Naturally, AOF had to bring her an embroidered apron for the cafe-fitting for football’s favourite midfielder turned barista. Filled with embroidered elements designed by the AOF team, in celebration to those timeline markers in Scott’s journey. A memento of a path that so many dream of.
It all begins at Boldon Girls. A marker we had to pay homage to. 8 years old, waiting for a lift up the street, anticipating the immersion into that on-pitch feeling. A space of common interest, and the encouragement to exceed that potential. A place to solidify her identity and be seen! The first domino to ignite the inspiration of the next generation.
A long distance runner, Scott grew up in sport - her success came as no real surprise to coach Paul Smith, a key player in catalysing Jill Scott’s climb to the top.
So why pick football? Scott points out that it comes down to the sense of celebrating these achievements as a community. The high of celebrating a win surrounded by a team. AOF knows that football is a top-tier game - I think that goes without saying. But the lifestyle of camaraderie that comes off pitch? That’s enough to spur anyone on.
‘She’s big, she’s blue, she’s coming for you’.
She’s played with the likes of Sunderland, Everton and Man City. No longer a side hobby on those Tyneside streets. The job of dreams. A fan favourite - many of whom pop into Boxx2Boxx on the regular, and it’s not hard to see why she’s become a national treasure, on and off the pitch. Jill Scott shows fans of football and pop culture alike that women have a space to express themselves on the pitch.
‘If we all work together, the world can just be a better place really’.
AOF headed down south to visit Bethany England, and get an insight into the lifestyle of one of WSL and Lioness’s favourites.
]]>England has her staples down, and shows us what it means to be self assured, both on and off the pitch. The velvet suit, the oversized button down shirt, the sweater vest. She knows what she likes, and she does it well. That’s why we sorted her a rework sweater vest. Hand crafted from old scarves in the AOF offices, by our very own Carwyn and Esther. It doesn’t get closer to home than that. A homage to Barnsley’s best striker, and a celebration of English culture. The destiny of the name.
‘England for England’. Has a nice ring to it, really.
AOF headed down south to visit Bethany England, and get an insight into the lifestyle of one of WSL and Lioness’s favourites.
Growing up in Barnsley, Yorkshire, God’s Own Country, she’s salt of the earth, and a player of the people. Without many female role models outside of the Women’s National Team on TV , she started, as many women do, playing with the boys, and idolising Steven Gerrard and Rachel Yankey.
Fast forward to now, and the Spurs skipper is known for scoring goals left right and centre. A pitch without Beth England is an incomplete pitch. She works hard, and it shows. Lest we forget that penalty against Nigeria in Brisbane. Second in the line up, it’s hard to truly explain the pressure of the environment. Over 49,000 eyes all on her. And it’s in. A once in a lifetime opportunity, and a legacy.
England for England.
After previously making her World Cup debut against Denmark, England plays an integral role in the Lionesses squad, and AOF were excited to delve into who Bethany England really is.
A dog lover, tattoo accumulator, a fiance, best friend to Jess Carter, a Yorkshire lass, a female athlete, a style icon. Partial to a button down shirt and a suit, England celebrates comfort in her fits. A fan of Gerrard, she relishes in her signed Liverpool shirt, noting her love for the NUFC 1996 home shirt, and Figo’s Portugal shirts. A special nod to the Japan and Germany World Cup 2023 shirts- the stylised appreciation for women in football in their own right. We all know the England away kit took our country by storm, drawing inspiration from the 1990 England away kit, the Women’s World Cup redefined the style in which fans can support their team. And what better feeling than wearing the name of your country.
England for England.
]]>AOF headed over to Manchester, to have a chat to Mary about what life looks like now, how family ties into the journey, and what this summer might look like for the Lionesses.
]]>AOF headed over to Manchester, to have a chat to Mary about what life looks like now, how family ties into the journey, and what this summer might look like for the Lionesses.
In order to celebrate the wins of Earps so far, we thought it was about time we sorted her some reworked bits to pay homage to her personality, her career, and her overall success as a woman in sport. It goes without saying, we had a couple of presents for FIFA’s #1 goalkeeper too- the original AOF Ace of Saves print, as well as a reversible reworked tote back. Embroideries on her career on the outside, our Notts shirt on the inside. A tribute fit for the finest.
Embroideries on her career on the outside, our Notts shirt on the inside, the embroidered logo of Mary’s childhood team caught her eye- West Bridgford Colts. A sporty kid, Earps highlights that she knew football came above the rest when she wanted to continue even when things get hard, a resilience that inevitably influences the past, present, and future of her football. Discussing the role of family, she credits them for giving her the ‘support and understanding’ she needed to chase her sporting dreams even when the barriers to women’s football got tough.
Now, these successes push Earps continuously forward. She highlights the importance of chasing the high. Celebrating the wins, then striving for more. It’s this perseverance that strives her to never compromise on becoming the best version of Mary Earps. She reflected on her time juggling playing for Bristol with a degree in Information Management and Business studies as a period of time she learnt what it meant when people say ‘Hard work pays off’. Neither is playing pro and beating Barcelona while doing so. And doing both at the same time seems impossible. That’s why she’s our clean sheet queen, the first person to gain 50 clean sheets in the WSL.
With the World Cup coming in fast, we asked Mary about her thoughts. And essentially the thoughts are- full steam ahead, pointing out the fast pace of football cups meaning that you don’t really stop to think and reflect until it’s over. We could say we understand, looking back on the fast paced seasons of Christmas orders we’ve had before, but it probably doesn’t compare to that on the pitch. Looking back though, Earps describes winning the Euros on the home pitch as ‘the maddest thing ever’, which is probably a fair assessment of that feeling.
