The Real Guys has officially joined the Apartheid-Free Communities network.
When we started TRG in November 2024, we wanted to create something practical. A way of turning solidarity with Palestine into real humanitarian support, while also giving people something visible they could wear, share and talk about.
That is why we chose a football jersey. Football crosses borders, cultures and beliefs, and we believed a jersey could do the same. It could carry Palestinian identity into everyday spaces, start conversations and allow people from very different backgrounds to stand behind the same cause.
From the beginning, the commitment was clear. 100% of our profits would be donated to humanitarian aid in Palestine. Most of TRG’s day-to-day work is carried out by volunteers, which helps us keep costs down and direct as much as possible towards the people the business was created to support.
But TRG has never only been about raising money. It has also been about what we choose to stand for: dignity, fairness, humanity, transparency and the belief that ordinary people can make a difference through the choices they make.
So when the invitation came to join the Apartheid-Free Communities network, we did not find ourselves adopting a new set of values.
We recognised values we were already trying to live by.
Joining the network felt like the natural next step.
The Real Guys, UK, listed among the new Apartheid-Free Communities in the September 2026 newsletter.
What is the Apartheid-Free Communities network?
The Apartheid-Free coalition was formed in 2022, initially by faith groups in North America. Since then, it has grown into a much broader network that includes congregations, charities, solidarity organisations, university groups, businesses, artists and other communities around the world. As of 17 September 2026, 1,306 communities and organisations had signed the pledge.
At its heart, the Apartheid-Free pledge is built around a straightforward set of values. It asks communities to affirm freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people and all people, and to oppose racism, bigotry, discrimination and oppression.
That wider wording matters. The network also speaks about challenging racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism and xenophobia within our own communities, and about recognising how discrimination and oppression can take different forms in different parts of the world.
Today, Apartheid-Free Communities is convened by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organisation founded in 1917 during the First World War to create alternatives to military service and provide humanitarian service. More than a century later, AFSC continues to work on peace, equality and human dignity, with a leadership team drawn from different parts of the Apartheid-Free network.
Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement
Apartheid-Free Communities says its inspiration comes from the movement that challenged apartheid in South Africa. The comparison is not about claiming that every place, history or political situation is identical. It is about the principle that communities can decide not to accept discrimination and inequality as permanent, and that sustained collective action can matter.
That history is closely associated with figures such as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, but it was never the work of famous individuals alone. Mandela spent decades opposing apartheid before becoming South Africa’s first democratically elected president in 1994, while Tutu became one of the country’s most prominent moral and religious voices against apartheid. The wider struggle involved generations of ordinary people, churches, workers, civic groups, campaigners and supporters inside and outside South Africa.
That is one reason the Apartheid-Free model feels relevant to us. It does not assume that every community has the same role to play. It asks people, businesses, faith groups and organisations to consider what they can do within their own sphere and to make their commitment visible through practical action.
Why the pledge felt familiar
By the time we were invited to join Apartheid-Free Communities, many of the values behind the pledge were already part of how TRG tried to operate.
The Real Guys was never built around the idea that supporting Palestine should belong to one type of person. From the beginning, we wanted the jersey, the message behind it and the humanitarian support it generated to reach across faiths, cultures and countries.
And that is exactly what we have seen in the people who have supported us. Our customers come from very different backgrounds, beliefs and parts of the world, yet they have chosen to stand behind the same cause. Jerseys have travelled across the UK and Europe, to the United States and Canada, and as far as Australia. Some customers have a personal connection to Palestine, while others simply believe that dignity, justice and equality should not depend on where someone was born or what faith they follow.
That diversity has always meant something to us. It showed us that Palestine was not being understood only as a Muslim issue or an Arab issue. People from very different communities were responding to the same basic values and, in doing so, were already reflecting much of what sits behind the Apartheid-Free pledge.
