THE ASSOCIATION SEASON 2 | FUTSAL MEETS LIFESTYLE

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We live in a beautiful time where soccer and culture are overlapping more than ever. The unique ethos of the beautiful game and everything that surrounds it continues to evolve with people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives shaping its culture and helping it grow. 

There is no better example of the collision of soccer and culture than the Los Angeles based soccer league, The Association. Born out of a desire to grow the sport through culture, The Association blends the best of music, art, and fashion with some of LA’s best brands and most influential social media personalities.

Started in 2018, the goal of The Association was to create the most dynamic and interesting soccer league in the United States. A league that wasn’t based solely on the competitiveness on the pitch but the culture and the people vying to make soccer more than just a game but a culturally diverse movement. The Association has become a hub for LA’s creative community that also happens to have a deep love for the beautiful game.

In the second installment of the league, The Association has brought back six original teams from season one (Beats by Dre, Complex, SpaceX, 424 on Fairfax, Niky’s Sports and Dash Radio) and added two new teams for season two (ShoeSurgeon and Guess). These brands represent some of the best that LA has to offer in terms of tech, fashion, media, music, and retail. And as diverse as the teams are, each of them shares a deep love for soccer, the culture and they all have a desire to help grow the sport not only in Los Angeles but across the US.

Each team in the league is given the opportunity to flex their creative muscles and design one of a kind kits that can only be seen on Association game nights—custom made kits by SpaceX, The Shoe Surgeon, 424, Guess and other paragons in their fields. These uniforms have helped drive the story around creativity within the league and pushed the boundaries of what a soccer league looks like.

The Association is truly an example of “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The teams, players and kits are just a part of the story. Each game night is designed to give fans and players an experience that goes above and beyond the games. Through partners adidas, el Jimador, and Kona fans are treated to the incredible music from resident DJ Kappa as well as free tacos, tequila, and beer.

For more hands-on experiences, FutPool provides a novel soccer-meets-billiards competition. There are also FIFA video game stations onsite.

In addition to the music, the food, and the drinks, each game night features a unique activation. In the spirit of competition, season two includes a number of exclusive battles including a live art battle curated by Secret Walls, a barber battle featuring some of LA’s flyest barber shops, and a B-Boy battle that brought back serious 1980s breakdancing vibes. With three weeks left of season two and the playoffs beginning this week, The Association team has a few more tricks up its sleeves for the final activations.

The Association is a celebration of soccer and the culture that it inspires. The goal of the league has always been to elevate the sport for existing fans and use culture as a bridge to new fans.

Season two of The Association has three weeks left. If you are in Los Angeles on a Thursday night between now and June 13th, stop by for a drink. Eat a taco. Watch some incredible games and connect with the beautiful community that we are all a part of.

The Association

Thursday nights from 8pm-11pm The Base LA

352 N. Ave 21

Los Angeles, CA 90032

Entry is free and The Association is open to all ages.

BEATS BY DRE PRESENTS MADE DEFIANT: THE MIXTAPE

As World Cup fever heats up, Beats by Dre has produced another short film entitled Made Defiant: The Mixtape. Renowned director Guy Ritchie brings his signature style, including a rugged narration (by Paul Anderson) and stylish jump cuts, to the world of football.

The film brings together contemporary original and remixed music and some of the sport’s most famous athletes to highlight the influence of the game on the humblest of world citizens. In this case, a young Russian named Andre is inspired to turn obstacle into opportunity. The music is from artists like Anderson .Paak, Enya, Jonah Christian, King Mez, and Ring The Alarm. Some of the footballers featured in the film are Harry Kane, Mesut Özil, Thierry Henry, Patrice Evra, Benjamin Mendy, Fyodor Smolov, Neymar, Eden Hazard, David DeGea. Even Serena Williams stops by for a cameo.

The Beats products that can be seen in the film are part of the brand’s Decade Collection, which includes Beats Studio3 Wireless over-ear headphones, Beats Solo3 on-ear headphones, BeatsX wireless earphones, Powerbeats3 Wireless earphones, and urBeats3 earphones.

Check out the film below.

WHAT WENT DOWN AT THE ASSOCIATION DRAFT PARTY

This past Wednesday night saw the official drafting of The Association, our soccer league in partnership with adidas, that brings together teams led by a roster of our favorite brands and influencers, all of which duke it out on the pitch for fame and glory, and a dope AF trophy designed by the Los Angeles mural legend OG Slick.

We hosted the drafting party at The Association bar – naturally – in downtown LA, with free-flowing booze, street tacos, music spun by DJ Episode, and good banter all around. In addition to the brand reps from all participating teams and the to-be-drafted influencers, the turn out for the event exceeded our expectations, with Kicks to the Pitch‘s friends and family all under one roof getting steadily drunk.

Once everyone was in and loose, the drafting commenced, with each brand all taking turns picking two influencers to join their team. The order was randomly picked with the help of a comically small Bingo-styled ball cage, with the first round of picks to be followed by a second round in the opposite order. There were eight teams in total, with a total pool of 16 influencers that included ex-pro soccer, Olympic medalists, players, models, photographers, TV hosts, Radio networks and fitness gurus.

After an excited two rounds of picks, we’ve landed with the following teams:

FourTwoFour On Fairfax‘s “Golden State”
– Jared Martinez, photographer
– Umar Issa, photographer & podcast host

Complex‘s “Marauders”
– Chris Baris, ex-pro soccer player, model & actor
– Denise Jones, on-air personality & co-founder of All Def Music, TYT Sports

Dash Radio‘s “Real Radio FC”
– Dominic Chambrone aka The Shoe Surgeon, custom sneaker creator & designer
– Jacques Slade, host & video creator

Red Bull‘s “Red Bull Los Angeles”
– Geoff Gouveia, visual artist
– Karen Civil, author, philanthropist, brand curator & runs “Tru Women”

Beats by Dre‘s “The Defiant Ones FC”
– Hope Watson, actor & model
– Simonez Wolf, stylist

SpaceX‘s “Dragon FC”
– Lauren Sesselmann, ex-pro soccer player, Olympic Bronze Medalist, Pan Am Gold Medalist & World Cup athlete
– John Pangilinan, photographer & co-founder of OG Moto Show

Niky’s Sport‘s “Niky’s FC”
– Shawna Gordon, ex-pro soccer player turned skills trainer and developer
– Silas Lee, photographer and Team Cozy co-founder

Jason Markk‘s “Markkers FC”
– Tamra Dae, personal fitness expert, model and entrepreneur
– Terry Guy, creator/founder of Monorex, Star Los Angeles & Secret Walls

Check out our official photo recap taken by The Association’s official photographer Willie Toledo throughout, then be sure to check back in for more upcoming news on The Association!