Sadio Mané: The Lion Roars
FC Tokyo 2022
Harvey Elliott Diamond Business
AS Roma Derby della Capitale jersey
Bukayo Saka x Feyi Badejo
Gold 442 v2 Tri-Aura
RB Bragantino reveal
Raheem: Shadow of My Dreams
FC Porto win the league Our World Our Roma Licensed Kits launch Grey Day AS Roma win Europa Conference League
Bukayo Saka for ALD
Bukayo Saka visits New Balance HQ
Goal Diggers FC sign to New Balance
Vivid Spark launches
Tim Weah visits New Balance HQ
We Got Now: Football First Edition: Gold Pack Blackout Costa Rica kit reveal
Route to Success Bukayo 1080v12 Tim Weah: Footballer Fits Headline Taker
AS Roma x Aries x NB
2022 World Cup
2022, NEW BALANCE
On the eve of the Africa Cup of Nations, Sadio Mané laid down a marker. A single line set the tone; delivered in an evocative New Balance hype film celebrating his journey from playing in the dust of Bambali, to winning every major prize at the top of European football.
The press latched onto the story - he’d really trade all that? With a trophy cabinet like Sadio’s, that is quite a thing to say. But then, this really did mean everything.
Senegal’s most prolific export knew this was his nation’s best chance to bring AFCON home. Though a long-established power in African football, the so-called Lions of Teranga had never won their continental trophy. In the end though, he didn’t need to pawn his silverware. Sadio delivered and sent his nation into delirium.
In a showpiece final against Egypt - and his then-Liverpool teammate Mo Salah - everything they say about Sadio was proven beyond all doubt. His relentless energy was clear, undimmed despite a long tournament in the jungle of Cameroon. With the pressure on and the game level, lesser players would crumble. Don’t forget, Sadio had already missed a penalty in the 7th minute. He would be back at the spot again two hours later for the winning kick. Imagine the pressure. It’s humbling.
Not for The Lion though. He despatched his second penalty - ruthlessly burying it the same side as before - and Senegal were champions.
Sadio wore his signature edition Furon 6+ boots throughout the tournament and New Balance celebrated the victory with an OOH campaign in Dakar, Liverpool, and even ‘Little Senegal’ in New York.
In developing the film, the creative team explored some of the unique qualities of Senegalese culture. There’s no exact translation for the word ‘Teranga.’ It’s sort of about hospitality, and sharing the spoils of success with others. It actually doesn’t need a written definition. In the dictionary, there should just be a picture of the scene in Dakar when Sadio held the trophy aloft. Talk about sharing the spoils.
The Sadio Mané that wrote history at the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé was not the same Sadio Mané on set in Liverpool to shoot that hype film. He had collaborated on the script, ensuring it was a personal and insightful story about what the tournament means to him and his nation. Thoughtful, considered, composed. Here, the most devastating striker of his generation cut a relaxed figure, switching casually between French, English and Wolof.
This is what throws people about Sadio - he’s never what you expect. But it’s also why they love him. A move to Bayern would provoke none of the usual resentment from fans. Instead, there is a feeling that Sadio has earned the right to dictate where he goes next, as he continues to collect the game’s biggest prizes. The ultimate winner, seemingly on a mission to complete football. In 2022, this Lion roared loudest.
“I would trade it all to win this one,” he said, and the headlines wrote themselves.
Some players just have an aura about them. When activated, it’s game over. You can’t get near them, can’t get it off them, and can’t rile them up either.
Tri-Aura was a boot launch designed around visualising those auras. What would they look like if you actually could see them?
Fans believe their boots reflect their own personality, and everyone believes there’s a world-beater inside of them, waiting to be unlocked.
These stunning whiteout boots were accented with different colours to represented the inner aura of each player.
Bukayo, Tim, Ebere and Harvey all took to the pitch in the boot, each with their own accent, and showed their true colours on the biggest stage.
Kit launch campaigns rarely break the mould. But for some of football’s most iconic clubs, New Balance found a visually striking way to speak to a universal insight at the heart of fandom.
Though we all express ourselves individually, your football club is a place to feel at home. The community and reassurance you get from being part of your crowd is what gives you the freedom to be yourself.
Authentic local living spaces were designed to represent fans of Athletic Club, FC Porto, LOSC, AS Roma, FC Tokyo and more. Players posed in mock family portraits and were ‘transported’ to iconic locations within the city. Away kits were shown in the grand halls of major train stations, reflecting the fan journey on matchday; while third kits were shown at night, evoking big European games under the lights.
The campaign was embraced by clubs, with FC Porto even erecting their own ‘living room’ set outside the Estadio do Dragão on a matchday.
Fans were involved throughout the creative process, informing the unique stories told about each club and sometimes even shot alongside the footballers themselves. LOSC brought fans onto the training pitch to explore the fighting spirit they share as the ‘Family of Dogues.’
Never ones to be outdone, AS Roma fans starred in a cinematic exploration of the beauty and the suffering inherent in being true ‘Romanisti.’
