FA PEOPLE’S CUP

As Series Producer for The FA Peoples Cup, I took huge pleasure in finding amazing stories from Newcastle to Newquay and all parts in between, and piecing together a narrative on the transformative power of playing sport in your community with friends

FA People’s Cup promotional VT. Produced by BBC Sport

The FA People’s Cup brought 250,000 players to pitches across England over the course of its lifetime, including 55,000 in 2018 to make the biggest tournament of its kind.

We offered 18 different categories for 5-a-side play, an opportunity genuinely for all, from u-14 boys and girls to 55+ walking football and several disability football tournaments. In bringing together so many people we had the chance to reflect the diversity of the game and highlight that everyone has a home in football. To recruit new players to the game, we must look beyond our usual base, and so as well as having Gary Lineker and Alex Scott involved, we also brought in talent who could reach other audiences like Nick Bright and Adele Roberts.

UEFA WOMEN’S EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2022

The summer of 2022 presented a massive opportunity for women’s football, which the Lionesses, the FA, and the BBC delivered on. Leading on the participation and legacy piece from the BBC side, I mobilised BBC marketing and regions teams and iconic shows like Football Focus and Newsround to deliver a fantastic element of the pre-tournament roadshow, bringing BBC closer to our audience and underlining BBC as broadcaster in an increasingly competitive women’s football rights’ market, with a highlgiht being Alex Scott presenting Football Focus on the Road, with Sue Campbell and Gareth Southgate as guest in Sheffield.

At the same time I was commissioning a mini-series with Studio Something to look at how women and girls were shaping football their way. Focusing on participation with the wonderful Peaches FC, media production with the inspirational Erin-Beau, and fan culture with the legendary Accidental Ultra, this series was shortlisted and commended at the Broadcast Sport Awards in 2022.