EE Uses Home Nations Football Partnership to Promote Positive Masculinity and Digital Safety for Young Boys

EE Uses Home Nations Football Partnership to Promote Positive Masculinity and Digital Safety for Young Boys

(IN BRIEF) EE has launched Yes Boys, a new integrated PR and marketing campaign designed to support young boys as they face the pressures of growing up online, while positioning football communities as a positive force for confidence, identity and emotional resilience. Introduced ahead of the summer football tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico, the campaign draws on EE research with Professor Ben Hine showing that 42% of boys aged 11 to 16 regularly encounter online messages suggesting that men should not show emotions or that boys need to toughen up. The campaign also highlights football’s positive influence, with 65% of parents saying the sport has helped their son’s confidence and identity, and 71% saying a coach has equal or greater influence on masculinity than online content. At the centre of the campaign is the Mentor-Badge, a free online learning hub created with Internet Matters and supported by the Home Nations Football Associations, giving coaches practical guidance, scripts and resources to help boys engage with healthier models of masculinity. The campaign includes a 60-second film by Saatchi & Saatchi, fan-culture-inspired OOH creative, WhatsApp-based storytelling through Digitas, community partnerships with platforms such as Versus and LADbible, and earned PR activity involving Theo Walcott and Josh Paul. Running across social, OOH, audio, TV, video, retail and partnership channels, Yes Boys forms part of EE’s broader commitment to youth wellbeing and digital safety.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 29-May-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — EE has launched Yes Boys, a new integrated PR and marketing campaign created to support young boys as they navigate the pressures of growing up online, while highlighting the positive role football communities can play in building confidence, resilience and healthier models of masculinity. The campaign has been introduced ahead of the summer football tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico, which begins on 11 June 2026, and will run across multiple channels throughout the tournament period.

As the lead partner of the Home Nations Football Associations, EE is using its position in football and digital safety to address the growing influence of harmful online content on young people. The Yes Boys campaign is designed to show how coaches, parents, fans and football communities can help boys feel supported both on and off the pitch, while giving adults practical resources to guide positive conversations around confidence, emotional expression and online behaviour.

The campaign follows research conducted by EE in partnership with Professor Ben Hine, which found that 42% of boys aged 11 to 16 encounter content at least a few times a week telling them that men should not show emotions or that boys need to “toughen up.” The same research found that football can play a constructive role in countering these pressures, with 65% of parents saying the sport has had a positive effect on their son’s confidence and identity. In addition, 71% of parents said a coach has equal or greater influence over their son’s sense of masculinity than the content he sees online.

At the centre of Yes Boys is the Mentor-Badge, a free online learning hub developed by EE in partnership with Internet Matters and supported by the Home Nations Football Associations. The resource has been created for coaches and includes videos, written guidance and practical advice to help them support boys growing up in a digital environment. It is intended to help coaches engage young people with positive, grounded models of masculinity while directly addressing the damaging influence of online spaces often associated with the manosphere. EE’s research also showed that 85% of respondents would use a free resource offering real scripts and advice, underlining the need for accessible tools that support adults working with young people.

The campaign’s creative work, developed by Saatchi & Saatchi, is led by a 60-second film set to Underworld’s 1990s track Born Slippy. The film places the negative pull of harmful online influences in direct contrast with the support, energy and sense of belonging found in football communities. Its central rallying message, Yes Boys, is designed to celebrate boys in a positive and affirming way while encouraging stronger support networks around them.

The above-the-line campaign is supported by out-of-home creative inspired by football fan culture, including authentic tifo-style visuals made with real supporter imagery. Developed in partnership with sports illustrator Daryl Rainbow, whose work has focused on football and youth culture for brands and clubs including Adidas and Arsenal, the campaign’s illustrations feature fans and players in bold, energetic compositions. These visuals will appear across reactive OOH billboards, social media and other digital and traditional placements, connecting the campaign to the atmosphere of tournament football.

Digitas has extended the campaign through From The Boys, a digital strand that allows young ambassadors to share personal stories through always-on channels aimed at parents and football communities. Hosted by credible role models, the initiative provides real-life stories and practical guidance in a trusted, peer-led format. Through WhatsApp, EE and Digitas are bringing the conversation into the digital spaces where young people and families already connect, using the platform to reinforce confidence, positive behaviour and community support.

