In 2014 Brazil was the world Champion in football related violence: 19 deaths and over 100 injured.

In order to stop the violence, authorities have tried everything. But hooligans don’t listen to anyone. Or do they?

We invited the mothers of 33 hooligans to help doing the security during the most violent game of the season – Sport Recife vs. Náutico.

After all, no one wants to get in a fight in front of a mother, especially your own. Moms a universal icon of protection, they always want the best for their sons, keeping them away from trouble.

We gave them police training and high visibility vests, and during the match, they kept the crowd under control. Their presence was highlighted on big screens before and during the game to make fans aware of their presence.

Sport won the match by 1-0 and no fights or arrests were registered. In previous games, 10 incidents happened in 2013 and 18 in 2014.

Security Moms was a huge PR success, our effort was picked by the news and spread worldwide. Hundreds of sites and blogs covered it, being highlighted across TV channels and appearing on TV Globo, the main Brazilian broadcaster. We invited reporters to follow chosen moms during the whole day, in preparation and training before the match. As the idea plays with two universal icons, soccer and moms, our strategy went beyond sports specialized vehicles, covering multiple segments and mass media in general, yielding great coverage.

In 2014 Brazil was the world Champion in football related violence: 19 deaths and over 100 injured.

In order to stop the violence, authorities have tried everything. But hooligans don’t listen to anyone. Or do they?

During a one month process up to a Sport Club Recife versus Nautico match, we identified, selected and trained mothers to act as security guards. In parallel, one week before the game we invited journalists to cover the match. The idea was executed and filmed during the day of the match.

We started with a list of 50 mothers, who were contacted by e-mail and over the phone. At the end of the process we had 33 attendants, trained and engaged, ready to act as Security Moms.

No fights or arrests were registered during the match. As a reference, 10 arrests were made in a previous match in 2013 and 13 arrests in 2014. And for the records, Sport won by 1-0.