England players get behind The FA's 'Football Needs' campaign.
The England squad continued their support today for The FA’s newly launched ‘football needs’ campaign ahead of their Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro next week. This show of support by the players follows on from the “Get into Football” message that they have been wearing on their training kits since the start of their Euro 2012 campaign.
The campaign aims to inspire mechanics, teachers, accountants, DJs and everyone who loves football to take their first steps to becoming a grassroots coach or referee. The FA has a target to encourage 50,000 new Level One coaches by 2011 and 8,000 new referees by 2012.
The ‘Football Needs’ nationwide advertising campaign featured among others Jaz Dhami, a Punjabi singer, headteacher Manisha Tailor and air steward David Green, all of whom retain their passion for coaching and refereeing while juggling their busy professional careers. They were joined by England Coach Stuart Pearce and 2010 FA Cup Final referee Chris Foy, who both took cameo roles in The FA’s new ‘Football Needs’ cinema adverts and posters alongside the real-life campaign ambassadors.
The adverts take a light-hearted look at the unassuming characters at the forefront of the grassroots coaching and refereeing scene in a ‘Never Mind the Buzzocks’ style spoof. The adverts will be aired in 220 cinema screens for four weeks across the country, reaching an estimated audience of one million viewers.
Both adverts will be shown on the big screen at Wembley during England’s match against Montenegro, with many of the coaching and referee ambassadors from the campaign taking part in a special half-time penalty shoot out. This will also be supported by perimeter advertising at the match on Tuesday evening.
Spectators inspired to take up coaching or refereeing can get details of FA Learning courses running in their area by texting “COACH” or “REF” along with their email address to 87474.
The FA’s ‘Football Needs’ campaign forms part of the National Game strategy, a £200m pound investment in grassroots football. The Get Into Coaching objectives are supported by McDonalds and the Get Into Refereeing campaign runs in association with Carlsberg.