When Rakuten first announced that in the summer of 2019 they would be bringing the FC Barcelona First Team to Japan to play two games in the Rakuten Cup, against Chelsea FC and the local Vissel Kobe, the magnitude of press opportunity was evident. This competition was the first of its kind for the country and a momentous occasion for its growing football fan base. Not only would they get to see two European giants with a long and colourful history of rivalry compete on their own home turf, they would also have the experience of seeing them up against their home grown-talent, live in Tokyo.

As the creative and strategic partner on the project,

No More Parachutes

wanted to dig a little deeper than simply celebrating the high-value sparkly surface entertainment factor of the game itself, delving into the beating heart of the stands. Or more precisely the streets, bars and homes. We wanted to bring to life to the world exactly what football’s purpose is.

It’s a funny question to be grappling with and one that might seem to have obvious answers, at first glance. But, really, what is football for? What is sport for? In the same way that an individual might go on a bit of a soul-search to find their real purpose in life, and businesses follow suit with defining their values and their missions, is it not a critical thing to have a real sense of what it all means, on a human level?

No More Parachutes’

sweet spot is where sport and creativity intersect. We get our kicks from sports culture. And we love getting into communities. The heart and head of the game. But what really lights our fire is doing things that actually make a real difference. And if you take the viewpoint that

the more you can tap into what really matters to people, the more they will ally with you on your company’s mission

, impact goes beyond a fluffily philosophical stance to itself creating a self-generating virtuous circle. Win-win.

So when Rakuten gave the go-ahead for a filmic celebration of the occasion, we seized the opportunity on their behalf and, in the spirit of Andrés Iniesta, we went long and we went deep. Long-form rather than your typical 3-minute adrenalised blink-and-it's-gone type of film and deep into the lives of the fans. So the stars of the Rakuten film weren’t football players, they were five locals who had never seen a Western club play in their hometown, whose lives were profoundly altered by the experience.

As a long-time fan of Chelsea,

Terry

was dying to share his passion with other fledgling Japanese fans, running club-chanting practice sessions for them to perfect their fan-support, prior to the match.

Karen

saw a golden opportunity to share an emotive lifelong memory and connection with her football-obsessed pre-teen son.

Buyantogtokh

lit incense as a form of a protective prayer to ward off any injury for the Barcelona and Chelsea players and to give strength to Lampard. To our western eyes, all rich and fascinating cultural nuances, but grounded in the same emotions that we experience at the Nou Camp – the reverence, the camaraderie, the thrills, the tears. Football and life’s beautiful game, interlaced.