Reports of corruption and human rights abuses during the construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar made it a highly controversial event. Shockingly, more than 6,500 workers lost their lives due to bad working conditions, while thousands more were subjected to modern-day slavery.

As the biggest broadcaster in Portugal and long-time sponsor of the national team, MEO questioned their responsibility. How could MEO fulfil all commercial obligations while upholding their ethical principles?

Rather than turning a blind eye to the human rights abuses in Qatar, MEO chose to take a stand. Support the families of the victims who suffered those abuses and encourage action towards change.

MEO created The Forgotten Team, a football team in tribute to the thousands of migrant workers who died building the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Team’s jersey was inspired by Equality and Human Rights Commission Article 4: Freedom from slavery and forced labor. Its members were made up of the 10.33 million people in Portugal.

Creating a new football team for supporters of human rights was the perfect way to gain awareness in a nation heavily focused on football. The jersey quickly became a powerful symbol of bravery and resilience.

The lack of action from most brands involved in the tournament added to the significance of the Forgotten Team. That fact only increased the impact of the campaign. It was game-changer in the industry, inspiring other brands on the importance of brand values, purpose-driven marketing and authenticity.

The PR strategy for the Forgotten Team campaign was to leverage the heightened media attention surrounding the World Cup to bring attention to the issue of worker exploitation in Qatar. The insight was that creating a new team during a time of World Cup euphoria would be a way to stand out and capture the attention of the public.

The key message was to highlight the plight of the workers who lost their lives building the World Cup. The target audience was football fans and the wider public who were likely to be interested in the World Cup.

To create and distribute assets, the campaign used a range of tactics including the design of unique jerseys inspired by the workers' vests, featuring reflective bands, migrant ambassadors, special outdoors and TV ads. The jerseys were distributed through various public events to generate attention and encourage people to engage with the campaign.

The campaign was launched with the iconic jersey, to honor the workers who lost their lives. The bright yellow color and reflective stripes were inspired by the workers' vests, printed with Article 4 of the Human Rights Act. It served as a wearable call to action for supporters of human rights and generated national buzz. The jerseys were made available for purchase through MEO where all proceedings went to Amnesty International.

During each world-cup game broadcast, viewers could hit the yellow button on their remote control and uncover the true story behind the glory. It became a symbol of remembrance and a call to action for viewers to donate to the cause with 230k clicks.

The scale of the project was massive, reaching 98% of Portugal.

The Forgotten Team jerseys are still being sent to future World Cup hosts as a reminder that this tragedy cannot happen again.

From hospitals to schools, from gamers to surfers, the jersey was everywhere. A president of a political party (PAN) even wore the jersey in parliament. The campaign reached a national audience through media coverage and social media. With almost 9.9M people impacted, 98% of the country. The campaign generated 1.5M of earned media and 127K shared media. The yellow button itself accounted for almost 27k euros of the total 160k euros raised through the campaign.

According to the World Football Qatar 2022 study, prepared by Scopen, the campaign was best evaluated by 75% of those who contacted the action, surpassing the evaluations of bigger global brands, such as Coca-cola, Nike or Macdonalds. MEO saw its association as a brand of causes grow by 6 percentage points, an extremely positive outcome. To this day the jersey, now a symbol of bravery and resilience, is still used in public humanitarian protests.