That is why the wording of the pledge resonated so strongly. Its emphasis on dignity, justice, equality and opposition to discrimination reflected not only the principles TRG had been built around, but also the values we had already seen expressed by customers from different faiths, cultures, countries and backgrounds who chose to support Palestine through us.
The same is true of action. We had already made a practical commitment through the way TRG is structured, with volunteers running the business and 100% of profits going to charity. We were already using the platform to raise awareness as well as funds, and we were already seeing customers around the world respond to that combination of purpose and action.
So signing the pledge was not about changing what The Real Guys stood for. It was about making that commitment more visible and joining a wider community of people and organisations trying to live by similar values.
Not only a Muslim issue. Not only an Arab issue.
As TRG has grown, something has become increasingly clear to us. Support for Palestine reaches far beyond one faith, one culture or one community. And when you look at Palestinian history, that should come as no surprise. Palestine itself has never belonged to one faith.
Palestinian Muslims and Christians alike were affected by the upheaval and displacement of 1948. In Ma'lul, the population included around 490 Muslims and 200 Christians, and the village had a mosque alongside Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches. The village was later emptied of its residents and its houses levelled.
Nearby al-Mujaydil was home to around 1,640 Muslims and 260 Christians in 1945. It had a Roman Catholic church and monastery, and after the village was depopulated and razed, parts of the destroyed church were among the few structures left standing.
Ruins of Ma'lul, where Muslim and Christian Palestinians lived alongside one another before the village was depopulated in 1948.
Those details matter because they challenge the idea that Palestine is somehow a cause that belongs only to Muslims or Arabs. Palestinian identity has always included different faiths and communities, and the loss experienced in 1948 cut across those lines.
That is why we have always tried to speak about Palestine in human terms. You do not need to share someone’s religion, ethnicity or background to believe that they deserve dignity, freedom, justice and equality.
That principle is also one of the clearest connections between the community that has grown around TRG and the values expressed in the Apartheid-Free pledge.
Turning support into practical aid
For TRG, solidarity has always needed a practical side. Since we began, 100% of our profits have been donated to humanitarian aid in Palestine, supporting projects including emergency relief, food and clean water, assistance for displaced families and other humanitarian support in Gaza through trusted organisations including Medical Aid for Palestinians and Al Qulub Trust.
Those funds have supported different forms of aid according to what has been needed on the ground. Through the projects and organisations we have supported, this has also included baby formula, winter assistance and activities for children. We have been fortunate to receive photographs and updates showing some of that support reaching people directly, allowing our customers to see what their purchases have helped make possible.
Humanitarian support delivered with funds generated through The Real Guys community.
Transparency has been important to us from the beginning. Each month, we share our donation receipts on Instagram so our customers can see where the money generated through TRG has gone. We also share updates from the humanitarian projects we support whenever these are available.
None of this happens because of a jersey on its own. It happens because people choose to buy one, wear it, talk about why they are wearing it and allow the profit from that purchase to become practical support for people who need it.
See the impact. Follow the journey. Support the next one.
You can explore more of the humanitarian work supported by TRG on our Impact page, follow @therealestguys on Instagram for ongoing updates and monthly donation receipts, or view our Palestine Jersey Collection to support the next project.
Want to know more?
What exactly has The Real Guys signed?
TRG has signed the official Apartheid-Free pledge, which sets out the network’s commitments around freedom, justice, equality and opposition to racism, discrimination and oppression.
Read the full Apartheid-Free pledge
What other communities have joined the network?
More than 1,300 communities and organisations are currently listed, including faith communities, businesses, solidarity organisations, artists and other groups. The official directory records 1,306 signers as of 17 September 2026.
Explore the Apartheid-Free Communities network
What does becoming an Apartheid-Free Community mean in practice?
The network recognises that every community is different. Signatories are encouraged to consider what practical action makes sense within their own context and strengths.
Sources and image credits
Historical references:
Ma'lul: PalQuest, Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question
al-Mujaydil: PalQuest, Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question
Image credits:
Ma'lul: Bukvoed / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Nelson Mandela: John Mathew Smith / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.