Let Love Be Your Legacy.
On Monday, Major League Soccer and adidas revealed the 2023 Philadelphia Union adidas Love Unites Pre-Match Top which is now available for purchase on MLSStore.com. Fans can check out the new top below but don't wait as they'll go fast so click here to make your purchase online!
MLS athletes will wear the bold, bright tops before Pride Games which take place from May through August as the league continues to work towards a more inclusive reality for all.
The pre-match top is inspired by a love letter from South American designer Rich Mnisi and the letter he wrote to his younger self in which he declares "Let Love Be Your Legacy" which serves not only as his mission statement but is a rallying cry for active allyship to empower and champion the LGBTQIA+ community.
Speaking on the collaboration and collection, RICH MNISI said: “When creating this collection, I had a strong impulse to speak to my inner-child and express to the world how LGBTQIA+ allyship can create a legacy of love. Unifying these themes together through my own visual language and adidas’ iconic performance and lifestyle pieces is a powerful combination – making the collection a symbol for self-acceptance and LGBTQIA+ advocacy. My hope is this range inspires LGBTQIA+ allies to speak up more for the queer people they love and not let them fight for acceptance alone”.
Fans can check grab the new warmup top at the Union Shop on Wednesday night when the doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET or you can click here to make your purchase online via MLSStore.com.
The Union will wear the pre-match warmup top on Saturday, June 3rd, when the club hosts its annual Pride Night with limited tickets still available.
Let love be your legacy
For the 2023 Pride Pack, which includes black tees for each club in addition to the pre-match tops, adidas partnered with Queer South African designer Rich Mnisi. Known for loud and bold graphics, Mnisi expresses himself in a way that doesn't fit the perceived gender binary: He dares to reimagine a world where the freedom of self-expression exists without bias.
The kit is guided by a key line from a love letter Mnisi wrote to his younger Queer self – "Let love be your legacy" – and features a color palette from the ally Progress Pride Flag. Each top serves as a rallying cry for active allyship to empower and champion the LGBTQIA+ community.
League donation to Athlete Ally and Play Proud
As part of MLS’s support of the LGBTQ+ community, and in celebration of Pride month, the League will make donations to Athlete Ally and Play Proud.
Athlete Ally is an organization supporting equal access, opportunity, and experience in sports regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression
Play Proud, a Common Goal LGBTQ+ initiative, is a grassroots-driven program that offers stakeholders a holistic and collective approach to creating inclusive soccer communities with a focus on under-resourced and marginalized populations. Play Proud works with soccer supporters’ groups, community-based organizations, MLS clubs and other soccer leagues and clubs across North America providing them strategies and tools to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic abuse and systemic discrimination of the LGBTQ+ community across all levels of soccer.
