Ahead of this year’s AdobeWomen’s FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United we were tasked with building excitement for the game and helping drive ticket sales to achieve what was a sell-out crowd.
To do this, we wanted to create a memorable and engaging experience for fans across both locations of the finalist teams. We know women’s football culture is synonymous with creativity, and we wanted to tap into players and fans’ creative expressions on and off the pitch.
The idea for a crafty Trophy Tour emerged, which took the Adobe Women’s FA Cup on a tour from London to Manchester, accompanied by a workshop that provided fans with avenues to express their creativity through activities such as pottery painting, personalising hair ribbons, and learning a few football freestyle tricks.
Fans also had the opportunity to take part in a collaborative women’s football art installation, writing messages of support to the players on branded hair ribbons that were tied on to a goal. After the goal had done it’s rounds of the country from schools and studios in London and Manchester, the net made its way to Wembley where it was adorned on the walls of the tunnel for players to read as they walked out on to the pitch.
Accompanying the trophy in the two locations were key women’s football talent; in London, Chelsea and England ex-goalkeeper Carly Telford surprised fans at the session, whilst in Manchester, current Manchester United defender Hannah Blundell made a special appearance.
It wasn’t just fans and footballing legends that came along, we also hosted key media across the two sessions, including The Observer, FotMob and BBC5Live to name a few. They had the opportunity to chat with talent and fans to capture the excitement ahead of the final.
