said of Donald: “You feel his presence, you really do. The way he works, the way he models the way. We talk about that all the time in the building: Model the way. He did exactly that.

“His on-the field ability, we’re going to miss it too. But we’re going to have guys that we’re counting on that are going to take steps in the right direction to help us win games, but, yeah, his presence alone and the way he modeled the game, you want that around the building.”

Offensive lineman Steve Avila said he would miss lining up opposite Donald in training camp.

“I’m sad about it,” Avila said. “I know that he was a big reason why I was as prepared as I was last year. I think it was good training for me, going up against the best.”

The defense will have to find a new leader. The group will have to develop a new identity.

The offense might be viewed as more reliable, especially in the wake of Stafford’s agreement, but the Rams have questions there as well.

Even if Cooper Kupp can’t replicate his All-Pro season of 2021, can he be closer to the receiver he was then rather than the receiver he’s been over his last two injury-plagued seasons?

Can Puka Nacua sustain his production from a sensational rookie season last year in which he caught 105 passes for 1,786 yards? What about Kyren Williams? Can the running back recover from a foot injury and build on his 1,144-yard season?

The Rams are hopeful they addressed their problems at kicker, as they spent their sixth-round draft pick on Joshua Karty of Stanford. But is Karty really the answer?

Then again, how much more uncertainty would the Rams be feeling if Stafford wasn’t in camp?

“I’m grateful that we’re in this position,” McVay said. “So grateful that we came to the solution that we all wanted, and now we can focus on this team and him being able to lead the way.”

But their leader on the other side of the ball won’t be around. Aaron Donald is history, and compensating for his absence might not only require more from the team’s returning defensive players but from Stafford as well.

Follow our Olympics coverage in the lead-up to the Paris Games.

Peace.

That’s what Caroline Marks, the 22-year-old surfing sensation, feels on the waves.

No phone, no distractions. Just a deep connection between human and Mother Nature. Board and ocean.

Marks describes it as “painting a picture.”

“When you’re on the wave, you’re very free,” Marks said. “It’s an open canvas. There’s never the same wave, and it’s always exciting. It’s a sport you can never really master.”

This love affair with surfing guided Marks to the heights of the sport. Multiple national championships. The youngest surfer to qualify for the women’s championship tour. The youngest woman to compete at a World Surf League (WSL) event. The crowning achievement: WSL Women’s World Tour champion at 21.

Marks is on the U.S. Olympic surfing team for the 2024 Paris Games. Beginning July 27, she will surf far from the Eiffel Tower on the historic waves of Teahupo’o in Tahiti. In her second Olympic Games, Marks has her sights set on the podium after just falling short in Tokyo, losing in the bronze-medal match.

Spending as much time as possible at the End of the Road since its addition to the Women’s Tour, Caroline is a Teahupo’o veteran. In 2023, she secured her first win in Tahiti over fellow U.S. teammate Caity Simmers.

Marks carries on the decades-long tradition of Floridian… pic.twitter.com/6GghdKtI0F

— World Surf League (@wsl) July 16, 2024

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Growing up in Melbourne Beach, Fla., the third of six children, Marks wanted to be like her brothers. Her introduction to sports was horseback riding and barrel racing. But if she wanted to impress her brothers, Marks needed to pursue a more adventurous sport.

Enter surfing. Her oldest brother, Luke, competed in junior and pro events. Marks got into the water at 7 years old. Across from where Marks lived in Melbourne Beach was a surf break where she first practiced surfing.

It wasn’t just a sport in which she could beat her brothers. Surfing became a viable career.

The Marks family moved to San Clemente, Calif., a hotspot for surfing. The move to the Golden Coast intertwined with Marks’ ascendence. At 11, Marks won the under-12 Surfing America Prime, the top amateur surf competition. By 15, Marks became the youngest to qualify for the WSL’s Championship Tour. Titles followed in 2019, where Marks captured two wins and finished the year second.

