ABOUT

The Brief

For many phenomenal footballers, including England international Jadon Sancho, on-pitch creativity is learnt in the city streets where adversity builds brilliance. In those areas where opportunities don’t come easily, giving back to and inspiring the community makes it easier for others to follow in their footsteps and reach their sporting potential.

Using Jadon Sancho’s burgeoning profile and influence to enabling a new generation of players to achieve excellence. Create a lasting legacy for Sancho in the borough that made him the player he is today.

The Creative Idea

Give south London kids a sanctuary to play football in an inspiring and welcoming environment.

Developed in the heart of south London where Jadon took his first steps towards footballing greatness, the new pitch was designed to reflect Sancho’s style and personality - vibrant, bold and daring - drawing design and colour cues from his former local club and the borough itself. The pitch launched with his return to the park he once played as a youngster, at a one-off footballing tournament to inspire the community to follow their dreams.

Partnering with local club Lambeth Tigers, the regenerated pitch provides local footballers access to the best facilities possible. Additionally, the pitch aims to become a focal point for sport in the community, helping remove the barriers to sport that kids in south London face, by reinforcing the importance and benefits of being active to a generation less active than those previous.

The Evidence

A full regeneration of the pitch, providing a permanent place for all members of the south London community to help make sport a daily habit. The pitch is already enabling year-round football programming and regular opportunities for more than 300 young players in the community through coaching, workshops and training, creating a legacy with the next generation of aspiring players for one of English football’s rising stars.

The pitch was also supported by a launch film and social assets across both Nike’s and Jadon’s own social channels. The excitement around the pitch regeneration campaign additionally saw Jadon’s profile raised with the launch film viewed by more than 500K people in the first 24 hours and followers of his Instagram profile increase by more than 600% over the two-day launch, increasing his impact as an ambassador for football in the borough.