Manchester United forward Ella Toone has become the first female player to collaborate with Nike on Instagram for the launch of her new football boots.
The 23-year-old shot to stardom when she scored a stunning chip to open the scoring against Germany in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley when the Lionesses became the first England football side to win a major tournament since 1966.
Toone has three goals and seven assists in 10 Women’s Super League games as Manchester United, currently in second, remain in the race for the title. They are three points behind Chelsea with a game in hand and level on points with Arsenal, who are behind them on goal difference.
Toone’s incredible rise has meant she has been chosen by Nike, who work with the planet’s most marketable and well-known athletes, as the global face of the new Phantom GX boots.
Part of the campaign includes a social media video collaboration between Nike and Toone, who has scored 15 goals in 27 games for England, which was released on Tuesday morning and has already been liked more than 30,000. It features Toone, at the end, standing in a spotlight strewn with rose petals.
“It’s a huge honour for Ella to be given the opportunity to be the global face of Nike’s new Phantom GX campaign,” James Marshall, of Marshall Communications who manages Toone’s PR and commercial deals, told i.
“These opportunities don’t come around very often and the shoot in Manchester was incredible. She totally deserves it and is quickly becoming one of the most marketable athletes in sport.”
Toone recently launched her own YouTube channel that has amassed more than 21,000 subscribers in the space of a month. Her videos have been watched almost half a million times. So far, she has posted videos with her England and Manchester United team-mate Alessia Russo, Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden and Chelsea centre-back Trevoh Chalobah.
Few English footballers have gone down the route of launching personal YouTube channels, but it has had far more uptake by American athletes. Former New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton set up a channel several years ago, which has 628,000 subscribers. The NFL star started by giving unique behind-the-scenes insight into his career.
Milwaukee Bucks player Serge Ibaka set up a channel, now with 487,000 subscribers, where he has posted five series of his “How hungry are you?” show, where he cooks and discusses the NBA with guests.
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“Ella’s popularity coming out of winning the Euros has grown so much it was always in the long term strategy to launch her own YouTube channel,” Marshall said. “Ella has an infectious personality which makes her extremely relatable to so many different people. Taking inspiration from American athletes, it’s important for Ella to build her own brand, control the narrative and give an insight into her life away from football.”
Last November, Toone signed a contract extension with Manchester United which will run until 2026. She is United Women’s all-time top-scorer, with 43 goals in 110 appearances. She has been at the club for nearly five years.
“The club’s ambitions really match mine and there’s nowhere better for me to learn,” she said when the deal was announced. “To play for my childhood club I support is really special and I’ll never get tired of pulling on the red shirt.”
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