We’ve been working with The Football Association on our latest partnership to raise awareness of the “joy of the game” and the value of grassroots football to the nation.
We also wanted to raise awareness for The FA’s “Silent Support Weekend” as we encouraged parents to refrain from shouting instructions and instead support their children through applause and quiet encouragement.
The whole idea is to give young players the chance to find their voice on the pitch, make their own decisions, and enjoy the game without distracting noise from the sidelines.
Anyway, to do that, we decided we’d bring in two professional commentators and see how they got on with a group of six and seven year old footballers by giving a live-run down of a real match.
That’s how Darren Bent and Clive Tyldesley found themselves out on the sidelines giving a minute-to-minute account of the game in a slightly less professional setting than perhaps they’re used to.
As anyone who has ever watched a group of kids play a game of football, hilarity ensued with question marks about team formations and the pitch positioning of some of those who took to the field, all captured in a made-for-editorial film.
The coverage for the campaign has been pretty stellar – and there’s a tonne more to come. Highlights have been crackers with the Daily Mail and Independent as well as over 180 pieces of coverage nationwide (and counting).
The whole project has been a blast and we’re properly made-up that it’s brought a smile to while raising awareness of a serious issue in the game.
