Play Ocean Plastic founder Cyrill Gutsch: “Now is the time to negotiate peace with our life support and to invent our way out of this mess. Soccer can lead the way.” (Photo courtesy of NYC FC)

NEW YORK — New York City FC announced Wednesday that the team will wear the specially designed adidas Parley Ocean Plastic jerseys at home game against Orlando City SC Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Major League Soccer and adidas have joined forces with Parley for the Oceans to raise awareness around the harmful impact of marine plastic pollution.

Saturday is Earth Day.

Four MLS teams will wear the new uniforms, which are made from technical yarns containing the aforementioned plastic. The uniforms will be seen on-pitch for the first time Sunday.

The new MLS jerseys bring the Parley initiative to the United States for the first time. The white and grey jerseys feature alternative colorway details and are crafted from Parley Ocean Plastic upcycled from marine plastic intercepted by Parley clean-up operations in coastal areas of the Maldives.

To commemorate the repurposing marine plastic debris, the message “For the Oceans” is featured on the back-neck tape detailing, found inside each jersey.

The focus of the collaboration between adidas and Parley for the Oceans is the commitment to implement the Parley A.I.R. strategy (avoid, intercept, redesign).

On Tuesday, Parley founder Cyrill Gutsch visited NYC FC’s training ground in Purchase, N.Y. to educate the players and coaches about the initiative.

“Every second breath we take is generated by the oceans,” Gutsch said. “And still, we are at war with the sea. We are killing it off in rapid speed. Now is the time to negotiate peace with our life support and to invent our way out of this mess. Soccer can lead the way. It shows what we can achieve with the right balance of creativity, collaboration and technology. Let’s accept the oceans defense as our biggest challenge and protect the air we need.”

While the game jerseys won’t be for sale, NYC FC will give fans a chance to be involved in this initiative. The team will auction off several game jerseys via nycfc.com/citc. Proceeds will go to City in the Community (CITC), the charity proudly supported by NYC FC, using soccer to better NYC communities.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.