An offer we couldn't refuse... but we did

A couple of weeks ago, we got a DHL delivery slip telling us we had something to collect -  something that had been sent by a Premier League Club.

We often get quite exciting things in the post but this felt different. An unexpected package from a Premier League club - what could it be?

Debate raged around the office as to what we had been sent with suggestions ranging from tickets to a game, to an offer to trial for the team, though if you follow our office team in Forza Football (which you can do by clicking here: forzafootball://show_team/v2?id=20671632) then you’ll know how unlikely that is.

Our head of branding was down as the person to collect it so she ran down to our local post office to collect it, as we all waited at the office full of anticipation.

What she brought back was a beautifully put together sponsorship offer from the Premier League Club complete with a personalised shirt, a letter and a storybook edited to add Forza Football’s logo onto that Premier League Club’s kit, stadium and more.

This Premier League Club wanted to be associated with Forza Football. They saw us as an exciting partner to work with and felt that our mission was something they could see themselves being a part of. For us, at Forza Football it was a vindication of the work we’re doing and we were so pleased that a premier league club supported and endorsed that.

So, we had a chance to work with a Premier League club, to get the Forza name on a shirt that would be seen by millions of people across the world. Surely having our name up in the bright lights of the Premier League was something we couldn’t turn down?

However, for us at Forza, every single club is worth the same. Every club is important, no matter how big their social media following or how many shirts they sell.

We want to make the world of football a better place and available for everyone and exclusively working with one big club wouldn't enable us to do that.

The only thing that can do that is working to create a level playing field for all clubs where fans can access the same level of coverage for their local team as they do for Barcelona, Manchester United or any other professional team.

So we decided to do something bold. We appreciatively and respectfully declined the Premier League Club’s offer so we could focus all of our attention on our mission.  We want to work with all clubs big and small. That is why we created Forza Football Reporter so that any, and every, club can share their results, via Forza Football, with the world.

Our goal and our dream is to give all clubs the best possible coverage, not just the big boys. Of course, we greatly thank the Premier League Club for their interest but we are on a mission and even the dazzling richness of the Premier League won’t distract us from achieving it.

So, if you want your favourite amateur club to appear in Forza Football all you have to do is fill in this form and you can see them alongside the biggest teams in the world: https://forza-reporter.forzafootball.com/