Kelly Anna creates seriously cool-looking sticker packs for the Women’s Euro squad announcement video

Pairing Inmotion collective with Kelly Anna, the video kicks off this year’s championship with bedroom nostalgia and celeb cameos.

Date
22 June 2022

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The new squad announcement video is here for the Women’s Euro 2022, and it is – quite frankly – brilliant. Paying homage to all the people that make the championship what it is, from the young aspiring footballer in her bedroom to the fans in the pub, the video is warm, welcoming and seriously nostalgic – not to mention absolutely star-studded. To bring the vision to life, women’s creative collective Inmotion has called upon director India Rose Harris and illustrator Kelly Anna, each bringing something unique to the table. While India manages to nail the journey of the sport, Kelly Anna has delivered custom sticker packs and artwork, including a huge mural closing out the video.

Cropping up in moments throughout are the aforementioned shiny squad stickers, complete with wavy type. “We all have memories of panini stickers when we were young,” the illustrator tells us. “However I don’t have a memory of one that had female players. So having the chance to reimagine these stickers in my own style with all-female players was a dream.” The illustrated artwork, titled She shoots, We score, reflects a similar vision. Representing the 23 players (plus two players and three lionesses supporting the team at the base), the artwork illustrates the big “win” we all get when one player scores, says Kelly. It’s a moment in women’s sport the illustrator is “hugely proud” to be a part of:

“I had seen England’s UEFA EURO 2020 film which featured the work of Reuben Dangoor, who I hugely admire. So when I was asked to do the artwork for this year’s women’s announcements, I jumped at the chance.”

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Kelly Anna / Inmotion Collective / India Rose Harris: England squad announcement for Women's EURO 2022 (Copyright © Kelly Anna / Inmotion Collective, 2022)

Which brings us swiftly along to the excellent video itself. Taking us from a young player’s bedroom to a karaoke session at the local pub, all the way to the stadium for a quick Beckham cameo, the video aims to encapsulate “the journey of the women’s game”, explains Inmotion. This means representing a whole range of tones – from the intimacy around the sense of personal childhood ambition to the anticipation of player announcements.

In one particular moment of creative genius, the walls of a bedroom fall away to reveal a training pitch. For the creative collective, this move: “Also nods to a wider and more symbolic moment – for years the women’s game has been siloed, tokenized, underfunded but this summer we see it take rightful centre stage.” Watch the full video above and look out for more creative easter eggs, alongside appearances from Joy Crookes, Debra from football beyond borders, Chunkz, Amelia Dimoldenberg and many more.

The InMotion team concludes: “We reflected on what a video like this would have meant to us as three girls who grew up as football obsessives yet without any women visible within that world. We wanted to draw on our experiences and ensure all the scenes reflect emblems of what the game means for us while spotlighting people from the community we rate.”

GalleryKelly Anna / Inmotion Collective / India Rose Harris: England squad announcement for Women's EURO 2022 (Copyright © Kelly Anna / Inmotion Collective, 2022)

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Kelly Anna / Inmotion Collective / India Rose Harris: England squad announcement for Women's EURO 2022 (Copyright © Kelly Anna / Inmotion Collective, 2022)

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About the Author

Liz Gorny

Liz (she/they) joined It’s Nice That as news writer in December 2021. In January 2023, they became associate editor, predominantly working on partnership projects and contributing long-form pieces to It’s Nice That. Contact them about potential partnerships or story leads.

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