EE Teams up with Mary Earps and Bukayo Saka to Help the Nation Learn British Sign Language

Today, EE launches its new campaign ‘Support. It’s In Your Hands’, enlisting a host of footballing stars from across the four Home Nations to upskill the nation in British Sign Language (BSL) and help everyone feel a part of the football conversation.

While an estimated 1.2 million adults in the UK have hearing loss severe enough to impede most conversational speech, there are approximately only 150,000 BSL users (87,000 of whom are deaf). The integrated campaign endeavours to change this by leveraging EE’s lead partnership of the Home Nations Football Associations to celebrate BSL and use sport as a catalyst to encourage the use of sign language in deaf and non-deaf communities.

The campaign, which was created with support from the Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD) and the Home Nations Football Associations, launches with a film that shows all the ways, knowingly and unknowingly, BSL is incorporated in football, from the grassroots game to the international stage. The film has been created using a mix of archive footage, fan user-generated content and original content to show how BSL, as a combination of hand gestures, facial expressions and body language, goes hand in hand with how referees, players, managers and fans communicate in the game.

The film aims to drive viewers to the EE LearnSmart platform which will provide resources to support the learning of football themed BSL, including “goal”, ”shoot”, “great defending” or “great tackle” so everyone can actively participate in the conversation surrounding the game. International footballers from the four Home Nations, including Harry Kane, Mary Earps, Bukayo Saka, Rachel Corsie, Sarina Wiegman and Dion Charles, will also feature on EE LearnSmart teaching BSL phrases in the form of easily digestible bitesize content.

To further amplify the campaign, EE will activate across a range of touchpoints including:

• Playing the film at England’s sold out friendly against Brazil at Wembley Stadium connected by EE and allocating two of its mascot spaces to deaf children who will sign the National Anthem with guidance from RAD’s accredited British Sign Language performer.
• Supporting the campaign with a paid media and amplification strategy across EE and its partner’s social channels, including the Home Nations Football Associations, RAD, Deaf creators and Deaf community groups. EE will harness FA partner channels to distribute content to promote the use of and learning of BSL. The highlight of these being the ‘EE BSL challenge’ which sees three male England players take on three Lionesses in an obstacle course that requires them to complete sign-based challenges with the help of four England Deaf squad players. 
• Assembling a squad of five content creators to spread the message of inclusivity far and wide: the squad will consist of Shiona McClafferty, Jazzy Whipps, India Morse, Leon Walker Dobson and Ray Bradshaw, who will produce engaging content that helps teach the basics of BSL through the football lens.
• Facilitating training for its colleagues in Deaf Awareness courses which include some BSL basics. By encouraging greater Deaf Awareness internally, EE will also contribute to further Deaf Awareness and British Sign Language learning across BT Group, alongside an accessibility audit for consumer facing webpages.

Julie Ratcliffe, Royal Association for Deaf people, chief operating officer said, “The Royal Association for Deaf people proudly supports this campaign, dedicated to empowering football fans across the UK and championing inclusivity for deaf and hard of hearing communities. As one of the oldest charities supporting deaf people in the UK, RAD is delighted to offer our expertise and support to this initiative, which promises to upskill the nation in the basics of football themed BSL.”

Pete Jeavons, marketing communications director, BT & EE said, "We are committed to ensuring football is a sport for all. As the lead partner of the Home Nations Football Associations, we are proud to drive positive transformation and make the game more accessible for everyone. 'Support. It's In Your Hands' aims to bring about tangible change and increase awareness of British Sign Language. We want to encourage everyone to play their part and make a difference to the shared enjoyment of the beautiful game.”

Lucy Basden-Smith, managing partner, Havas Play UK, said, “British Sign Language acts as a communication bridge between communities. With this campaign, we wanted to show that by everyone learning even just a little BSL, we can help to ensure that all football fans are involved in the conversation. It is our hope that ‘Support. It’s In Your Hands’ will empower the nation to embrace equality in the ways we support and consume the game”.

The "Support. It's In Your Hands" campaign is part of EE’s ongoing and longstanding commitment to supporting the para & disability community in football and beyond. Last season this came to life through “New Signing” a campaign which saw the world’s first BSL pundits on televised sport. This is just the start for EE with many more activations planned for the coming year that reinforce EE’s commitment in supporting the Deaf community and people with hearing loss.

‘Support. It’s In Your Hands’ was created by EE’s brand experience and partnerships agency, Havas Play. Digital content on the LearnSmart platform was developed by Digitas, with media planned and bought by EssenceMediacomX, and PR handled by Pitch Marketing Group.

EE also worked closely with Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD) as a Charity Partner throughout the campaign to ensure that all accessibility requirements are met.

For more information on how to learn BSL and sign your support, visit here.