Content Strategy Reset
Football Foundation, 2023
Reframing Football Foundation content around storytelling built for wider audiences and partner distribution.
MY ROLE
Led the content strategy reset, reshaping how the Football Foundation approached storytelling across its channels and partners.
CONTEXT
The Football Foundation invests billions into grassroots facilities, backed by the Premier League, The FA and UK Government.
But the content was safe, inward-looking and disconnected across different touchpoints. It documented delivery, but rarely travelled beyond its own audience. The Premier League, The FA and Government were largely absent from the story despite funding the work.
The brief was to rethink how the Football Foundation told stories about grassroots football - to grow the audience, increase engagement and raise awareness for the charity and the work they do.
STRATEGY
My aim was to turn a fragmented content approach into a coordinated strategy.
Start with people, not programmes
Focus on grassroots football, the people using the facilities and what changed for them. Inspired by Humans of New York, content shifted from institutional reporting to individual storytelling.
Build for partner distribution
Worked directly with the Premier League, The FA and DCMS to shape content they would actively share, not just approve.
Push the creative further
Brought in external creative partners to raise the quality of the content and take it far beyond functional updates and case studies.
Build an identity
Developed a clearer visual identity and a more consistent tone across channels.
WHAT CHANGED
The strategy aligned every touchpoint behind a single, consistent story. Engagement more than doubled year-on-year, creating more opportunities to collaborate with partners on content. The Football Foundation’s content shifted from charity comms to becoming a mouthpiece for grassroots football culture.
The Premier League, The FA and Government channels began sharing the content, extending reach beyond the Foundation’s own platforms.
The results gave senior stakeholders and funding partners the confidence to back more ambitious creative work.
205%
increase in social media engagement (Instagram / X) year-on-year
FIRST-EVER
Organic reposts from The FA and Premier League
31%
increase in followers on X
and Instagram
Images & Video: Football Foundation, TMG