Forward Madison launched its newest kit Saturday, the Friends With Benefits Kit, through a simultaneous launch in London and Madison. The kit features a checkered design with team colors fading in and out and a QR code on the back that, when scanned, allows the individual to purchase a beer for a fan at Breese Stevens Field. The overall premise of the kit is to connect the global soccer community through kits and beer.
Cassidy Sepnieski, Forward Madison’s Art Director, explains that the ideation of this kit had no boundaries.
“This one [kit] felt like it didn’t have any rules…no expectations, just a free open space to explore and do something weird. It evolved into a whole bigger idea and connects things that we wanted to do from the start,” Sepnieski said. “It feels freeing and fun, I can’t wait to see the ripple effect it has.”
Custom “Beer Boards” will be hung at the primary beer stand at Breese Stevens Field, the Cross Bar. These boards will be populated with slips from beer purchases made through the QR code on the kit. When a fan at a Forward Madison match purchases a beer, they can redeem a second (complementary) beer via a beer slip off the board. Each slip will contain the name, location, and social handles of the purchaser so that wherever they are in the world, the fan who received the beer can reach out to thank them and connect with a new friend over beer and the beautiful game.
For the London piece of the launch, Forward Madison teamed up with Classic Football Shirts to welcome several big names in the kit industry to have a first-look at the groundbreaking new top. This event was also simulcast to a home crowd gathered at Breese Stevens Field, where fans had the opportunity to connect with attendees of the London event. FMFC wanted to get the beer-buying process started, so the club purchased beer for attendees of both the London and Madison events.
The Friends with Benefits Kit is Forward Madison’s latest endeavor in a prodigious line of alternate jerseys that includes the ‘World Kit of the Year’ in 2019, the Drip Kit, a viral sensation in 2020, and their most recent fully-reversible Beach/Club Kit, a first in American soccer.
“Experiencing first-hand people’s reactions to the kit and then their reaction to learning about the beer component has been something special,” Forward Madison FC Director of Digital Content, Evan Warwick said. “I can only imagine the worldwide friendships that will be made through what this kit brings.”
The Friends With Benefits kit is available in the Forward Madison team store at Breese Stevens Field and online at https://sportsengine-staging.go-vip.net/forwardmadisonfc.
