The human design of the Icarus Cup mirrors that of its kits — and of the people who wear them: a gallery of identities, personalities, stories, and life paths that, when woven together, create something beautiful. For the second year running, Athleta Mag proudly returned as one of the tournament’s kit sponsors.

The universal platform of the Beautiful Game has made space — within the grassroots landscape of Philadelphia, home to the visionary design collective Icarus (link) — for a polyphonic conversation: the result on the pitch, the visual language of a kit, the unfiltered joy of shared experience… In the most natural act of playing, the richness of human expression can emerge — and so can the full spectrum of identities that make up who we are, in all its intensity, in all its color.

We spoke with some of the teams who took part in the tournament: Detroit Women+, Spicy Meatballs FC, and Alexi Flawless FC. The voices behind these collectives reflect the power of football in its most social and radically inclusive form — as well as the impact of a vision like Icarus, where identity is stitched into every jersey, and community is always at the heart of the game.

What role has football played and still plays for you and your team beyond the purely practical aspect of the game? 

Women+ Soccer Detroit: “Soccer has been so much more than just the sport itself, which is wild because soccer is such an amazing thing…how could it get even better?! But for us, the Women+ Soccer Detroit folks, soccer has been a safe, nourishing, and encouraging community for women, non-binary, and trans people. Folks have found comfort, friendship, and a broader community to plug into, which gives people a sense of belonging. Our group is large, but what is really cool is that permutations of it self-organize into micro communities around shared interests. Some folks have formed a book club. Some, a chess club. Some workout together on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Soccer has been central to connecting us, but has honestly been a portal to connecting in so many other ways.”

Spicy Meatballs FC: “Football provides a community and social role for our team beyond the game itself. Our team is relatively old (average age is mid-30’s) and as we all get busier with family and work obligations it’s often hard to get a large group together. The Icarus cups have been great because it’s an event we have on the calendar early and prioritize being able to attend. You also get to spend a full day hanging out and bantering with teammates and opponents in a way you often aren’t able to at a single Sunday league game.” 

Alexi Flawless FC: “Definitely social! We’ve met so many people from either league games or the Icarus Cup and we’re always getting post game drinks together.”

Why did you decide to create a team, especially in a country where soccer isn’t the dominant sport like it is elsewhere? And what led your path to cross with Icarus?

Women+ Soccer Detroit: “Soccer is big in Detroit. There are a lot of options for men and for co-ed soccer, and some women, non-binary, and trans folks have played in those leagues. However, it just wasn’t a safe space for us. There is just a different vibe and experience playing with people like your own self. Through a long term, grassroots effort of people who wanted to form a safe, encouraging space for soccer, Women+ was born in March 2023. We started as a weekly pick up, until a member discovered the Icarus Cup in July 2023. We were ecstatic because Icarus had a women/non-binary division. We had never even seen a division for us in any other tournament—everything else was co-ed. Even though we had never played a real game together, we signed up because we felt seen and like there was space built for us. That meant a lot to us. We’ve been to Icarus every year since and had an excellent time.”

Spicy Meatballs FC: “Despite soccer not being the dominant sport in the US there is a very vibrant soccer scene in many areas, particularly at the youth/high school level. After that point a lot of guys stop playing because they don’t have the time for a more serious men’s league with frequent training sessions and travel. Recently there’s been an emergence of more well organized but not extremely competitive leagues and tournaments. I created a team mainly because I wanted to continue playing and specifically wanted to play with guys who are decent players but also have a good attitude. As I’ve run the team over several years I’ve also really enjoyed bringing in players who had stopped playing for various reasons and helping them rediscover their passion for the game. I came in contact with Icarus because I played on a 7v7 team with founder (Robby). When I heard he was organizing the tournament I couldn’t sign up fast enough.”

Alexi Flawless FC: “I wanted to play a rec sport as an adult but I was also looking for a new challenge. I played sports in my youth, just not soccer. I was definitely into soccer. I played the early FIFA games and tried to catch games on the tv when they would come on. My younger brother also helped with my relationship with the game. When I finally decided to play a rec sport, it was always going to be soccer. We came up with this silly name (a play of my favorite USMNT from the 90s), now we just needed the threads. So we took to the internet searching for jerseys. That’s when we came across Icarus. We’re a small club looking for a custom jersey. They make custom jerseys for small clubs. It was a match.”

With what kind of perspective and emotions do you approach an event like the Icarus Cup, and what motivated you to take part in it?

Women+ Soccer Detroit: “Women+ Soccer Detroit programming is primarily pick up twice a week. We occasionally sign up for a league, albeit a co-ed league. We look forward to Icarus because it transports us into a competitive environment where all the best parts of team sports come into play. We have to have a strategy and adjust it with each opponent. We have to encourage each other through challenges and push each other to be our best selves. It’s intense, but also allows us to build deeper relationships with our teammates. We invite anyone from our group to play in tournaments, so people who have limited soccer experience get the opportunity to see themselves as athletes and see how capable they are. It’s a really fulfilling experience for us to build up new players and see them thrive in competitive environments. We are especially grateful to Icarus and Casa because they do the work to be inclusive. In 2023, we sent 1 team to Icarus. In 2024, we sent 2 teams because people had heard how much fun it was for everyone who went in 2023. In 2025, we had enough interest to field 3 teams! We didn’t want to over saturate the Philadelphia tournament, so we asked Icarus to add a women/non-binary division to the Austin tournament. They were immediately open to adding it and willing to put in the effort to recruit with the help of Women+ Soccer Detroit and San Diego Soccer Women. Because of their support and efforts, Icarus held a successful women/non-binary division! We are so grateful to an organization that actually supports women, non-binary, and trans players through taking action to make spaces for us.”

