FC KOWLOON

UNWANTED FC LAUNCHED IT’S “REBORN” PARTY IN HONG KONG, ALONGSIDE LOCAL PARTNER HKBALLBOOT, ON SUNDAY 13 APRIL 2025. FC KOWLOON CAUGHT UP WITH CO-FOUNDER KEVIN CHAN TO DISCUSS THE ORIGINS OF UNWANTED FC, HOW THEY ARE PIONEERING SUSTAINABLE UPCYCLING AND PLANS FOR THE 2026 WORLD CUP.

Kevin from Unwanted FC, cheers for making the time to come down and have a chat. Welcome back to Hong Kong. Just tell us a little bit about yourself and Unwanted, and why you’ve landed in Hong Kong over the last seven days.

Yeah for sure, thanks Oli, thanks for having me. Long time coming after being internet friends for a year or two. So yeah, back in Hong Kong, back in the motherland for a pop-up with a local football boutique, Hong Kong Ball Boot. You were at the launch party; super successful. A market that I’ve always wanted to tap into, I know people here love football. So yeah exciting times ahead. I think hopefully this is just the start.

Yeah, is there a plan then to maintain a presence in Hong Kong through these like collaborations that you’ve built or the the network that you’ve built?

Definitely. I think it’s worthwhile. This week was kind of like a test for our partners here but all positive signs and we’re already talking about what’s next. We got some ideas brewing.

Yeah, okay nice. So how you’re here for how many more days? 

Until Saturday so only a few more days. 

And then do you have any immediate plans or ideas about when you’re next gonna come back? hopefully by end of the year?

Hopefully by the end of the year. Depends there’s a few different ideas floating around. Still confidential I’ll let you know off air.

Okay nice. So how did it all start then… what’s the starting point of Unwanted FC?

Yeah it’s been a lot of lifelong moments has kind of shaped the brand I think without me just even realizing. The name, there’s more to it than just Unwanted kits. I’ll give you a long story  since we’re on a podcast. My brother and I, twin brother of mine, also co-founder of Unwanted, We spent years working in sports and fashion and on the outside it seemed glamorous. It was our dream as marketers to work for brands we could advocate for. But behind closed doors it was far from glamorous. We saw so much waste every year producing more and more, selling less and less.

“A few moments that really broke my heart was working for a global sports brand. Sample football jerseys wouldn’t come to life, if a sponsor changes or the colour isn’t right, the samples get sent off for destruction. That just didn’t sit well with me and that was the turning point where I thought we’ve got to do something about it.“

Starting on a small scale upycling tote bags and wash bags.  

I love the wash bags by the way!

Yeah they’re popular. Yeah, we started that in 2018, but very quickly we went from a social media community page to people globally connecting with us and advocating for upcycling and merging that with football. Fast track six years on we’ve kind of turned it into a bit of a business model.

Amazing! So in the large companies that you worked for before this [sustainability] was just not really an area that they were too bothered about?

Surprisingly not. On the outside you think so because you see all these sustainability campaigns and it all looks great, but on the inside it’s unheard of. As a big brand I think they’re very profit margin driven.

It’s a shame to hear because other thing that is painful as well, not necessarily from a sustainability point of view, is people put time, energy & effort into creating these kind of concept kits or sample kits or whatever and it’s a shame that they never get to see light of day.

So true!

You sometimes see on Instagram don’t you, when there’s a new season coming up and the new season’s football kits are “leaked”. And sometimes it’s probably bullshit but I guess sometimes they probably are legitimate like samples that never get to see the light of day which is a shame.

Some brands will seed out products to media outlets and and do a leak on purpose to generate hype. Fun little fact; it’s pretty smart marketing.

Yeah, for sure. Of all the pieces that you’ve done what was the piece that you did that took you from this small community that’s then catapulted you out there. Was there anything in particular or point that you could go “Yeah that was the moment where we took off.”

The moment that brought us a lot of attention globally was the wash bag. The wash bag came to fruition after a lot of chats with Hector Bellerin. He gave us a follow on Instagram. I had to check three or four times to double check it wasn’t one of those fake accounts but it was really him. We started chatting and he was really interested in the concept. He just wanted something that he could travel to game days with. So, yeah, the wash bag came to life with him when he first moved from Arsenal to Real Betis. There was a few photos of him rocking up to game day with his upcycled wash bag. That gained a lot of attention and that was 2021 and I think upycling was still a growing trend. A lot of football fans hasn’t really seen it before but resonated with it.

