Those were the words of England’s manager, Gareth Southgate, in his open letter to the nation in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has already claimed hundreds of lives across our country and many thousands more across the world. We understand that, at times like these, football loses its relevance. However, we retain the everlasting belief that our game can offer people hope, entertainment and togetherness while also acting as a vehicle to promote wellbeing – both physical and mental – when many are isolated in their own homes. That’s why we are today outlining our plan to inform, entertain and empower our millions of fans and followers under one, consistent banner: Football’s Staying Home. The Football’s Staying Home campaign launches across England’s digital channels from today, Monday 30 March, as we bring together players of the past and present – as well as experts from our national football centre, St. George’s Park – to produce content that engages the nation at this difficult time.
Kicking off the series are England captains Harry Kane and Steph Houghton, who've outlined what fans can expect from us to help them watch, play and learn in the coming weeks:
The campaign will be supported across all of The FA's brands and channels including FA Education, whose staff will be sharing daily tips to keep you and your kids active, whileThe Boot Roomwill feature a range of insightful articles, guides and top tips from some of the most knowledgeable figures in the game.
If all that wasn’t enough, we’ll also be broadcasting classic Emirates FA Cup and Barclays FA Women’s Super League matches back-to-back across our social channels andThe FA Playerevery Sunday afternoon.
We need you to get involved, too. We’re asking the whole football community – fans, players, parents, teams, leagues and County FAs – to get behind the campaign by creating their own content and using the#FootballsStayingHomehashtag. The best posts will feature in an online hub atTheFA.com/FootballsStayingHome.
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