President’s Cup Final 2023
Uniting football fans of all ages
One final. It had to stand apart from every one before it.
We were asked to create the final’s three set-piece moments: the opening ceremony, half-time show and trophy presentation. The client’s ambition was simple to state and hard to do: make President’s Cup the most anticipated day in the nation’s sporting calendar.
The brief grew from there. Sports presentation, stadium branding, broadcast graphics, fan engagement, merchandise and park and ride all came under our management.
The idea was simple: this final belonged to every emirate, not one. It leaned on the values the UAE built itself on: ambition, determination, honour. And it put youth at the centre, betting that this generation could dream as big as the last.
We built the theme “journeys united by passion” to hold it together. Thirty-two teams became two. The players’ own dreams became reality on the pitch, watched by the heroes who’d made those dreams possible in the first place.
29 children carried the opening ceremony and half-time show, moving through a display of shadow and light built around one idea: a generation of young fans, inspired by the greats who came before them.
Professional dancers followed with light tubes, before a full light show revealed the tournament’s logo across the stadium. Leadership attended the trophy presentation, where a passing-the-torch moment honoured the winners as guardians of the UAE’s spirit and values.
More than 30,000 fans watched live. Every President’s Cup final since has had to follow it.
