SBS is turning a familiar workplace dilemma into a national campaign, enlisting comedian and actor Nick Mohammed to champion the rights of football fans facing a month of daytime World Cup matches.
With much of the tournament set to air during Australian working hours, the broadcaster has unveiled the fictional World Cup Watchers’ Rights Association, a tongue in cheek initiative encouraging workplaces to embrace football fever rather than fight it.
SBS says the campaign is a response to a unique challenge facing Australian football fans, with more than 65 per cent of live FIFA World Cup matches scheduled during local working hours.
To make its case, the broadcaster has created the fictional World Cup Watchers’ Rights Association, complete with an executive chairman played by Ted Lasso and Slow Horses star Nick Mohammed.
Joining Mohammed in the campaign are comedians Matt Okine, Mel Buttle and John Cruckshank, alongside former Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams, who all appear as ambassadors for the cause.
The initiative encourages workers and employers alike to find ways to fit football into the workday as the FIFA World Cup unfolds across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Research commissioned by the campaign found three in four Australians plan to watch the World Cup, while one in three admit to booking meetings specifically to watch sport.
The survey also found almost two in five have watched sport during a work call, while one in 10 confessed to hiding under a desk to catch the action.
SBS Acting Director of Marketing and Audiences Uma Oldham said the campaign reflects the reality facing football fans during this year’s tournament and positions SBS as the destination for every match.
“With more than 65% of live matches taking place during work hours, every match will kick off during someone’s shift.”
Oldham said SBS is encouraging workplaces to lean into the occasion, with replays, highlights and mini matches available around the clock for those unable to watch live.
The broadcaster says more than half of Australian employers are already planning arrangements to help staff follow the tournament during office hours.
Workers and employers can join the World Cup Watchers’ Rights Association and plan their viewing schedules via the campaign website HERE.
