The Nike Academy was a world first: an elite level football academy, formed in 2009, that gave young athletes who had fallen out of the game a second chance of making it pro.

It became an access all areas, ‘social media football club’ with training drills, matches and individual player progress all documented and shared on Facebook. To earn a coveted spot at the Academy, you had to win Nike Chance trails (later called Most Wanted) which took place around the world.

Unfortunately, I can’t claim the overall idea - but I did the storytelling from 2012-2015 and was instrumental in shaping strategy and tactics across those seasons - tours & matches Vs elite Nike club Academies; the advent of the Nike Academy Cup; athlete visits; product storytelling; 365 enablement content.

The result was a wealth of inspirational storytelling featuring young athletes striving to realise their dreams and a super engaged global audience (Nike’s most engaged social media audience at the time), learning about the realities of the pro game whilst
they improved their own.