Photo story: AS Roma x Black Arrow FC in Atlanta

Before the Covid-19 lockdown, AS Roma and Black Arrow FC, the club’s media partner that focuses on the intersection of football and black culture, traveled to Atlanta to hang out with Allurr, one of the city’s best up-and-coming local DJs.

In Atlanta, a city described by the New York Times as ‘hip-hop’s centre of gravity’, Allur took part in a photoshoot modeling Roma’s award-winning and iconic ‘blue’ kit, complete with a customised Black Arrow FC patch, before we followed him to hear him play at Phase at Sound Table, one of Atlanta’s most popular club nights.

The photoshoot was the work of famed Atlanta creative Gavin Guidry and is the latest collaboration between the club and Black Arrow, who, two years ago, first highlighted football culture in Atlanta in their COPA90 documentary, ' The Black Soccer Culture No One Knew Existed'.

The partnership was born after Black Arrow FC reached out to the club following Roma’s decision to throw their support behind the Nigerian national team during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Italy absent from the tournament. One of the goals behind the partnership was to help deliver better representation of black voices within the club’s storytelling.

Since establishing the partnership, Black Arrow FC and Roma have already released several projects together, including a short documentary that follows New York hip-hop photographer Mel D. Cole’s trip to Rome to shoot his first European match.

A new Black Arrow FC documentary focusing on AS Roma and Nigeria will be released later this year.

“What's dope about rocking with AS Roma is that although they are a big club, with a lot of history, they are down to be creative and also look to be innovative, which is what we are all about as well,” said Black Arrow FC founder Aaron Dolores.

“We inked this deal with them in early 2019, long before this current social movement, and I think that tells you a lot about the club and their commitment to working with black businesses and telling black stories.

“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.”

To mark the collaboration, the team at BAFC has compiled a special Black Arrow x AS Roma: The ATL Playlist for the club’s official Spotify channel.

Click here to follow Black Arrow FC on Instagram.