Author: ŁączyNasPiłka.pl (Official Website of The Polish Football Association)
The Polish National Team's match against Germany at PGE Narodowy stadium was special, not only because of the good result of the Polish team (1:0), but above all because it was Jakub Błaszczykowski's last international match. It was Kuba who was the headliner, who, to the applause of 57,000 fans, retired from national team. The Polish Football Association honoured this occassion with a number of creative marketing and communication activities.
FOT: PZPN via Lukasz Grochala. From the left side: Polish FA's General Secretary Łukasz Wachowski, legendary football player Jakub Błaszczykowski, and Polish FA's President Cezary Kulesza.
The friendly match against the German national team was a real celebration for Jakub. The Polish Football Association prepared an impressive setting for the match, and the fans at PGE Narodowy gave Błaszczykowski a standing ovation. And they did so several times! Before the start of the match, Polish FA President Cezary Kulesza and General Secretary Łukasz Wachowski presented Kuba with a special national team jersey on which all his matches in the national team were inscribed. Exactly 109 appearances, starting with the 2006 match against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh up to the match against Germany on 16 June 2023 in Warsaw. This type of activity is standard in the Polish Football Association.
FOT: PZPN. "#KUBA16 THANK YOU!"
What an evening it was at the PGE Narodowy – full of emotions, excitement and immense joy. An evening in which Jakub Błaszczykowski ended his beautiful national team career and the Polish national team beat the German national team for the second time in history. Every fan can relive these emotions and memories in a specially prepared vlog, which has more than 410,000 views in the first 4 days!
Content related to Kuba Błaszczykowski generated the most reactions on the Łączy nas piłka social media in June. In addition to the aforementioned vlog, the Łączy nas piłka YouTube channel also featured an interview with Kuba Błaszczykowski, summarising his career and conducted in a studio arranged especially for the occasion, as well as a video showing the most important moments from the footballer's national team career. The total number of views of this content exceeded 200,000. The best TikTok generated 1.1 million views and 130,378 likes. The tweet (thanking Kuba) generated 695,256 views and 18,174 likes, while the Facebook post (photos of the Kuba leaving the pitch) generated 35,814 likes. The most popular publications were on Instagram, where they generated over... 620,000 likes, with the top post receiving 242,182 likes and 786,339 views.
To honour the player's farewell, the marketing and sponsorship department, in collaboration with the Polish FA media and communications team, developed the concept for this unique project. The core element of the communication was the creation of a dedicated visual identity, which was applied in many dimensions and on many media, both at the stadium and in the virtual space. The key visual featured a silhouette of a footballer celebrating a goal scored in an international match in the characteristic way, doing a knee-slide with an emotional and brave expression on his face. Complementing the communication was the hashtag - #KUBA16, with the jersey number-symbol 16, which is important for the player's career.
"Jakub Błaszczykowski's farewell was more than just an acknowledgement of a great sporting career. It was a tribute to his commitment, respect for the national colour and loyalty to the national team values. It was our duty to bid farewell to this player in a spectacular way, both to the player himself and to the fans to whom he has provided a lot of emotion for over 17 years and in 109 matches" - Karol Tatar, Head of Marketing and Sponsorship at the Polish Football Association.
FOT: Paula Duda. T-shirts and other accessories featuring the #KUBA16 emblem.
FOT: Lukasz Grochala. The Polish football team is engaging in their pre-match warm-up, sporting T-shirts emblazoned with "#KUBA16".
The aforementioned visual identity was applied to the anniversary collection of products, which, presented in a striking photo shoot, sold out in a matter of hours. The Polish National Team Fan Shop (sklep.laczynaspilka.pl) offered a commemorative t-shirt, lanyard, mugs and posters. T-shirts with the same design were worn by the players during the pre-match warm-up and the player escorts.
The stadium itself, where the Poles competed against the Germans, was also uniquely decorated. Spaces in the hospitality areas were decorated with media featuring the developed identity, and an exhibition of photos from the players' careers was organised in the VIP tunnel.
FOT: Paula Duda. #KUBA16 VIP Tunnel.
FOT: Paula Duda.
The photo session to which we invited the player is another element of the farewell communication. Using props, selected moments from Kuba's career were presented. Photos with the captain's armband, with 21 balls, with the ball from EURO 2016 or the jersey from his debut allowed us to recall the great journey of the legend of Polish football.
FOT: Lukasz Grochala
FOT: Lukasz Grochala
"Over 17 years, 109 games and 21 goals in the senior national team of Poland. Thank you #KUBA16!" - Polish Football Association
Polish Football Association sums up farewell to legend as part of #KUBA16 campaign.
Comments