With 3,5 billion fans football is the biggest sport in the world. For many people football is their way out of daily life. By playing it, by watching it. Maradona was one of those players everybody loved, because of the joy and creativity he displayed on the field. He brought entertainment.

We needed to reach Diego's fans at a time in which the whole football community was paying tribute to him. Every tribute was very similar, and our objective was to create a unique & respectful tribute that would stand out, whilst still resonating with generations of fans around the world. There were also additional challenges of both a limited budget and timings.

On November 25th, a football legend passed away but his legacy is bigger than football itself. As a tribute to Maradona, we have sent him a ball from a "potrero" pitch in Buenos Aires, to let him keep playing, wherever he is. We captured it in an emotional video that we used in Panenka's social media, achieving not only Panenka followers but also football fans around the world.

“The Ball of God” takes inspiration from Maradona’s “The Hand of God”, which is a phrase used to describe a goal that he scored during the quarter finals match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Given his humble beginnings, we too filmed at a potrero pitch within a shanytown in Buenos Aires. The child featured in the film represents the multi-generational impact & inspiration he’s brought to so many.

Sending a ball to the sky was a symbolic and creative way of saying goodbye to the legend Diego Maradona, that got the attention of football fans and also the media, for its unexpected and emotional character. It was a small activation that we also transformed in a film. We went all the way to Buenos Aires, in one of the poorest regions of the city, just like the one that Diego was born. Working with the community of the place, a boy from there was chosen to send a ball to Diego.

The video was the most shared one in the Panenka recent story and also, with zero media investment, we've managed to have more than 40 millions of total reach for the idea, being featured in many important media around the world like the biggest Argentinian football portal Olé. The video was "video of the year" of the Bosnian marketing portal Media Marketing.