19 Comments
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Asher Lewis's avatar

Lovely to see some appreciation of these releases. Amongst the online overflow of squad leaks and criticism of whos on the plane, we tend to gloss over the WHY and HOW, instead of the WHO. And thats the unity and pride of the country coming together summed up in one these announcement videos.

Carla Bilche's avatar

Spot on! People get so caught up in who made the cut that they miss the actual story being told. It’s all about creating that shared identity and pride before the tournament even starts.

Asher Lewis's avatar

Precisely. Hopefully we can get more of this going into the World Cup- the culture and unity. Thanks for sharing and keep it up!

Jay Shemenski's avatar

This World Cup’s batch have reminded me of NFL schedule announcements (albeit with better taste).

Carla Bilche's avatar

Absolutely! Thankfully they handled it better. I saw the pre-match squad announcements at the Club World Cup and they felt really off, though it seems like that's going to be the norm going forward.

Suriname's Sports Journal's avatar

A very nice breakdown, I could follow it as a conversation

Carla Bilche's avatar

Thanks so much! That was exactly what I was going for. Glad it resonated with you!

Suriname's Sports Journal's avatar

Yes, I was wondering if my country would have made it, how they would do the announcement

Carla Bilche's avatar

That's a great question to ask! I was wondering the same thing about Argentina, though I don't think they'll make a video if they haven't already

Ajit Pandey's avatar

This is such an intriguing change in the way national teams are "branding" themselves; cultural narrative has replaced squad news.

Carla Bilche's avatar

Absolutely! It's probably a way to tap into cultural heritage and pride, tying it all perfectly into the narrative

Clare McEwen's avatar

What a wonderful angle and great insight, Carla. I love this.

And they'd all passed me by, so thanks for bringing them together for me.

It's often hard to feel proud about being English - but that video made me feel it.

All the great bits about us - creativity, vibes, The Beatles, and of course the newest Three Lions squad.

Carla Bilche's avatar

Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm happy it resonated with you, they really did an incredible job.

It's so refreshing to see a campaign connect people to their national team beyond the usual World Cup hype, especially since this year has a much stranger vibe than previous ones

Andrew M. Werners's avatar

Nice read. Interesting perspective on the rebranding

Carla Bilche's avatar

Thanks for the kind words! I'm really glad you liked it

NB’s Football's avatar

This is a lovely article. Long gone are the days of simple posts listing the squad. It’s a great way to build excitement for a World Cup that is quite often surrounded with controversy 👏🏾👏🏾

Carla Bilche's avatar

Thanks for the kind words! I absolutely agree with you. It's so refreshing to connect with the tournament over something positive rather than controversy, and to really feel that World Cup kickoff excitement.

Paul Grech's avatar

Enjoyed that. The videos that hit the most are the ones that have roots in something real rather than trying to manufacture emotion.

Will Colahan's avatar

This feels like the same broader trend we’ve seen with NFL schedule announcements: a basic information drop becoming a full social media event. Agree with you on England, their video felt like one of the highlights this year.