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The initial 11
2024 Idea + Art Direction
TeamJosé Pinto (Me)
Ricardo Lopes
Carolina Ferreira
Gonçalo Nascimento
Context
Homophobic insults are used to belittle and assault players on the pitch. For 90 minutes of play, intolerant and violent speech is normalized: in stadiums, in cafes, on the streets and on social networks.
No wonder that “out of hundreds of thousands of professional footballers, only nine” have had the courage to publicly reveal their sexual orientation.
A number so low that doesn't even constitute a full team. Hard to believe in 160 years of modern football.
That's when we discovered +2 names of players who came out at the end of their careers, forming “The First LGBTQIA+ Eleven” in the history of the sport.
Opportunity
Eleven players on the field can change football history. And even today there are teams that define it so well.
It's not about the best eleven on the pitch, nor the most valuable. They are the eleven possible among thousands of professional players. The only ones who had the courage to challenge a taboo subject.
After more than a century and a half of football, we have achieved enough to play against homophobia. An Eleven, the first “LGBTQIA+.” The question remains: how many more years will the next one take?
Execution
Let's take advantage of the minutes before an iconic game to take the field:
Announced in the center of the stadium, on TV, radio and social media, the players will take their position on the field as a team ready to play.
The whistle blows. The kick-off is taken, but with no opposing team. Just then, the speaker makes his announcement:
It has taken 160 years of professional football to form the first LGBTQIA+ Eleven, how many more years will it take for the next one?
Play against discrimination.
Beyond the field
We want to promote the “Initial Eleven” beyond the field of play. To show a team, in various applications, that has no opponent to play against. There is no sport without competition, no game without inclusion.
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