Footballco signs up England’s Declan Rice

Footballco said Rice is the first signing in its broader video strategy to cast elite footballers in episodic video formats that go beyond the pitch.

In the first video, ‘Box to Box’, Rice opens a series of mystery boxes filled with objects important to him that were secretly provided by friends and family and cover the full spectrum of his life on and off the pitch.

James Lamon, senior vice president for content and creative at Footballco, said: “Players are an endless source of fascination for fans who want to know their heroes on and off the pitch. We see a huge and unaddressed opportunity to tell player stories for fans in a way that connects to the emotions that make football interesting in the first place.

“Our objective with player-led video is to make compelling sports entertainment. The traditional coverage isn’t tailored for today’s platforms.

“TikTok, YouTube, all the popular platforms require creativity and storytelling that you can’t achieve with a standard post match interview.

“While we’ll never rival the emotional peaks of the live window, we think we can complement and enhance those peaks by crafting entertaining video in collaboration with players.”

Rice said: “Goal is one of my key platforms for football news and a lot of the time I pick it up from their Instagram channel. I’m a fan so it’s genuinely exciting to be working with Goal for the year ahead.

“Filming Box to Box was great fun. The format tapped into my memories and helped me talk about parts of my life and career I’ve not discussed before. I’m sure people who watch it will get a better sense of what inspires me on and off the pitch.”