A place that lives and breathes around bespoke thinking and new ideas, Portland is a city proud of its individual nature. Equally, it's a place that's not shy about their love for the creative game. Off the back of the Toffee Club and with the help of Avery Dennison and Common Goal, the 'Toffee League' looks to bring a different party to the pitch.
Based in Portland, this league, which launches tomorrow with their own 'Community Shield' inspired fixture is a football league that is positively littered with creatives, designers, artists, artisans, locals, foreigners-turned-locals, and lovers of the game that connects the world with a ball. At the beginning of the month, the Toffee Club hosted an event that got the players together to create their kits — there's bold badges, bursts of colour and some down right different kits.
An eclectic group, the ethos of the characters involved has been summarised; "They’re a group that’s been kicking around together for years, meeting every Sunday to catch up on any pitch that’s available since before the last World Cup. They recycle. They ride their bikes to work. They have too many tattoos. They spend their weekends waking up at the crack of dawn to see what’s going on in football leagues overseas before putting their own boots on."
On a mission to use this 'Toffee League' to showcase the very best of the city’s creativity, eccentricity, and character through the beautiful game, it sees eight new clubs represent all sorts of values & initiatives — from welcoming refugees to repping the LGBTQ community to embracing 90’s punk culture — these crews got together to do whatever they wanted, using the pitch, kits, patches, and crests as their canvas. SoccerBible's own Glory Hunters will be represented in the league, throwing down our own wildly colourful vibes with a kit that matches the city's expressive culture.
Their goal this summer is "to make football a little more expressive. A little more fun. A little more weird" — we can get on board with that. Look out for more of the same over the coming months.
Photography by David Oliva
