What happens when two artists show up at a ninth-tier English football club and say — we want to help, and we're not asking for money?

In Episode 109 of the Because Football Podcast, we dive into one of the most uniques project in the world of football / soccer that is revitalizing a lower league club that has been all but forgotten.

Ken Borg and Jonathan Kelham are the voluntary designer and artist in residence at Brislington FC in Bristol.

One year into a project that started with a few flags on a grey corrugated wall, they've painted the stadium, built a website, launched a merch shop, posted flyers across the entire neighborhood (multiple times), landed a billboard campaign, ran a pop-up gallery-meets-club-shop, and - most impressively - convinced a committee of football volunteers to let two artists apply their creativity to breathe life back into the club.

No other club has done this before, let alone in a grassroots way that positions the club as a community asset. There's no blueprint. They work a few hours on Fridays and weekends after their real day jobs. They scrounge money from local grants, receive in-kind gifts from local businesses, and get hand-me-downs from bigger clubs.

Like all of our episodes, this one goes deeper than football, but it does so in a fascinating way at the intersection of people and design (and PROPER non-league football!).

It's about what creativity can unlock when it shows up with no agenda except to give. It's about the gap between communities and the clubs that are supposed to represent them. And it's about what non-league football actually offers that the top of the pyramid never could — proximity, authenticity, and the feeling that a little can mean a lot.

Connect with Jonathan, Ken, and Brislington FC here:

Brislington Instagram

Brislington FC Website : Residency Project

Ken Borg Instagram

Jonathan Kelham Instagram

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