Alumnus Marco Cheatham designed St. Louis City SC’s Juneteenth Match Ball, which was handed out to fans at Sunday’s match against the LA Galaxy. UMSL served as the presenting partner for the match. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)

The University of Missouri–St. Louis was the presenting partner for Sunday’s St. Louis CITY SC match against the LA Galaxy as the team commemorated Juneteenth ahead of the national holiday later this month.

The pregame festivities included a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” – often called the Black National Anthem – and the first 10,000 fans through the gates at CITYPARK received a souvenir miniature soccer ball commemorating the holiday, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States.

Local designer and illustrator Marco Cheatham, who received his BFA in studio art from UMSL in 2016, designed the ball, which features themed illustrations of freedom, joy, love and hope alongside the logos of St. Louis CITY SC and UMSL.

Cheatham has done work for a variety of companies, including Google, YouTube and Amazon.

St. Louis CITY SC is also selling the “Support Black Dreams” T-shirt Cheatham designed through its website with proceeds benefitting local nonprofit Gentlemen of Vision. The organization provides mentorship and guidance to young men from various school districts across the St. Louis area.

UMSL has served as the official higher education partner of St. Louis CITY SC throughout its inaugural season, and the club and university have been working together to build the St. Louis CITY/UMSL Sport Management Program. UMSL is also serving as the presenting partner for St. Louis CITY SC’s esports program.