FOOTBALLCO PARTNERS WITH DECLAN RICE TO SPEARHEAD PLAYER-FOCUSED VIDEO ORIGINALS DRIVE
England and West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has joined forces with Footballco to develop and star in original player-led video series debuting across GOAL platforms in a year-long exclusive deal. Rice is the first signing in Footballco’s broader video strategy to cast elite footballers in episodic video formats that go beyond the pitch.
Since becoming an England regular, Rice has endeared himself to the nation with his easy personality and sense of humour, and the first video series utilises both.
In ‘Box to Box’, Rice opens a series of mystery boxes filled with objects important to him that were secretly provided by friends and family and cover the full spectrum of his life on and off the pitch.
This show debuts today across GOAL social channels that reach more than 500 million people and register over 100m engagements per month.
Future Box to Box episodes will use objects of importance to profile stars of the men’s and women's game, giving fans an unrivalled view of them as people and players.
James Lamon, senior vice president for content and creative at Footballco said: “Players are an endless source of fascination for fans who want to know their heroes on and off the pitch. We see a huge and unaddressed opportunity to tell player stories for fans in a way that connects to the emotions that make football interesting in the first place.
“Our objective with player-led video is to make compelling sports entertainment. The traditional coverage isn’t tailored for today’s platforms.
“TikTok, YouTube, all the popular platforms require creativity and storytelling that you can’t achieve with a standard post match interview.
“While we’ll never rival the emotional peaks of the live window, we think we can complement and enhance those peaks by crafting entertaining video in collaboration with players.
“Declan is the perfect player and launch partner for us. He’s dynamic and passionate on the pitch, well-liked by his peers, and great in front of the camera.
By working closely with Declan we’ll be able to show fans more of him ahead of the World Cup.”
Declan Rice said: “GOAL is one of my key platforms for football news and a lot of the time I pick it up from their Instagram channel. I’m a fan so it’s genuinely exciting to be working with GOAL for the year ahead.
“Filming Box to Box was great fun. The format tapped into my memories and helped me talk about parts of my life and career I’ve not discussed before. I’m sure people who watch it will get a better sense of what inspires me on and off the pitch.”
In addition to ‘Box to Box’,’ GOAL will soon debut more series formats including a car interview show inspired by music featuring Newcastle and France winger Allan Saint-Maximin, as well as a city tour format starring Liverpool Women’s homegrown midfielder Missy Bo Kearns.
Lamon said: “In today’s competitive media landscape, a publisher needs authenticity and emotion to win audiences and build brand recognition. Player-led video is one way GOAL can address the emotional part of fandom, tapping into joy, surprise, nostalgia, all by bringing fans closer to the players they love in ways they will not expect. It also enables advertisers to connect authentically with football fans in a more meaningful way — whether that’s a 15 minute video for YouTube or a 15 second TikTok.”