By listening to fans and being bold enough to break from convention, New Balance set a new standard for kit launch campaigns everywhere.
To meet the most interesting people in football, you’ve got to head for the grassroots. Local, independent clubs have become a way to build something meaningful, express creativity and unite a community around a shared mission.
There’s perhaps no better example of this than Goal Diggers FC in London. Founded by forceof-nature Fleur Cousens, Goal Diggers is a nonprofit club making football available to all women and non-binary people regardless of previous experience or ability.
The mission is worthy; the Goal Diggers themselves are tonnes of fun. Their Instagram is a source of serious FOMO for anyone with fond memories of being part of a local team.
Football is football and Goal Diggers are making it more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Since first linking up in the summer to celebrate the Women’s Euro 2022, New Balance now provide all the official Goal Diggers kit as well as funding to allow the club to grow.
Fleur said: “[New Balance] immediately understood the reasons why I founded this team and we’re delighted they’re coming on board in such a big way. It’s clear New Balance are as committed as we are to growing the grassroots football community for women and non-binary people.”
Thanks to New Balance, Goal Diggers are able to retain a permanent home for training while keeping membership fees frozen, maximising inclusivity and accessibility. Because in the end, isn’t that what football is all about? We’re all Goal Diggers now. More power to them.
The glint of precious metal as it emerges from stone. A striking, otherworldly scene, quite literally ‘ground-breaking’. This is what enticed fans to seek out the ultralimited ‘First Edition’ Gold Pack.
New Balance unveiled the latest instalment in the exclusive First Edition line, featuring the most advanced Tekela v4 and Furon v7. A premium collection in gilded and black tones, the boots were an immediate hit and highly sought-after.
Launched exclusively to the most engaged audience members, this lucky few made it onto New Balance Football’s ‘Close Friends’ list to receive bonus content. The brand’s most exclusive football boot release to date, these truly were like gold dust.
“My family always encouraged me to follow my dreams and it’s that confidence that helped me get where I wanted to be”
Wembley to Heathrow. You get the 18 to where it meets the 182. Take that all the way over to catch the 140. That should just get you there on time. It’s about an hour and a half on a good day, assuming the buses play ball. But training doesn’t wait for anyone and this is your route to the big time. You’ve got to do the return trip too, after dark.
That was the deal for a young Raheem Sterling in his days with the QPR youth team. That was how committed he was to making it.
But at least he wasn’t alone.
"My sister would have to take me all the way. Every. Single. Day. She’d sit upstairs in the café and chill until I was done with training. Imagine being 17 years old and doing that for your little brother. I never once heard her say, ‘Nah I don’t wanna take him.’”
When Raheem opens up about his journey, you listen. He is the stand-out talent of his generation. But he had to be a stand-out person too, when you learn what he was up against.
Raheem Sterling's fourth signature New Balance boot pays homage to that journey. A bright lapis and teal blue colourway ape the classic TFL seat print. It’s a vibe; fun and irreverent - but it’s also a story of the sacrifice and family effort it takes to produce a world class footballer.
“My family always encouraged me to follow my dreams and it’s that confidence that helped me get where I wanted to be,” says Raheem. “Everyone made sacrifices. Everyone contributed to my success. It was a team effort from start to finish.”
The boot soleplate maps out the three bus routes and bears his sister's name, Lakima. Raheem has always spoken honestly about family life growing up. In a famous Players Tribune article he told the full story of a father killed when he was young, and a mother who cleaned London offices at all hours to make ends meet.
A viral video of Raheem surprising Lakima on her 27th birthday with a new house shows the closeness of their relationship that is celebrated by these boots. The video resonates in other ways though. Gifting a house to a family member is a common move of footballers who make it out of difficult circumstances, but it’s also exactly the sort of thing that provokes a negative reaction.
Raheem has called out the media for how it treats black players and the double standard about how they spend their money. He has suffered more scrutiny than most but shown remarkable resilience and bravery in standing against the worst of it. Raheem’s mission in the current chapter of his career is to make the route he took easier for the next generation. In this, New Balance have been a partner.
This boot was all about his past, but the future of Raheem Sterling is just as interesting. A fresh start at Chelsea. A homecoming of sorts; from Brent to the Bridge. Testing himself again in a new context, proving himself as a leader. He’s come a long way from that bus to training. The senior pro with a legacy to build. Next stop? Wait and see.
The players who can change a game and change the course of history in an instant.
Instigators of the beautiful chaos that ensues when the ball hits the back of the net. If there are headlines up for grabs, they are taking them all for themselves.
This was the inspiration behind the Headline Taker pack, released by New Balance ahead of the 2022 World Cup. The blue and silver pack with news-ticker esque branding is for those who were born for the spotlight and live to stop the world in its tracks.
The Headline Taker name and story went on to spawn an IRL newspaper activation with Mundial and Classic Football Shirts in Shoreditch. Passersby were invited to read all about it in a specially printed paper to get themselves hyped ahead of the tournament.
