DAVID Madrid: Stevenage Challenge
DAVID Madrid: Stevenage Challenge
How a small English football club became the biggest team online
In 2018, Burger King was announced as the official sponsor of a relatively unknown club at the bottom of football’s fourth division: Stevenage.
By sponsoring Stevenage, Burger King’s branded kit would feature in the FIFA 20 video game. The brand then launched the Stevenage Challenge, which invited players to compete as Stevenage FC and complete a series of in-game tasks. The challenges varied, ranging from simply scoring a goal to scoring direct from a corner and scoring from a free-kick, all while wearing one of the two Burger King sponsored Stevenage FC shirts.
Thousands of gamers around the world helped to turn this small club into the biggest team online. All they had to do was hire the best players in the game, share their goals online and receive rewards. Within a few hours, social media was teeming with images of the biggest names in football wearing the Burger King logo.
The Stevenage Challenge was launched in October 2019 and lasted just over two weeks. In this short period, more than 25,000 goals were scored by people playing as Stevenage FC. As a result of the campaign, the Stevenage FC sold out their home shirt for the first time in the club’s history.