And in terms of the Lionesses, the bond of female friendships is pivotal. Building teamwork, mutually experiencing the highs and lows together, it shines true how prevalent human connection is within football. Be it building up your teammates or inspiring the future generations, wins are great but at the core, it’s all about humanity. It’s ‘strong powerful women doing great things’. A sentence that will stick with us.
Winners. Pioneers. Powerful. She’s one of our own. She’s Mary Earps.
4:30am start. Train to Stansted airport. Flight. Taxi straight from El Prat airport to catch up with two of our Lionesses. Not really your usual day in the office. But that’s the fortunate position [AOF] found ourselves in earlier this year.
Personable, chatty, down to earth. From Rochdale to Barcelona, Keira Walsh is a breath of fresh air and a force to be reckoned with. We flew out armed with our reworked FCB scarf gilet, complete with memories capturing her rise to footballing glory. We wanted to celebrate the success of Walsh, as a player, as a Lioness, and as a role model.
She spoke about that Euro's win, and the fact that it still ‘hasn’t quite sunk in’, which we reckon is probably relatable for the fans too judging by the excitement and nostalgia that the Finalissima win at Wembley evoked.
We covered moments from her Dad’s influence on the naming of her childhood pet fish, Walsh’s roots lead back to Manchester City, which shone through as we discussed her childhood Man City shirt embroidered into the gilet. It’s hard not to smile as Walsh highlights her appreciation of her roots, which makes where she is now all the more special. She highlights her ‘love for Rochdale’, but equally highlighting how insane the shift to Barca feels, which feels relatable for anyone who’s moved away from their base family home, but still appreciates that history in a comfort blanket-eque type of way.
It makes a lot of sense that ex-Man City coach Nick Cushing said, in reference to Walsh, that ‘some players are almost touched by God’. With support from her childhood coach, Chris Burnham, Walsh is making her stamp across international football, developing her play at Barcelona in the aftermath of her legacy at Manchester City. We’ve had request, on request, on request on our social media to build a design around Walsh, highlighting just how popular she is with fans of the sport. Call us biased, but you simply can’t knock her.
After this catch up, Walsh headed off to the rest of her day, ending it by playing, and defeating, Roma in the evening with FCB. This woman’s talent, motivation, and general charisma highlight Walsh as a force to be reckoned with, and it feels like we haven’t even seen the peak of what she can achieve.
And Keira, if you ever fancy a new tattoo design, you know where to find us. It would be a pleasure.
]]>At 12, Bronze was stopped from playing football in the boys teams due to FA rules. Her mother’s maiden name and Bronze’s middle name, Tough rings true when you consider the obstacles ran through to build the footballing legend we see today.
Earlier this year, we greet her in Barcelona, she immediately has a presence that demands respect. Self assured, engaging, and charismatic, you really get the sense that the strong women in Bronze’s life have had a lasting impact on who she is today. The women who sought out lawyers in order to propel her football journey past the age of 12 and straight into consecutive FA Cup, Champions League, Euros, and Arnold Clark Cup successes. Bronze isn’t shy to highlight that being a Lioness is ‘a dream that [she’s] had for a long time’. And to be honest, it’s hard to imagine a women’s football community without the influence of such a well loved figure.
Known for her headers on the pitch, we crafted Bronze a FCB scarf gilet and a custom print to commemorate 100 caps (and counting!). And a massive thanks to Nike for sending us a pair of 95s to customize- complete with Barca colours and mosaic imagery, we wanted to highlight this step in Bronze’s international journey. I think we can all agree it’s a fitting nod to her love of trainers.
Immediately, the Champions League embroidery detail stands out, with Bronze commenting that the evening’s match that evening was ‘in [her] mind right now’. And considering that 5-1 win to Barca, the game is still firmly planted in ours.
What really captures Bronze’s personality is the embroidered detail of her terrier, Narla. Chatting about why its special that ‘not everybody has a little Narla’, it’s clear that this national treasure values home. Through all the success, Bronze shows us the importance of having those key ‘one of a kind’ figures around you
Meeting women like Bronze highlights to us not only why role models are important, stemming from how the women in her life pushed her journey, but it also exemplifies the hopes for the next generation, who evidently have role models such as Lucy Bronze to inspire their goals.
It’s easy to see why people admire and love Bronze as much as they do. We’re excited to see what’s next for this absolute powerhouse.
]]>A presenter, coach and mentor. One of the next generation's North Stars of the game.
An AOF ambassador.
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Our [AOF] X EA SPORTS FIFA22 shirts have landed.
AOF is fuelled by creativity and driven by our love of football. Our shirt designs are a fresh take on the crazy shirts of the 90s. Whacky patterns, Jacquard fabric, Felt sponsors and Baggy fits. We wanted to make shirts that really captured the [AOF] spirit bringing creativity to the pitch.
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Patterns of Play
Odyssey
Orange Haze
The shirts are all limited quantity so make sure you get one before they're gone and keep a piece of a landmark moment for [AOF] history in your wardrobe.
Credit list:
Shirt design by Ayesha Brown of Offside Outlet
Article written by Um-E-Aymen Babar
Modelled by Amie Cripps, Nadia Whittome MP & Um-E-Aymen Babar
Creative direction, photography and styling by Martyn Ewoma
Assistant styling by Jewel Kaye
Shoot assisted by Chintu Lamba
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