Business Spotlight: Skadi Soccer

With no soccer happening at any level right now, we wanted to shift some of our focus to the companies who help to make soccer happen during the regular times. Skadi soccer is fairly new to the grassroots scene here in the US and Canada too – this francophone entreprise de foot is looking to break into the market with original designs at respectable price points. We reached out to hear more about what their plans were before the Covid-19 shutdown and where they’re going once we’re all back online. Entrepreneur Antony de Varennes was kind enough to walk me through his plans.

When was your company founded and what gave you the impetus to get started? Is there are story behind your brand name - what does it mean?

To talk a little about my history around soccer, for the past few years I have been one of the chief editors for Culture Soccer, a French-speaking website, and I am more specifically in charge of the lower division category of the site. I officially founded Skadi Soccer a month ago. I started this project to unite my two biggest passions: Design and Soccer. Before launching my project, I was looking for a name and a logo that would make my brand unique. I also wanted a name that referred to the North, since I'm Canadian. So, I did some research in Nordic mythology and the name Skadi came up. I immediately liked the name and it referred to a mountain goddess. The logo came later.

Who is your target clientele? We've seen your work with NorthPen FC, what other soccer/football clubs have you worked with?

First of all, my target clientele is the lower division clubs whether amateur or semi-pro. My main goal is that each club have the opportunity to have a unique uniform without spending huge amounts of money. Every club has the right and should wear uniforms that represent them perfectly. For now, I have collaborated with a Quebec senior team, Bandjos FC, a few clubs from the Dairy Cup in Utah, Saratoga Springs or MOAB Nomads, and some others. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has put a little pause in the project, but my subscribers will still have content.

Skadi honing their skills by laying out an entire leagues worth of shirts!

We caught a rumor that you landed an entire league? How many sides are involved? Are you designing the kits as well as manufacturing?

First of all, I would like to make it clear that this is not a real league, but a project that I am launching in order to remain active despite the events that are taking place at the moment. So, I have started a "league" that will be based in Eastern Canada. Starting the week of March 30th, every three days, I will be announcing a club with its jersey. If the demand is strong enough, some may eventually be produced. 

Do you help produce or design any other products? If not, do you have it on your radar to add a few things to your catalog?

At the moment I'm only making uniforms, but I'm open to anything depending on club demand. It will be possible in the future to produce everything a club needs in terms of sportswear like joggings, jackets, hoodies and more. 

Complete kits recently designed for new Washingtonian side NorthPen FC.

Where do you see Skadi in a few years? What will be the sign that you've "made it?" 

In a few years, I see Skadi Soccer helping several amateur or semi-pro clubs. Whether in Canada or in the USA, I want my brand to be more and more present. However, I would also like to break into the professional world if the opportunities allow me to do so. So, I think the sign that I've "made it" will be if an American or Canadian club of 2nd or 3rd division approaches me or agrees to work with me. Even though I'm mainly targeting amateurs and semi-professionals, collaborating with a big club would be a great accomplishment.

How can interested clubs or owners contact you? Do you have an online catalog to look through?

The best way to contact me is by email at skadisoccer@gmail.com . Otherwise I am available at any time on my social networks, i.e. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (@SkadiSoccer). Also, it will be soon possible to contact me and see my catalog via my website, but it is currently being developed.

The Democratic Approach to Kit Design

One of the side benefits of the massive expansion of lower league soccer leagues is the amazing number of beautiful designs. We’ve tried to give exposure to these designs in our weekly Uni-Formity column. One of the clubs we’ve highlighted is Dynamo FC. If you haven’t read that article, you should; it’s a great piece of writing.

Dynamo FC plays its matches in the MASL (Minnesota Amatuer Soccer League) and has had back to back seasons of promotion, from the fourth division up to its current division, the second division. While the kits have little to do with the great play on the field, it hasn’t hurt the club’s appeal to fans and interest on social media. After the success of its last season, the team decided to shake things up with a kit redesign. We spoke with Logan Lommel, a player and one of the club organizers, about the process on the kit design and redesign.

What emerged quickly from the conversation is that the aesthetic approach, from the very basic aspects, has all been democratically approved by the team. Even the team colors. “No other team in the area in any sport had this combination, and it fits the electric scheme. Plus, the players and coaches loved the combination when we voted.” That approach, taking a vote, is the highlight of this winter kit redesign as well, but more on that a little later.

For a club so young, a fresh kit might seem unnecessary, but Lommel doesn’t see it that way.  “It’s a great way to get our club out there. People are always excited to see new uniforms, and we are always looking to outdo ourselves.” And the excitement is showing online with each new announcement about the kits; fans are liking and retweeting the posts. But the social media campaign is the final step in a process that had begun much earlier.

“We wanted to make a kit with a base color of white for our home kit because last season we ended up wearing our whites the most. Players and managers came up with all sorts of different ideas, and then Eduardo [Eduardo Silva, club manager] sent them to Stimulus. Stimulus came back with eight of our designs nicely polished, and then as a group we narrowed that down to five. Once we had the five, players at tryouts along with other Dynamo players voted on their favorites. We took the top three to our social media on Instagram and Twitter. Now it is in the hands of the community to choose what they want our home kit to be.”

And that’s where this process is at the moment and it will remain until Christmas Eve. The club is asking for fans to vote the final choice of the kit. So far, the voting has been energetic. “#2 seems to be the most controversial one…#3 seems to be the most popular, but many have talked about #1. It will all come down to the 24th when we look back, and count the votes.”

Just a note, if you want to vote, Logan pointed out that some fans have voted on Twitter but forgot to RT the original post. So here’s the link to the original post. You need to RT for your vote to count. We’re eagerly awaiting the results (but you should vote for #3).