EA Sports’ FIFA 21 ‘Inspiring the Next Generation of Footballers’ campaign Scoops Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising Award

This year’s winner of Channel 4’s annual Diversity In Advertising Award was won by EA Sports FIFA21 ‘Inspiring the Next Generation of Footballers’ campaign which highlights the lack of British Asian representation in professional football whilst celebrating the grassroots Midnight Ramadan League.

The initiative, which was conceived and developed in partnership with creative agency Adam&EveDDB, features Premier League star, Leicester City defender and newly signed EA Sports FIFA ambassador Hamza Choudhury who champions the impact of role models on future generations.

Objective

The aim was to inspire the next generation by championing under-represented role models in the real and virtual worlds and demonstrate that virtual initiatives can drive real world change.

Activation

The initiative followed on from brand research revealing that just 0.25% of the UK’s 4,000 professional footballers are British Asians.

The brand and agency chose to champion the ‘Midnight Ramadan League’: a grassroots side created to support those who play during the Ramadan fast (with games starting after Iftar and before Suhoor).

Launched on 21 April, the campaign’s hero spot tells the story of Qaiser, a British Asian teenager and role model to his younger sister Aaminah.

After breaking his fast, the ad follows Qaiser leaving his family home late at night and travelling to the Midnight Ramadan League pitch where, following a robust tackle that sees Qaiser knocked to the floor, Leicester City midfielder (and Qaiser’s role model) Hamza Choudhury lifts him up off the pitch before taking the ball and scoring 9with a blend of live action and in-game footage. The spot closes with Qaiser returning home exhilarated by the match and sharing his excitement with his younger sister.

The TV spot, directed by Bassam Tariq and produced by Pulse Films, is one strand of EA Sport FIFA21’s wider ‘Inspire The Next Generation’ EA Sports campaign. An initiative which seeks to address the issues and challenges which have held back the development of British Asian footballers and stopped many of them reaching the elite leagues.

The campaign was developed by an EA team which included EA Sports FIFA Partnerships Activation Associate (Northern Europe) Sameena Ramsden, Associate Product Manager Sola Kasali, Associate Creative Director Alex Elms, Content Producer Jack Wright, Senior Producer Andy Gillooley, Senior Director Paul Marr, Associate Manager (Media Activation) Daria Zlobina, Campaign Director FIFA Brand James Salmon, Northern Europe Senior Campaign Manager FIFA Brand James Taylor and EA Sports Athlete Relations Director Alex Wilde.

The agency group working on the project included Chief Creative Officer Richard Brim, Creative Directors Genevieve Gransden and Selma Ahmed, Copywriter Selma Ahmed, Art Director Genevieve Gransden, Agency Producer Hannah Needham, Planners David Mortimer and Martin Beverley, Joint CEO Mat Goff and Account Directors George Fox and Jake Gidley.

The media agency was m/SIX Global with production handled by Pulse Films, editing by Trim, audio post by Factory, music by Curation with Ben Khan’s track Madina.

Outcome

The campaign saw 11.6 million FIFA ultimate team matches played wearing the Midnight Ramadam team kit. Post campaign research also found that 82% of British Asian FIFA players felt authentically represented by the game and 72% of them ‘more excited’ to play FIFA because of the initiative.