With meteoric success came massive expectations. There was no doubt Marks was a rising star in surfing. The question became, when was she going to win the top events? For surfers, that’s a world championship and the Olympics.

In December 2019, Marks finished second on the WSL championship tour to Carissa Moore, a five-time world champion and the inaugural Olympic gold medalist. This earned Marks a spot on the inaugural U.S. Olympic surfing team in Tokyo.

The first two rounds of the surfing competition are heats. The third round begins the head-to-head knockout competition with the round of 16. Then quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Marks advanced to the semifinals before losing to South African surfer Bianca Buitendag. In the bronze-medal matchup, Marks fell to Japan’s Amuro Tsuzuki, losing by 2.54 points.

“That obviously sucked,” Marks said. “I was really bummed.”

Marks was oblivious to the pressure when she rose through the surfing ranks. Winning events so young, it was all happening so fast. She was never short on self-belief, but crossing that threshold to become a world champion isn’t easy.

In 2022, Marks missed half the surfing season to, she says, “deal with recurring medical and health issues.” She failed to qualify for the WSL finals.

Joy always accompanied Marks when she was surfing. But she admits now that she put too much pressure on herself, basing happiness on results.

“You live, breathe, eat surfing, it’s your priority over everything,” Marks said. “That’s how it should be if you want to win and accomplish things. You put in so much preparation, you don’t get the result you want and you can be really down on yourself.”

Marks leaned on her support system. Family and friends. She lived by the adage that “if you’re not winning, you’re learning.” The disappointment from Tokyo turned to gratitude. Grateful to be on the Olympic team, surfing alongside a role model in Moore and meeting athletes in the Olympic Village like American long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall.

It propelled Marks to return to surfing as a more resilient athlete.

In her return to competition in June 2023, Marks captured the El Salvador Surf City Pro, a WSL event. She followed it up with a victory at the Tahiti Pro, on the same circuit as Paris 2024. It culminated last September at the Rip Curl WSL Finals in Lower Trestles, Calif., her home state.

Marks started the competition as the third seed. She defeated fourth-ranked Caitlin Simmers and second-ranked dual-world champion Tyler Wright en route to the final, setting up a rematch against Moore.

Marks had a large contingent of supporters along the beach. Friends from California, family from Florida, trainers and coaches. All to witness a potential coronation.

Marks didn’t disappoint. On the first heat, she showcased her backhand, carving skills (the 180-degree turn at the top of the wave) with force. The bottom turn, top turn highlighted Marks’ control of the wave. She scored an 8.67 (out of 10), forcing Moore to respond. Marks’ first heat total was 17.10 to Moore’s 14.97.

In the second heat, Marks’ maneuvers with the board earned her a 7.00 score. She followed it up with a 7.60, sealing the world title.

The 2023 World Champion 🇺🇸 #CarolineMarks

Replay the #RipCurlWSLFinals now on https://t.co/ie0ZfMWjFw.@ripcurl pic.twitter.com/a4apPdBSey

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— World Surf League (@wsl) September 13, 2023

As her fans lifted Marks on the beach in celebration, she felt a “monkey was lifted of her back.” But the true joy was celebrating with the people who got her to this crowning achievement.

“All these people have made a sacrifice for me to get me to where I need to be to accomplish my goal, and so I feel like it was just the best way to pay them back,” Marks said.

It’s two weeks until the Olympics, and Marks is putting the finishing touches on preparation. She arrives in Tahiti 10 days before the Olympic surfing competition begins. A chance to get acclimated to the Tahiti waves, focus on rest and recovery while cherishing the time spent with her parents, two younger siblings and other family members.

Marks won’t be with her U.S. compatriots during the opening ceremony. She’ll be on an island almost 10,000 miles away. Aiming to bring back hardware for the closing ceremony.

Marks admits she’s a changed athlete and person from three years ago. But once she’s on the board, she’s free.

No phone. No distractions. Just a surfer trying to conquer the waves.

(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos: Ed Sloane, Thiago Diz / World Surf League via Getty Images)