As part of the brand’s mission to highlight the importance of positivity from coaches, parents, supporters, and teammates, adidas and Mohamed Salah joined forces to deliver a dream surprise for Sefton Park Rangers, a community girls’ football club in Liverpool.
Adidas is on a mission to help disarm negative pressure in sport by motivating everyone to be a positive influence, as new research shows 4 in 5 athletes often experience unhelpful behaviours from the sidelines. As part of this mission to inspire belief through positivity, Mo Salah surprised a young girl’s football team in Liverpool to offer support, demonstrating the positive behaviours that athletes need from the sidelines.
The Egyptian King stepped onto the sidelines during the girls’ Wildcats training session at Tiber Football Centre, offering wisdom, encouragement, and support as they honed their shooting skills.
Salah embodied adidas’ new ‘Sideline Essentials’ – a campaign designed to amplify the power of positivity from coaches, parents, supporters, and teammates, ultimately inspiring up to 20 million more athletes to play sport regularly. From staying close to break negative mindsets to celebrating effort over outcome, the initiative flips traditional sideline behaviours on their head, encouraging a supportive and pressure-free environment.
The Three Stripes’ move comes in response to its global study on the ‘Sideline Effect,’ which revealed that 4 in 5 amateur athletes experience negative behaviours that hinder their love for the game. Developed with sports psychologists and endorsed by icons like Son Heung-min and Anthony Edwards, the ‘Sideline Essentials’ provide a game-changing blueprint for encouragement. With Salah leading by example, adidas is rewriting the script on what it means to support from the sidelines – proving once again that belief is everything in sport.
Speaking on the importance of positive support from the sidelines, Salah said: “With any game of football, there is pressure to perform for your teammates, coach, fans and yourself, which is why it's so important to have someone that believes in you. Encouragement is the key to unlocking potential. Support can come in many forms, and sometimes what may seem like a helpful gesture can in fact be the opposite, so it's great to see adidas creating something so useful with their ‘Sidelines Essentials’. No matter the sport or the level, we all need positive support”
Molly Evans, Sefton Park Rangers coach, said: “As a coach, the most important part of my role is to provide positive support to empower the next generation of players. Today was one of those days where this was brought to life in the best possible way. have no doubt the support they received today will stay with them for a long time, and I truly hope everyone sees the value of adopting these positive sideline behaviours to help athletes channel their passion and inspire them to keep going. It’s so encouraging to see adidas understand the importance of this through their ‘Sidelines Essentials’, and for this to be brought to life today with a player who is a huge inspiration to these girls.”
Mo Salah wears adidas F50 boots, which you can shop at prodirectsport.com/soccer
