If the members of England’s 23-strong squad for the Women’s World Cup contained few surprises, the method of delivery for the announcement on Wednesday did.
Eight members of the FA Cup-winning Manchester City side were included, as were four of the Chelsea team that made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League. So far, so expected.
But the way they found out bore the hallmarks of the Football Association’s recent tactic of seeking to engage fans and widen the appeal of their national sides.
There was no photocopied piece of paper handed out to hacks by a sullen governing body flunky, as has been the case with squad announcements in the past.
Famous faces
Instead, each player, beginning with the captain Steph Houghton, was announced by a famous face on social media. Houghton’s inclusion was revealed to the world by Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge (and president of the FA).
Others were notified via the twitter accounts of people such as actress Emma Watson, former England captain David Beckham, Manchester City and England striker Raheem Sterling, singer Ellie Goulding, defender-turned-TV-pundit Alex Scott and, er, Olly Murs.
Congrats to @DemiStokes on joining the @Lionesses!!! #BeReady
pic.twitter.com/KTZFknOXbA
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) May 8, 2019
Phil Neville, England’s manager, said of Wednesday morning’s announcements: “We wanted each player to have a special moment when their name was revealed, knowing they are going to a World Cup. It is the biggest thing in their lives and something they’ve dreamed about.
“We have to make these players visible. We want everybody around the world to buy in to what will be the biggest Women’s World Cup of all-time.”
Neville added that even he got caught up in the hype. He said: “I’ve got to say, even though I knew the squad, I was waiting every few minutes for the next one to come out to see who it was going to be. I thought it was really, really special.”
170 million pairs of eyes on England Women
The FA pointed to the fact that the method of announcement put the England Women’s squad in front of a potential combined social media audience of 170 million. Watson alone has 29m followers.
Whether every follower of Alan Shearer (who announced Lucy Staniforth), James Corden (Ellen White) or Beckham (Nikita Parris) were all scrolling through their feeds at the moment of revelation is a moot point.
What an honour to be asked to name one of the @Lionesses flying the flag for England at the World Cup this summer. @ellsbells89 you’ve got this! #BeReady pic.twitter.com/b8vdWawHPG
— James Corden (@JKCorden) May 8, 2019
But the key for the visibility and promotion of the women’s team is that followers outside traditional football fans will have been informed that the national side are indeed playing in a World Cup next month.
Of course, the fact that interest in the women’s team is not yet near the level of their male counterparts made this innovative method of dissemination possible.
Given the number of intermediaries required between the FA and the likes of Beckham, Corden or Watson, if the English governing body tried this with a squad announcement from Gareth Southgate, you would expect the cat to be out of the bag long before the intended moment.
But if the FA keeps up this level of well-thought-out engagement throughout the World Cup, then expect interest in the side to grow swiftly. Yes, performances on the pitch and positive results will also help, but Neville is confident he has that side of the bargain well covered.
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