EE is also expanding the campaign through partnerships and community activations led by WPP Sports & Ents. These include work with organisations such as Versus to encourage intergenerational conversations around masculinity, as well as community-focused spaces such as the LADbible Portal, which will help engage fans and connect them directly with the tournament. EE’s in-house agency, The Exchange, is also producing social-first content designed to reach fans and families during key football moments, from matchday storytelling in the United States to fan culture across England and Scotland.

Pitch Marketing Group is leading the earned PR strategy for Yes Boys, working with Professor Ben Hine and commissioning original consumer research to highlight the issues boys face in 2026. Former England footballer Theo Walcott and youth coach and content creator Josh Paul will support the campaign through media interviews, helping bring the findings and campaign message to a wider audience. Havas Play, EE’s partnerships agency, has advised across the campaign, providing strategic guidance, supporting partnership rights and helping shape the work for a football audience.

Kelly Engstrom, Brand and Marketing Communications Director at EE, said the company is well placed to champion young boys as both the UK’s best network for families and lead sponsor of the Home Nations Football Associations. She said growing up online is difficult for young people and that boys face specific challenges. She added that Yes Boys builds on EE’s 2025 Everyone Needs a Squad campaign, which celebrated the Lionesses and young girls, and reflects EE’s continued commitment to helping young people and families navigate the online world safely and positively.

Ben Mooge, Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe UK, said the campaign gives EE’s football sponsorship deeper meaning by focusing on the generation growing up online. He said football is much bigger than the game itself because it lives in culture and communities, offering a unique power to nurture and unite young people both on and off the pitch.

Rebecca Marshall, Client President at OpenConnect at WPP Media, said the campaign earns its place in tournament culture by combining real-time football celebration with credible community support. She highlighted the role of reactive OOH, social media, Versus and the LADbible Portal in connecting fans, parents, coaches and boys with accessible support during the tournament.

The fully integrated campaign will span AV, OOH, DOOH, audio, social, online video, VOD, cinema, partnerships, customer activation and retail. It was created by a cross-agency Publicis Groupe team, including Saatchi & Saatchi and Digitas, with media planning and buying by OpenConnect at WPP Media, OOH support from Posterscope, PR led by Pitch Marketing Group and sponsorship consultancy handled by Havas Play.

Yes Boys launches from 25 May, with social, OOH and audio activity followed by TV, BVOD, SVOD and YouTube from 1 June. The Mentor-Badge and other online resources will continue beyond the tournament, extending the campaign’s impact after the football season. The initiative forms part of EE’s broader mission to use the power of connection for good, especially as young people face increasingly complex challenges around phones, digital spaces and online influence. It also builds on EE’s wider youth wellbeing commitments, including Safer SIMs for under-18s, online safety appointments in EE stores nationwide and the PhoneSmart platform for teens and parents.

About EE

EE is the UK’s best network, offering superfast mobile and broadband connection to millions across the UK. With an ambition to be the country’s most trusted connector of people, EE’s network and services keep consumers connected and entertained.

EE’s 4G, 5G and 5GSA speeds cover more than 90% of the UK, while EE’s super reliable broadband is available at more than 99% of UK premises, with guaranteed speeds to keep people streaming, gaming, watching TV and connecting to the things that matter most.

EE’s mobile network continues to receive extensive recognition including UK’s best overall network by RootMetrics® every year since 2014, as well as being named Best Network for Consumers at the Mobile Industry Awards for the last four years since 2022.

EE is committed to offering first class service in the industry and has nearly 400 stores across the UK. In 2023, EE launched its new experiential retail strategy opening its flagship EE Studio and Experience stores nationwide. The innovative approach to retail in the telco industry has seen EE receive multiple awards of recognition including Retailer of the Year at the Mobile Industry Awards in 2024 and 2025, and Best New Store for the EE Studio at the Retail Week Awards in 2024.

EE remains the only mobile provider to answer 100% of customer calls in the UK and Ireland and was recognised for putting people and culture at the heart of the company at the Cnect Wales Awards in 2025.

EE is part of BT Group’s Consumer business unit which provides products and services to all of BT’s consumer customers in the UK.

Follow us on:

Facebook at:www.facebook.com/ee

Twitter at:www.twitter.com/ee

YouTube at:www.youtube.com/ee

LinkedIn at:www.linkedin.com/company/ee-uk

EE Press Office
newsroom@ee.co.uk

SOURCE: EE LIMITED