Get Your Kits Out Festival x schuh

Get Your Kits Out Festival (GYKOF) returned to Liverpool in partnership with schuh on Saturday 27th September, bringing fans of football, design, and fashion together for one iconic event!

GYKOF is an off-pitch celebration of grassroots football culture, launched in 2024 by GIRLFANS: a project co-led by Zoë Hitchen and Jacqui McAssey aimed at promoting visibility and inclusion for female football supporters through creative expression, community engagement, and events.

Community, Connection, and Inclusion

Get Your Kits Out is an exciting space for women’s football fans to connect, celebrate their community, and express their creativity, with a focus on grassroots and under-represented fan culture.

GIRLFANS founders Jacqui and Zoë said: “We are so pleased to be able to come back for a second festival so we can continue to support grassroots football, creators and this growing community.”

“Between us, we’ve spent years in fashion and media, but our focus now is grassroots: bringing that professional eye back to the clubs, communities, and fans who rarely get the spotlight.”

“Get Your Kits Out Festival is about showing that football culture doesn’t belong to the elite – it belongs to all of us.”

schuh x GYKOF

schuh are proud to be the culture partner of GYKO, helping to deliver this inclusive, creative festival and celebrate grassroots female football through three shared passions: creativity; fashion; and style.

We had a fantastic time at the event, connecting with the GYKO community and delving into the inspiring insights of makers, stylists, and panellists – all while supporting the festival’s Grassroots Marketplace and further initiatives.

Greg Traill, schuh Head of Brand Partnerships and Purpose said: “Supporting Get Your Kits Out Festival feels natural for us – it’s women-led, Northern, and rooted in the communities which football often overlooks.” 

“The Grassroots Marketplace, Festival Fiver, and Pass It On boot drop with Penny Lane FC, are the kinds of initiatives we believe in. They keep value and creativity flowing back to the people who make football culture what it really is.”

Jacqui and Zoë added: “We’re incredibly proud to have schuh as our 2025 sponsor – a company putting inclusion into action. From rolling out a nationwide single-shoe offer for customers with limb differences, to creating supported internships with Liverpool City Council for young people with SEND, their values align with ours: breaking down barriers and opening up opportunities.”

So, What Went Down at GYKOF?

The event, hosted at Liverpool’s Fabric Studios, started with DJ sets and the Grassroots Marketplace. This was an amazing platform for creators and designers to sell their products and connect with the community – and it was upcycled football fashion and vintage football merch galore! Every stallholder had a free pitch and paid no commission – keeping barriers low and ensuring grassroots clubs and independent creators kept 100% of what they made.

The Grassroots Marketplace also featured the Festival Fiver, backed by schuh: every advance ticket included a £5 voucher to be redeemed only at the Grassroots Marketplace, ensuring spend went directly into grassroots clubs and designers, and keeping money circulating within the community. Jacqui and Zoë said: “With schuh’s backing, we’re keeping money flowing directly into grassroots football culture, where it belongs.”

Alongside the Marketplace were Team Talks that carried on into the evening, featuring engaging discussions with special guests and industry experts on women’s football and fashion.

Throughout the day, schuh hosted a Spin to Win wheel and was joined by our campaign star, Nicole Chui (@thatsewnicole)! Nicole is a rising force in arts and culture as a London based, Hong Kong-Malaysian embroidery artist and co-founder of Baes FC: an East London grassroots football team formed for women, trans and non-binary people of Asian heritage. Nicole showcased her work at GYKOF and hosted free workshops where attendees could explore freestyle hand embroidery and create their own unique artwork.

The second half of the event (a.k.a ‘Get Your Kits Out Out’) started with a fashion presentation – featuring some cool footwear exclusively from schuh, of course – that showcased grassroots style and the best football-inspired looks for Autumn/Winter. Curated sets from DJ AIMS then took us through ‘til midnight with full volume sounds!

You can also see more highlights from the day at @getyourkitsout and read more about GIRLFANS here.