Today the LEGO Group announces a new partnership as National sponsor of the UEFA Women’s EURO England 2022. The partnership will see the LEGO Group sponsor the tournament hosted in England next summer and forms part of the company’s ‘Ready for Girls’ campaign that celebrates girls who are rebuilding the world through creative problem solving and challenging outdated gender stereotypes.
As a National sponsor of the tournament, the LEGO Group is planning a series of initiatives in the run-up to the tournament that will provide fun, interactive ways for fans to get involved. More details will be revealed in early 2022.
The tournament is due to be the biggest women’s European sport event in history and takes place from 6 July – 31 July 2022 in 10 stadiums, across nine cities in England. There will be over 700,000 tickets available, with extensive coverage of every game of the tournament on free-to-air television, radio and online. As part of its legacy, the tournament aims to inspire long-term, sustainable positive change in women’s and girls’ football.
A recent study from the LEGO Group and Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media found that girls feel less restrained by typical gender biases than boys when it comes to creative play (74% of boys vs. 62% of girls believe that some activities are just meant for girls, while others are meant for boys), and they are more open towards different types of creative play compared to what their parents and society typically encourage. For example, 82% of girls believe it’s OK for girls to play football and boys to practice ballet, compared to only 71% of boys. However, despite the progress made in girls brushing off prejudice at an early age, general attitudes surrounding play and creative careers remain unequal and restrictive, according to the research.
Parents from this study are almost five times as likely to encourage girls over boys to engage in dance (81% vs. 19%) and dress-up (83% vs. 17%) activities. Adversely, they are almost four times as likely to encourage boys over girls to engage in program games (80% vs. 20%) and sports (76% vs. 24%) and over twice as likely to do the same when it comes to coding toys (71% vs. 29%).
Speaking ahead of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Finals draw, Isabel Graham, Head of Marketing, the LEGO Group UK and Ireland says: “We know that different types of play are still heavily judged as being gender specific which is why we are committed to championing inclusive play and ensuring that children’s creative ambitions – both now in the future – are not limited by gender stereotypes. It’s fantastic to see the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 tournament getting more and more prominence and we’re proud to help support this by being a National sponsor for 2022.”
“We are delighted to have the LEGO Group join us as one of the first national partners of UEFA Women’s EURO 2022,” says Guy-Laurent Epstein, Director of Marketing at UEFA. “The addition of this major brand is further proof of the scale of this event and our ambition to make it the biggest women’s European sport event ever. It is important for us to have partners on board who share the same values, working together collectively to deliver what is set to be a record breaking tournament that further grows the women’s game.”
The Final Draw Show for UEFA Women’s EURO England 2022 takes place this Thursday, 28 October Live on BBC One from 16.30 when the groups and resulting fixtures will be drawn.
