Since its inception in 2017, CARICOM has gone about exploring the intersection between the experiences of Black people and football across the United Kingdom.
Founded by Calum Jacobs – the author of A New Formation: How Black Footballers Shaped the Modern Game – CARICOM is both an annual print magazine and online platform that's ultimately making a difference.
“Essentially, it all started because we wanted to understand how the experiences of Black football fans – and players – differed from other football fans,” Jacobs told Highsnobiety on how CARICOM came about.
“What did we see, cherish, remember, and interpret differently, and could writing exist about Black people in football that didn’t ask familiar questions about racism “in football”? I explored all of these things further in my book, which is essentially an extension of CARICOM.”
For its third issue, CARICOM is presenting The Island, an innovative project which offers people the chance to virtually escape to a different world.
In a time when Black people’s very existence is becoming increasingly defined by their experiences of racism, the inhabitants of this unknown tropical paradise we call The Island refuses to play by those same rules.
“The goal of The Island is to provide a digital mental retreat to people, specifically Black people, who want to also escape into a world custom built to provide that,” Jacobs continues.
"All the video, sounds, and illustration have been inspired by references from West Africa, the Caribbean and South America."
A dynamic multimedia project at its core, The Island marks the beginning of a bold new era for CARICOM, and one that sees it incorporate fashion, culture, and visual storytelling for the first time.
The project includes a short story created in partnership with UK producer Conducta, a special-edition football kit constructed by Nike, 3D-printed whistles produced by Black-owned studio North West World, and much more.
“The project is mainly housed on our website and is an evolving space with multiple elements designed to hold your attention longer, and disrupt our relationship with the infinite doom scroll.”
"It's also an attempt to encourage different voices to drill down into both the broader, and more specific, aspects of the black experience, while summarily rejecting the notion that trauma is the only lens it can be examined through."
