June saw Gatorade roll out a European campaign based on ‘Team Talk’ spots featuring for England star Rachel Yankey and Ukrainian football legend and 2004 Ballon d’Or winner Andriy Shevchenko aimed at inspiring the next generation of soccer stars.
The campaign, developed with agency Golin, sees the brand’s two ambassadors -– referred to as ‘Confidence Coaches’ – giving ‘Team Talks’ to the 14 to 16-year-old players taking part in Gatorade’s global 5v5 Tournament.
The PepsiCo owned brand’s team talk spots, posted on 19 June across the brand’s digital and social channels and players’ personal platforms, provided motivation for the youngsters and offer a glimpse of the endorser’s personal stories about confidence and courage.
Former England Lioness Yankey shared how she had to shave her head and pose as a boy to be accepted in her early days as a footballer as she battled to be accepted. While the former Ukraine and Genoa head coach and Dynamo Kyiv, AC Milan and Chelsea striker Shevchenko gave the youngsters inspiring advice on overcoming negative situations and staying positive.
“I lost a couple of Champions League finals, but I never gave up,” said Shevchenko. “I always think positively. I’ve always tried to focus on a different challenge.”
The marketing burst emerged after recent brand data revealed that a lack of self-esteem in European teenagers is preventing them from participation in grassroots sports.
“The stats demonstrate that there is a crisis of confidence in grassroots football,” said Robert Blythe, PepsiCo’s Senior Director of Sports and Hydration. “As young people grapple with self-belief, it has never been more important to unlock the power of sport to help them tackle challenges both on and off the pitch. The Gatorade 5v5 tournament is a great opportunity for budding players to build their confidence whilst showcasing their passion and dedication for the game. Over 126,000 young people from around the world have taken part in the initiative since its inception, allowing the next generation to develop their team skills, build self-belief, and most importantly, have fun!”
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In 2023, Gatorade set out to explore and understand the barriers that teens face when playing, starting, or staying in sports through a survey of more than 2,500 parents of 13-17-year-olds.
The results found that 41% agreed that a lack of confidence or self-esteem was a barrier, while 44% reported that a lack of visible and relatable role models also contributed to the problem.
Gatorade is committed to bring to life its ‘fuelling everyone forward’ brand promise regardless of individual sporting ability and this is the primary purpose behind its global Gatorade 5v5 annual grassroots tournament.
In its sixth year, Gatorade 5v5 has grown to feature teams from 11 countries across Latin America, Asia, Middle East and Europe. The tournament’s mission is ‘to support and inspire young players on their journey, whilst instilling them with confidence by offering unique opportunities to reap the benefits of sport.’
Thus far it has given more than 126,000 boys and girls from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to excel in football, driving positive change within the most deserving global communities.
National qualifying rounds began in March 2023 and the tournament saw around 15,000 competitors set out to become global champions. At the 2023 global finals, the international champions were the Honduras’ AFFI boys’ team and Chile’s Club De Lo Prado girls’ team.
Several previous winners of Gatorade 5v5 have gone on to build successful professional football careers and some have even represented their country at major football tournaments.
The competition aims to set the highest sustainability standards with recycling, carbon offsets and sustainable clothing including planet-positive kits provided to the players which use a recycled polyester and cotton blend. While plastic waste is minimised with 100% recycled Gatorade bottles, powders packaging and innovative seaweed pods containing Gatorade.
Plus, to further create a legacy beyond the tournament, Gatorade 5v5 launched a ‘Play and Stay’ initiative on the ground in Istanbul: a programme that sees Gatorade provide access to 200 hours’ worth of free training facilities at the Fenerbahçe Academy (where the tournament took place) for local children so that as many people as possible can access the benefits of football.
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