That’s a good time as well because that’s the era when you would see the players getting off the bus with they’ve got their big headphones on and they’ve got their wash bag under their arm it became like a bit of a thing [on social media].

Yeah yeah it was just out of COVID, so still wearing face mask I remember.

Then from product development as you’ve gone from wash bags to so many other things; like hats, bags, keychains, is there a an item that you’ve created that is your favourite and you thought “I’m really pleased with how that’s turned out”. Or maybe been surprised with how an item has been received by the public?

I love all of our lines. For Keith and I if we don’t believe in a line we scratch it. There’s been so many other samples we’ve made that just didn’t see the light and day.

What did you do with them ? Didn’t go in the bin did they?!

Nooo, we’ve got a little archive at home. One day we’ll do a little exhibition or archive sale or something with it. But in terms of favourite items, I think Keith would agree with this, the boot bag. It’s just so functional. Any player could use one of our boot bags. Amateur, street player, futsal player, pro player. They all love the boot bag. It’s very functional. You could wear it on its own or put it in your larger duffel. That’s been our bestseller for years and it just continues to improve as well. Right now we’re looking at a waterproof inner lining to make it even more functional so I love that it continues to evolve over the years as well.

It becomes just as much function and fashion. And then when you first started it all then are you hand making the pieces; are you sewing the stuff together?

Not me personally. We have a team of tailor and designers in Australia spread across Brisbane and Melbourne. They’re all very talented. Keith and I come from marketing backgrounds so we’re very good at briefing, very good at the concepts. I know how to cut the kit. I know how to cut up slowly to a pattern, but don’t know how to operate the sewing machine yet.

Did you and your brother grow up playing football together?

We did yeah. It was it was our life. Just wanted to become pro players – never quite made it. Football was our life growing up in a very quiet neighbourhood in Brisbane, Australia. Lovely place, very safe lovely community, but for us we didn’t have much else than than football you know. A lot of our family was in Hong Kong and being Chinese-Australian, not many other kids in the neighbourhood look like us; not many Asian kids, no Cantonese people in our school. Our parents didn’t really speak the local language English when we first moved over. And that is something I wanted to touch on.

“The word and brand name “Unwanted”, you know growing up we did feel unwanted. Often times you know we always felt like misfits; always kind of unwanted…”

so naturally the name was a no-brainer for us when we wanted to do something.

I’m always fascinated by the brotherly dynamics behind being a twin brother, growing up were you quite like rough and tumble, fighting & arguing? And how does it translate into the working world?

Yeah a few fights. It’s been great. We’re very open with each other and very transparent. I’m super grateful about that you know. If one of us come up with an idea, we don’t criticise each other we take it as feedback and just continue to ideate.

It’s hard to do with brothers though I think sometimes isn’t it… or is it?

I see it the other way. I don’t see it as criticism because I know his heart is in the right place – it’s for the brand. It’s not out of greed or toxicity.

“I’m very grateful to be doing this with my twin brother because in business, it’s sometimes hard to find people who share the same values and morals.“

That makes sense, especially in football, where there can be some big characters and egos that might be difficult to work with.

So true!

Outside of collaboration weeks and travel, what does a typical workday or work week look like for you?

It’s busy. We wear a lot of different hats, handling customer service with many questions about what’s possible and not possible with our upcycling service. There’s a lot of communication back and forth with our partners. We also have a partner factory in Malaysia that helps us upcycle in bulk, which has been a good way to scale. If we get an order of over 100 units, we prefer to do it out of Malaysia because they have a bigger team there. So yeah, a lot of communication, emails, and calls.

Who typically places those larger orders? In my mind, I pictured individuals commissioning unique pieces. What kind of clients order in quantities of 100 or more?

It’s more so football clubs themselves. In the past year or two, we’ve gained more publicity, and B2B is something we want to focus on more – being able to reach a larger community and for the club to educate their community on the importance of upcycling. We think it’s a big win and a good way to scale Unwanted FC.

So, perhaps with their old stock or old season’s shirts, instead of just discounting them heavily, they’re looking for a more sustainable option?

