Challenges and Objectives

Women’s football had never been bigger. The Lionesses had inspired millions to watch, and another major tournament promised to capture the nation once again. But women and girls still weren’t playing in the same numbers as men. The National Lottery had invested more than £6bn into grassroots sport, yet funding alone couldn’t close a substantial participation gap. Ahead of UEFA Women’s Euros 2025, The National Lottery partnered with The FA on The Big Football Day - a nationwide celebration encouraging women and girls to play in their communities - and came to ITV with one ask: how do we turn tournament excitement into participation?

Idea & Implementation

People don’t join a football club because they’ve heard about funding. They join because of the way football makes them feel, because they see people like them playing, because it feels like somewhere they belong. If we wanted more girls to play, we had to make football feel inviting and accessible. The National Lottery could fund the women’s game; ITV could make girls feel it was for them.

From just another event to an unmissable moment. We transformed The Big Football Day into a national cultural moment by bringing together every part of ITV’s world. If football appeared everywhere women and girls already were - from Coronation Street and This Morning to ITV Sport and Regional News - it could start to feel like something everyone belongs in.

Targeting Strategy

Like any great match, the campaign unfolded in two halves.

• The build-up. Fronted by Lioness Jill Scott, ITV and The National Lottery ran a co-branded campaign celebrating girls already benefitting from National Lottery investment. Across ITV Sport, Coronation Street, female-skewing programming and social, every execution landed one message: every National Lottery ticket helps more girls play football.

• The Big Football Day. Then ITV did something it had never done before - we paused production on Coronation Street and handed the cobbles to football. Twenty-four hours before England faced Wales at the Euros, more than 100 girls from National Lottery-funded clubs took over Weatherfield for the first football festival ever staged on the Street. Penalty shootouts outside The Rovers; keepy-uppies outside Roy’s Rolls; girls playing alongside Jill Scott, Corrie favourites and even the Minister for Sport. Through an unprecedented collaboration - ITV Football, Coronation Street, Jill Scott, The FA, FA Wales and The National Lottery - the festival reached audiences far beyond Weatherfield within 24 hours.

• And it didn’t stop there: This Morning broadcast from participating clubs, Regional News celebrated local grassroots stories, and Karen Carney reported live from the cobbles during Sweden v Germany in a dedicated 3½-minute feature. Grassroots football didn’t interrupt ITV’s Euros coverage - it became part of it.

Client Quote

“Filling the Coronation Street cobbles with young women playing football captured exactly what The National Lottery is all about. It celebrated community football, gave the young women an unforgettable day, and showed millions of people exactly where their ticket money goes.”

STEVE PARKINSON, MARKETING & PRODUCT DIRECTOR, ALLWYN