As England’s opening World Cup match against Croatia drew near, millions of UK fans were asking the question, “What time is the kick-off?”, Women’s Aid seized the opportunity to display an answer. 11.37pm.
To anyone searching for the fixture time, it made no sense. Because 11:37pm wasn’t the football kick-off. It was The Other Kick Off, the estimated moment domestic abuse is most likely to surge after the match ends. Women’s Aid used the most asked matchday question to deliver a different, far more important answer in a campaign created by ELVIS and PR’d by Mischief.
Large-scale OOH across city centres, transport hubs, fan zones and pub locations ran the time in the visual language of football – deliberately contrasting the anticipation fans feel at kick-off with the dread too many women experience as the final whistle approaches. Audiences could scan a QR code to uncover the truth behind the time. Media space was donated by The Outernet, Ocean Outdoor, JCDecaux, Open Media, Alight Media, Grazia and Metro. Across search and social, anyone asking when the match starts received the campaign instead.
The campaign is built on real life behaviour. Before every England match, millions of fans search for the same thing, “What time is kickoff?”. With the 2026 World Cup spread across multiple North American time zones, that question was going to be asked more often than ever. The time difference brings a darker consequence – England matches will finish at anti-social hours in the UK, meaning any post-match rise in domestic abuse is likely to occur later at night, when victims are most isolated and support services are least visible.
Josh Green, CCO, ELVIS, stated, “The World Cup dominates everything from search and social to pub conversations. It defines the entire national mood really. For Women’s Aid, that created a rare moment when millions of people were all doing the same thing at the same time. We asked ourselves what every England fan would do before the match and built the campaign around intercepting that moment. Getting the wrong answer to a question you were already asking is a very different experience to being told something you didn’t want to hear.”
The Other Kick Off follows Women’s Aid’s highly awarded 2022 World Cup campaign, He’s Coming Home, which reimagined football’s most famous anthem as a warning, underpinned by research that shows domestic abuse incidents rise by 38% when England lose and by 26% when they win.
Farah Nazeer, CEO, Women’s Aid, commented, “When it comes to kick-off, we’re not talking about football, we’re talking about what happens after. For many women and children, the final whistle signals the beginning of something frightening. Domestic abuse is never caused by football, but we know incidents increase during major tournaments, whether England win, lose, or draw. Every major tournament brings excitement for millions of fans, but it also brings fear, anxiety and danger behind closed doors. We want people to check in on loved ones, trust their instincts if something feels wrong, and remind survivors that support is available; not only for themselves, but for loved ones they’re concerned about.”
“Nobody should live in fear because of a football match. As a Mum and a Nana, I find it heartbreaking that while many families come together to enjoy the World Cup, some women and children are left dreading the final whistle. The latest Women’s Aid campaign shines a powerful light on this reality. We know domestic abuse can escalate during major sporting events, and there is never any excuse for it. Tackling this is central to our VAWG Strategy – including placing domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms through Raneem’s Law, rolling out Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, and working with partners to challenge harmful behaviours,” added minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, Natalie Fleet.
Notes:
- The 11:37 pm time was calculated from average match duration including half-time and additional time, post-match drinking time and average journey home.
- Research on football-related domestic abuse increases sourced from University of Lancaster longitudinal study.
Credits:
Client: Women’s Aid
Head of External Affairs: Veronica Oakeshott
Head of Fundraising: Faye Connelly
Head of Marketing, Brand and Digital: Elena Tognoni
Communications Manager: Katrina Kelly
Senior Communications Officer: Abbie Carr
Creative Agency: ELVIS
Chief Creative Officer: Josh Green
Creative Director: Steve Hawthorne
Senior Creatives: Chris Lawlor & Sam
Head of Strategy: Georgie Murray-Burton
Senior Strategist: Daniela Barletta
Business Director: Nick Cooper
Senior Account Director: Celia Bush
Head of Production: Victoria Fischer
Producer: Emily Tredinnick
Head of Entertainment: Claire Prince
Head of Design: Matt Sanders
Designer: Emma Gray
Social Media Manager: Tom Bell
Motion Designer: Rhys Clarke
Senior Retoucher: Nick Swaffield
Influencer Director: Gemma Glover
PR Agency: Mischief
Managing Director: Charlotte Brooks
Creative Director: Emily Gosen
