Representing the Under-Represented

How does the world’s biggest computer game inspire the next generation of footballers and help level the playing field for the under-represented?

The campaign was borne out of Channel 4's brief for the 2021 'Diversity In Advertising Award' - challenging brands to show how there can be a focus on the authentic portrayal of UK BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) cultures to affect change in UK advertising.

We identified a clear problem to solve - that British South Asians are grossly underrepresented at the top tiers of English football (making up just 0.25% of the UK’s 4000 pros), despite over-indexing at casual participation level and within football-based gaming. This led us to a hypothesis that there must be a barrier to entry at the top level that was preventing them from breaking through.

We conducted thorough research which informed our conclusion; this barrier was primarily rooted in a lack of viable role models within the community, who were therefore unable to validate going pro as a legitimate career path.

How does the world’s biggest computer game inspire the next generation of footballers and help level the playing field for the under-represented? When research showed that representation of British Asians in professional football is disproportionate to the wider population. In 2020, just 10 (or 0.25%) of the UK’s 4,000 professional footballers were British Asians, compared with 7% of the population.

Having identified the gross under-representation of South Asians at the top tiers of English football, we understood that we needed to raise awareness of the issue, however, we were acutely conscious that we needed to create longer-lasting change to inspire the British South Asian community.

To do that, we wanted to create a cycle of influence by shining a light on British South Asian role models for younger players to look up to.

The campaign kicked off with a 60s TVC & national OOH, focussed on The Midnight Ramadan League (MRL). To ensure the story was truly relatable, it was critical that we ensured a strong representation from under-represented groups, with 100% of the cast featured within the TVC coming from the community.

It was time to champion new British South Asian role models in football. We started off by pitching out idea to Channel 4 and we won the prestigious ‘Diversity in Advertising Award 2021’, winning £1,000,000 in media spend.

Then, EA Sports FIFA signed Hamza Choudhury as their first British South Asian Ambassador ever, to act as a role model and kickstart the cycle of influence.

We made an epic film, spotlighting a real British South Asian football league, the ‘Midnight Ramadan League’, elevating the squad from the real world into the game, featuring a cameo by hamza himself. We worked with Pakistani director Bassam Tariq to ensure that we told the story authentically. The film premiered with Channel 4 during Ramadan 2021.

To extend Hamza’s influence, a comic book based on his life was rolled out in schools through anti-racism educational charity ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ and The Premier League’s Primary Stars initiative. To ensure the message was seen by the masses EA Sports FIFA changed the game itself, commissioning South Asian artist Kiayes Uddin to produce the MRL Kit and Stadium Vanity exclusively.

The campaign transformed perceptions of FIFA for our target audience.