As KITH and adidas Soccer take collaborative football into strong spaces of design and culture, we spoke to Florencia Galarza of KITH Cobras. Captaining one of three creative-driven KITH clubs, Flo has experienced football from every angle. Dedicated professional to the purity of the city cages, positively influencing the game with every step.
The KITH Cobras are the most established KITH side, can you talk us through the journey to date to where the team is at now?
"I’ve been playing with these guys since 2013 in downtown New York and we were ready for a real brand holding us down – we always made it to the finals. We still do. Win some, lose some but the journey is the most exciting every single season especially with the gear we get from Ronnie Fieg + adidas Football."
The Cobras play in the Bowery Premier League - for someone new to the league, can you tell us a bit about the history of it, how the seasons are run and how it’s structured for all the teams involved?
"The Bowery League has been around for a while now. Minh is the don behind downtown football and Chinatown Soccer Club are the team who have been playing since the early 2000’s. Bowery League began as downtown creatives who love and play football. It was a beautiful mix of artists, photographers, culture creators, style kids, etc. Now its evolved to mega competitive ex pros, college D1 players and some creatives who are still holding down the magic vibe of downtown football."
As a team in NYC, how would you describe the ethos and values of the KITH Cobras?
"We are very loyal and have immense respect for one another. Everyone plays. Skill, gender, race does not define anyone. We are inclusive. We got your back."
From this latest collection, what are some of your favourite pieces?
"Tracksuits all day!"
For you personally, there’s a professional connection to the sport. Where did your relationship with soccer begin?
"It began when I was born. Then it grew to something very serious when I started getting called for the Florida Select team then being considered for the US Women's national pool. I took a hit with an injury but came back to play for Boca Juniors and was just invited to PSG training back in April. I didn’t stay in Paris – I’m still recovering from a fractured wrist and working on getting fit again but football has always been my first love. I will always have eyes for the game and I will play for as long as my body lets me."
You’ve fulfilled a lot of your ambitions in the sport, but is there still a hunger to achieve more?
"There is... As a woman who has played for a big club, been a driving force behind an authentic collaboration between football and fashion, and who has worked in football media—and in Spanish and English—I’m just trailblazing my own path, and working on empowering women through my journey."
How would you describe the soccer community in NYC right now and how it’s evolved in recent years?
"It’s grown so much! We started to really see it back in 2014 during the World Cup. The streets were flooded with fans. Then NYCFC came to Yankee Stadium and NYC really became a soccer city. We have the Red Bulls and the Cosmos but NYCFC helped secure the football fever in the streets."
Are we at a time where soccer in the US has never been as popular as it is today?
"I think so, yes. Big cities have always been about soccer especially those cities and neighbourhoods that have many immigrants like my family where we brought our passion for the sport with us. The rest of the US is catching on and it's a beautiful thing."
With the 2026 World Cup coming to the US/Canada/Mexico, just how big is that going to be for soccer in the States?
"HUGE! We can get these millennials non believers off their phones and into the stadiums so they can finally feel some real passion and fall in love with the most beautiful sport in the world."
The adidas Football x KITH Chapter 3 collection lands on the 29th June exclusively online and in store at KITH.
Photography by Matthew Glueckert for SoccerBible