Spicy Meatballs FC: “Going into the tournament our primary goal is to have a good time. For us that involves both playing at a decent level but also hanging out together and enjoying the festival atmosphere of the day. We were motivated to take part because the tournament has everything you could hope for in a summer day; football, time with friends, food and refreshments. Can’t say no to that.” 

Alexi Flawless FC: “To be honest….. you go through a range of emotions. From the social side of it, it’s always laughs and fun. When the whistle first blows, that’s when the rollercoaster ride starts. Being an older team we always go into it with a thought process of doing the best we can, but we’re all former athletes, and sometimes that competitive trait starts to poke through. We always turn it around though. Our team always plays it’s best when we’re loose and having fun while we’re playing. What motivated us was to be part of something unique and different. Icarus has always done a good job celebrating the game of soccer and making it for all. Something that just isn’t prevalent here in the States.”

For Icarus Football, football is synonymous with design as much as it is with community — within your own vision, what role do the aesthetic and storytelling aspects of football kits play? 

Women+ Soccer Detroit: “Soccer is a community sport, but it’s also a way that individuals can express themselves. Individuals have their own skills and go-to moves, but also their own personal style. The Icarus jerseys invigorated our community and reminded us of the importance of expressing ourselves on the pitch aesthetically. Now at pick up folks are wearing items that show off their personal style and they’re so excited to show that off. Additionally, Icarus’ impact has reached Detroit’s larger soccer community. When Women+ Soccer Detroit came back from our first Icarus Cup, our co-ed community were drooling over our Icarus kits. The co-ed teams were so into our jerseys, that teams in Detroit that had never been to Icarus began to design custom kits. Now, three years later, the Detroit co-ed league has 6 teams who have custom Icarus kits.” 

Spicy Meatballs FC: “The aesthetics and story of kits is a huge part of it for us. The day they have the kit selection for the tournament is like Christmas morning for us. We generally try to select a kit that reflects the personality and style of our team both and off the field. The last two years we’ve also been able to pair our design with the perfect sponsor, an Italian luncheonette in our neighborhood. Personally,  I’ve been a big fan of football kits since I was a kid, some of my first ones were Italy’s 1995 (Nike with the white collar) and Nigeria’s 1998.” 

Alexi Flawless FC: “One of the things I love about soccer are the kits. Every kits seems to be unique, especially in Europe, and I love how they can be so symbolic. They can be a symbol of tradition, a representation of its city, or a message of social awareness. That’s something baseball  just doesn’t have. For us, our kit has been influenced heavily from my personal life. Our first jersey was influenced by my younger years in the early 90s. While our second jersey draws influence from my teen years with punk rock, skateboard culture and my love of Sega.”

For many of the teams taking part in the tournament, football also serves as a platform to share deeper thoughts and messages. Is that the case for your team as well? If so, what kind of messages do you aim to convey?

Women+ Soccer Detroit: “Women, non-binary, and trans folks want to play soccer. Period. We’re sick of people tacking on “women’s” divisions to men’s leagues and then saying, “Well, no women signed up so we’re cancelling.” We don’t want to be tacked on. We want our own space that has been intentionally created for us. You can look at the Icarus Cup track record and see that if you design the experience well, people will come. If it’s a last minute thought just so you can say you offered a women’s division, we can smell you from a mile away and we don’t want that. Give us the same caliber of events you put on for men and we’ll be there. Anyone can read our playbook here for how to design tournaments and leagues that will actually draw women, non-binary, and trans participants. If you are truly inclusive, you will put in the work. If you are not, then your attempts will fail. We hope that more organizations will put forth the effort and pave the path like Icarus Cup and Casa.”

Spicy Meatballs FC: “Our team doesn’t really have a “deeper” message, we’re a group of guys that like hanging out and love playing football. Our team name is the Spicy Meatballs Football Club and our sponsor is an Italian restaurant and luncheonette, so I guess you could say our message is promoting the cuisine of the Italian American community.” 

Alexi Flawless FC: “To a point yes. We always share it when we tell our story but we don’t really broadcast it. There’s a few, including myself, in the club that  didn’t start playing soccer until we were adults. The learning curve can be very steep. We’ve always had the mentality from the start to have no pressure, just let people play, allow them to make mistakes so they can learn and grow. By doing this,many people have become bigger fans of the game overall, like starting to follow a team, going to live matches, and enjoying this game that is newer to them. A lot of rec teams don’t want that. They want the best players, even at lower level. The opportunities for those new to the game are few. And I feel that is something that hurts soccer here in the states, it’s just not beginner friendly.”

To check out more of Icarus’ design work, or to get a custom kit of your own, head to icarusfc.com