Inside the inaugural Nike FC Summit

Last week we had the privilege of linking up with Nike and a bunch of other organisations for what was dubbed the inaugural “Nike FC Summit”. The event brought together people from across the global footballing community (18 countries were represented), and we thought we’d summarise our own experience with as much insight as we’re allowed to give!

What was the Nike FC Summit?

The Nike FC Summit was a new event put on for Nike by the same people who have pioneered the successful Red Bull Music Academy. In essence, the 4 day summit acted as something of a melting pot for ideas with a host of workshops and talks designed to spark collaboration for the future. Indeed Nike led off with a theme that “The future of football is now.” and much of the time was spent focusing on how the game has developed and will continue to develop across all areas.

Everything took place in Paris, and across the long weekend we had the chance to take in many beautiful locations including the village of Montmartre and stadiums like Stade Emile Anthoine and Stade Jean Bouin. Stade Emile Anthoine, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower as you can see in the image below, was especially memorable!

Who did we meet at the Nike FC Summit?

Community was very much at the heart of the summit, with many of the invitees being community groups heavily invested at the grassroots level of the game. We had the privilege of meeting organisations like Street Soccer Los Angeles, who uplift young people in L.A. with regular provision for sport in often difficult neighbourhoods where gang crime can often run rampant.

We also met amazing groups like Les Hijabeuses, who have been supporting women in Paris since France’s decision to ban the hijab on football pitches. One thing was common across all the groups we met: dedication. In all sorts of areas of football there are immense challenges to overcome, but we got to meet people who are facing those challenges head on in inspiring ways.

Highlights from Nike FC Summit

Nike themselves had a significant presence at the summit, and indeed our highlight was getting a chance to talk candidly with designers from Nike teams from across the world!

Sadly we can’t share the juicy details of what was discussed but (without wanting to tease you too much) at various points we found ourselves talking about the future of football shirts and ideas for what Nike could run with for future collections. Many of the Nike team had been with the company for multiple decades, so we chewed their ears off talking about old kits and some of the stories behind those.

Towards the end of the summit we also had the privilege of delivering a presentation about, you guessed it, football shirts! We shared some of our favourite kits from the past few years and the things that make shirts so special. Of course, we don’t need to convince anyone reading this of that fact though…

Last but not least we enjoyed interviews with the likes of Sarina Wiegman and Richarlison. From inside stories behind England’s triumphant summer to the importance of futsal in developing a player’s technique, it was inspiring to spend time with some of the greats of the game. 

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A huge thank you to Nike for inviting us to the summit!