As the nation bites its nails, eagerly awaiting England’s final match against Spain in the Euros on Sunday, the Migration Museum is using the tournament as a platform to highlight one of the most discussed topics in British politics, immigration. Using the nationwide support for the England Team, Wonderhood Studios and the Migration Museum are challenging anti-immigration sentiment with an OOH and social campaign.

The Migration Museum is based in south-east London. It holds exhibitions, events, campaigns and learning programmes about the impact of migration on the UK.

For the first time in 14 years, the Labour Party won the UK’s general election and now has the majority of seats in parliament. At the same time, far-right political party, Reform UK, with accusations of racism and hard stances on immigration, gained 5 seats in parliament and a total of 4.1 million voters across the country.

Against this tumultuous political backdrop, the work from Wonderhood and the Migration Museum sets out to highlight the positive contributions made to the England football team by players from migrant backgrounds.

Speaking on the campaign, Jack Croft and Stacey Bird, Deputy Executive Creative Directors from Wonderhood Studios, said: “The strategy was to get England fans talking more positively about migration, by asking them to consider what might have happened to the England team without it,”.

They continued, “From the announcement of the starting lineup to our incredible 5 penalty takers, you can’t deny that migration is a success story for our mostly loved (and sometimes loathed) National Sport”.

A total of 15 out of the 26 player squad could have played for other country’s teams, due to the fact that they weren’t born in the UK, or have parents or grandparents from other nationalities. This includes the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, Kyle Walker, Declan Rice and Harry Kane.

Across key visuals, the campaign shows what the England team would look like without immigration. The copy ‘England without immigration’ is showcased over a series of images, where the aforementioned players’ names are blanked out.

Through the images, audiences can see clearly the positive impact of immigration on the England team alone. Without it, many key players wouldn’t be on the team. The campaign comes at a key time, with immigration a hot topic and racism in football rife. Far too often, racist abuse of England players still occurs at major tournaments, like Euro 2024.

Summarising the sentiment of the campaign, Matthew Plowright, Director of Communications and Engagement at the Migration Museum said: “It’s time to put migration at the heart of our national story – and with tens of millions of us watching the Euros this summer, where better to start than with football”.

At a crucial moment of polarised politics coinciding with a major sporting cultural event, the campaign delivers an important message, using simple imagery to challenge negative perceptions of migration at a much-needed time.