Volleyball World teamed up with Ogilvy Social.Lab in mid-June to launch a specially designed ‘Equal Jersey’ to raise gender equality awareness in volleyball and across world sport.
The ‘Equal Jersey’ will be worn by some of the world’s leading volleyball players at the 2021 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) (running between 25 and 27 June). Three pairs of players chosen from the world’s leading male and female stars will wear their Equal Jerseys for the first time at the finals and the shirts feature their own name alongside the name of a player of the opposite gender who shares the same shirt number.
The Equal Jersey ambassador player pairs are No7s Lauren Carlini (USA) and Facundo Conte (ARG), No8s Natalia Goncharova (RUS) and Wallace de Souza (BRA) and No14 Eda Erdem (TUR) and Nimir Abdel-Aziz (NED).
Promoted through a social media campaign running across Volleyball World, FIVB and player channels, the special edition jerseys will make the debuts during the finals to celebrate how the whole volleyball community – the sport, the rights owners and stakeholders, the players and the fans – are working to close the sports gender gap.
Volleyball World launches the ‘Equal Jersey’.
We’re trilled to announce the launch of our ‘Equal Jersey’ initiative to celebrate the gender equality in #volleyball – and to champion it to the world of sports.
FULL STORY: https://t.co/ujqKokGVjr #ASportLikeNoOther pic.twitter.com/4SRJnF1Xfv
— Volleyball World (@volleyballworld) June 21, 2021
“If we would imagine a sport, one that is diverse and inclusive, one that anyone easily can enjoy, a sport of now which is equal towards all its players and fans no matter who they are: that sport would be volleyball,” said Ogilvy Social.Lab Amsterdam ECD Tolga Buyukdoganay. “And with the launch of the Equal Jersey as well as the Sport Like No Other campaign we are embodying the equalness of volleyball forever, and that’s what makes volleyball a sport like no other.”
“By launching the Equal Jersey campaign, we aim to showcase that volleyball is universal. It brings people together and players and fans cheer for all, championing equality, diversity and inclusion as a limitless strength”, said Volleyball World CEO Finn Taylor. “Volleyball World is proud to be a leading advocate in promoting gender equality in sport. Gender equality and inclusivity are in volleyball’s DNA and we refuse to accept the status quo”.
Comment:
Equal Jersey runs as part of the organisation’s ongoing ‘A Sport Like No Other’ campaign, also created by Ogilvy Social.Lab, which focuses on growing volleyball into a global brand and increase its appeal through a new brand positioning and digital platform launch.
The campaign aims to bring the new Volleyball World brand to life primarily through digital and social campaigns showcasing the sport and featuring a team of player ambassadors in the lead up to the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021.
The goal of Volleyball World, which is a partnership between the sport’s global governing body FIVB and new investor CVC Capital Partners aimed at driving growth, innovation, and investment in volleyball around the world, is to create an integrated ecosystem connecting all volleyball stakeholders (fans, athletes, corporate partners) through both digital and live events.
Volleyball, which is the fourth most popular sport globally boasting more than 800 million fans and high participation across the world, is a sport with a longstanding commitment to gender equality.
The global governing body’s own research shows that 84% of all volleyball fans have a strong interest in both men and women volleyball: arguably making it the world’s most gender equal sport.
Indeed, in 2019/20 the highest paid volleyball player in the world was female.
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