The LEGO Group announces UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 partnership

Today the LEGO Group announces a new partnership as National sponsor of the UEFA Women’s EURO England 2022. The partnership will see the LEGO Group sponsor the tournament hosted in England next summer and forms part of the company’s ‘Ready for Girls’ campaign that celebrates girls who are rebuilding the world through creative problem solving and challenging outdated gender stereotypes.

As a National sponsor of the tournament, the LEGO Group is planning a series of initiatives in the run-up to the tournament that will provide fun, interactive ways for fans to get involved. More details will be revealed in early 2022.

The tournament is due to be the biggest women’s European sport event in history and takes place from 6 July – 31 July 2022 in 10 stadiums, across nine cities in England. There will be over 700,000 tickets available, with extensive coverage of every game of the tournament on free-to-air television, radio and online. As part of its legacy, the tournament aims to inspire long-term, sustainable positive change in women’s and girls’ football.

A recent study from the LEGO Group and Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media found that girls feel less restrained by typical gender biases than boys when it comes to creative play (74% of boys vs. 62% of girls believe that some activities are just meant for girls, while others are meant for boys), and they are more open towards different types of creative play compared to what their parents and society typically encourage. For example, 82% of girls believe it’s OK for girls to play football and boys to practice ballet, compared to only 71% of boys. However, despite the progress made in girls brushing off prejudice at an early age, general attitudes surrounding play and creative careers remain unequal and restrictive, according to the research.

Parents from this study are almost five times as likely to encourage girls over boys to engage in dance (81% vs. 19%) and dress-up (83% vs. 17%) activities.  Adversely, they are almost four times as likely to encourage boys over girls to engage in program games (80% vs. 20%) and sports (76% vs. 24%) and over twice as likely to do the same when it comes to coding toys (71% vs. 29%).

Speaking ahead of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Finals draw, Isabel Graham, Head of Marketing, the LEGO Group UK and Ireland says: “We know that different types of play are still heavily judged as being gender specific which is why we are committed to championing inclusive play and ensuring that children’s creative ambitions – both now in the future – are not limited by gender stereotypes. It’s fantastic to see the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 tournament getting more and more prominence and we’re proud to help support this by being a National sponsor for 2022.”

We are delighted to have the LEGO Group join us as one of the first national partners of UEFA Women’s EURO 2022,” says Guy-Laurent Epstein, Director of Marketing at UEFA. “The addition of this major brand is further proof of the scale of this event and our ambition to make it the biggest women’s European sport event ever. It is important for us to have partners on board who share the same values, working together collectively to deliver what is set to be a record breaking tournament that further grows the women’s game.”

The Final Draw Show for UEFA Women’s EURO England 2022 takes place this Thursday, 28 October Live on BBC One from 16.30 when the groups and resulting fixtures will be drawn.

 

 

TIME celebrates International Day of the Girl by teaming with LEGO and Mattel’s Barbie

To mark today’s International Day of the Girl, TIME magazine has collaborated with two of the world’s most iconic toy brands, on LEGO-based art and episodes of Barbie You Can Be Anything.

Red Border by TIME (TIME’s branded content studio) partnered with LEGO to highlight inspirational girls and young women who are doing amazing things in the world. As part of the partnership, TIME covers were chosen featuring inspirational young women, and effectively ‘LEGOised’.

The chosen covers feature Gitanjali Rao, 15, who is TIME’s first-ever Kid of the Year; Amanda Gorman (pictured above), a champion of the Black experience who, at 23, is the youngest inaugural poet in US history, and Brit Bennett, a best-selling novelist who creates spellbinding stories about kinship and bonds.

In addition, TIME for Kids has partnered with Mattel’s Barbie on two episodes of Barbie You Can Be Anything, an “inspiring digital series for parents and kids featuring conversations with female role models, fun activities, and exciting performances”.

This series is returning following the debut of four episodes in the spring around International Women’s Day and will feature TIME’s Kid Reporters in episodes 5 and 6. Episode 5 (with Kid Reporter Tabitha Kho) will go live on Saturday 16 October and Episode 6 (with Kid Reporters Lauryn Chew, Gabri Blankson and Via Ryerson) will go live on Saturday 23 October.