Roma and Black Arrow announce pioneering content partnership

AS Roma have today announced a partnership with Black Arrow, a lifestyle brand focused on the intersection of football and black culture, that will see both brands collaborating on the creation of original digital content following stories across Italy, Nigeria and the United States.

“As soon as we heard the story behind AS Roma’s adoption of Nigeria during last summer’s World Cup, we immediately felt a connection with the club and identified them as someone we hoped to work with,” said Aaron Dolores, founder of Black Arrow FC.

“There aren’t many clubs around the world, if any, which are pushing the traditional boundaries of football in that kind of way and it’s a common pillar that our brands share.”

With a mutual love for both the beautiful game and bringing communities together, both sides hope the collaboration will showcase impactful, authentic, and real life stories that redefine the traditional boundaries between sports teams, fans and the media.

“When Black Arrow FC first contacted the club in 2018 about working together on a project, we were excited to hear more about their plans,” said Paul Rogers, Head of Strategy at AS Roma.

“We were already fans of their approach to making content and now we’re excited to grant them access-all-areas to the AS Roma world to produce something cool.”

The first Black Arrow FC piece of content will bring to life the story behind AS Roma’s support of the Nigerian National Team during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, featuring Nigerian radio broadcaster Mark Otabor, whose epic commentary of Roma’s Champions League comeback against Barcelona caught the attention of club president Jim Pallotta.

The second piece of Black Arrow FC content will follow famous New York City hip-hop photographer Mel D. Cole as he travels to Rome to shoot his first international football match.

With years of experience shooting hip-hop's biggest stars, Mel will now apply his unique perspective behind the camera lens to some of football’s biggest stars. How will his intimate experience with some of Europe’s most passionate sports fans compare with his past work at some of the world’s biggest concerts and festivals?

Each piece, along with more content and events to be announced at a later date, hones in on finding cultural connections and interesting touch points that attract new audiences balanced with compelling storytelling that will also entertain and engage existing fans.