Stormzy and Adidas have opened a football centre in London

The London-born rapper has teamed up with the sportswear giant to open #MERKYFC HQ, a multi-purpose centre providing football, music and gaming opportunities for young people in London.

"I'm gassed that we can finally open the doors to #Merky FC HQ. Working with adidas, I've wanted to do this for a long, long time and now there's a community space that everyone in the area will be able to use and benefit from," Stormzy stated in a press release.

He continued, "When I was growing up there was nothing like this around for young people, so it means a lot that we now have a facility like this in Croydon. Proper homegrown!"

The new football centre in Croydon, South London, has been created to provide new learning and social opportunities for young people, with facilities including a state-of-the-art recording studio, football pitches and a sports gaming hub.

The centre will also host educational events throughout the year.

The opening of #MerkyFC HQ follows two years after the launch of the #MerkyFC Careers programme, which aims to address "racial equality in the football industry off-pitch".

"We're proud to launch #MerkyFC HQ the next chapter in adidas' ongoing partnership with Stormzy," Steve Marks, Senior Director Brand Communications, Adidas said. "Supporting the development of spaces for the local community to connect, play and collaborate is a vital part of our ongoing drive to cultivate opportunities for young people."

Stormzy first announced his partnership with Adidas in November 2018.

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