Exactly. A lot of clubs seem to find dead stock or overstock very easily, whether it’s from the changing rooms, training grounds, or retail stores. We even had a client from a different sport in Australia find 10,000 units in a shed that had been forgotten about for years. The office staff had no idea it was there. Now we’re in talks about how to make the most of it, hopefully upcycling some and maybe creating a small vintage collection out of others.

Wow, that’s incredible! And how long had those garments been in the shed?

They said years, with some items dating back to 2013 or 2014, I think.

And for you personally, when it comes to following a team, who do you support?

Man United.

Okay, yeah, a bit of a tough time to be a United fan perhaps, but you’ve had your glory days. Have you done any Man United branded pieces? I remember seeing a Schmeichel goalkeeper kit that you upcycled, which was pretty cool, even for someone who dislikes United from that era. Have you managed to work directly with Man United?

Not directly, but we’ve had a few chats with their staff. It’s always a bit challenging because they’re based in the UK, and we’re in Australia, with production in Malaysia. It’s doable, so we’re keeping the dream alive. A collaboration with Man United would be a dream.

What era of United did you grow up watching then?

The early 2000s. I was born in ’96, but my fond memories are from the Ronaldo era, just before Cristiano, with Van Nistelrooy leading the line. What a player! It was the Arsenal-Man United rivalry era. It made me hate Arsenal so much watching those derby games. It’s not the same these days. 

You hear a lot now that the rivalries in football, especially the Premier League, aren’t what they used to be. There’s an argument there aren’t as many flair or character players anymore, everyone’s just an athlete. I think this gives a good focus to other up-and-coming leagues. If you look at the A-League, the quality has improved drastically over the last 10 years. Do you work with teams in the A-League or have any relationship with them?

Most definitely. We have a lot of direct relationships with the players, and many of them advocate for us and see the need to upcycle old kits. Every season, there are at least three new playing kits, new training wear, and new travel wear. A lot of the players resonate with us. We’ve worked with a few clubs, but there have been a few boundaries, some things the A-League needs to sign off on. We’re not a big merchandise supplier, so we don’t bring the highest profit margins for them, which makes sense. No hard feelings. They have other commercial partners to work with. But we’re very grateful to work with players directly, both on the female and male sides. Seeing them advocate for us, a lot of the content on our social media is organic. We don’t pay them to wear our stuff to game day; they want to upcycle their old unwanted kits and carry them to training and game day. We’re really grateful.

It’s interesting how a sustainable company can also become a sustainable marketing model, built on authentic relationships with people who share your passion.

So true. I think our brand transcends beyond the product; it’s a way of doing things.

What’s next for Unwanted then? You mentioned some things in Hong Kong you can’t discuss, but what about back home in Australia or any other trips or collabs lined up?

We’re looking at North America for 2026 for obvious reasons. We really love the effect a World Cup can have on a host nation or area. We experienced that in 2023 when Australia hosted the Women’s World Cup, and it was so empowering for the local game, for girls looking to become professional players or just participate in the sport. We think North America will have that same effect, with kids looking up to soccer players as role models. We think it’s going to be a great opportunity, and the market will go crazy for soccer. We’re already in talks with a few partners in Mexico and the US, so hopefully, it happens.

It’s across three countries; Canada, the US, and Mexico, where do you even start? I guess you’ll have some existing relationships, but what’s your starting point? Are you just picking cities where you have connections?

We think so, yeah. Just trying to see who’s interested first, who’s happy to host us, and who has the excess inventory to really upcycle with us and tell a story. We don’t just want to offer our service; we want to be there in person to host workshops and throw parties to really tell the story and educate attendees on the importance of upcycling. But yeah, we haven’t really picked a host city yet; it’s still in the talks. 

Well, it sounds like you have a lot lined up. Again, appreciate you taking the time to come down and chat. Is there anything you wanted to add or get a message out there?

No, I think we’ve covered a lot. Really appreciate your time, and it was nice to finally meet in person. I’d just love to thank Hong Kong. The football community here was amazing on Sunday at the launch event. It was crazy to see pro players we see on TV, celebrities, football fans, and creators all under one roof. It was a very unique experience and one I’ll never forget.

Yeah, it’s great how football brings people together outside of stepping onto the pitch. I appreciate the shout-out for the party as well. Good to connect finally, and cheers for coming down and sharing your story.

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