THE FUTURE OF THE ENGLISH GAME
The FA Tesco Skills programme is a revolutionary idea run by the FA and funded by Tesco and the National Sports Foundation in giving 2 million 5-11 year-old children fun top quality coaching to improve their football skills. As part of The FA brand programme, Whitestone developed a clear strategy and platform for the brand and how it would reach and engage children around the country. Whilst reaching adults was important, the children themselves were the target audience. Engaging them and encouraging them to get involved, not just once, but on a regular basis needed an approach that they understood and reached them in a language that they could relate to.
Whilst The FA developed the coaching approach and recruited the staff and stakeholders they needed to fulfill the objectives, we focused on the design language and website that was to become the primary connection point and
place where tips and information would be given as well as a place they felt they wanted to keep coming back to. Reaching and engaging children is a real challenge not only on the brand, design and content fronts, but ensuring that everything conformed to CEOP guidelines.
The core idea centered around the Skills Dome; an idea based on creating an interactive environment on the web rather than the more common fact sheet approach that many have taken. Frank Lampard and Kelly Smith would become the key ambassadors and remain actively involved. But it would depend on the quality of information that The FA delivered and the interactivity and appeal of the website that would reach participation and involvement targets.