A first of its kind partnership between Sela, RNID and Newcastle United culminated in Unsilence The Crowd, a groundbreaking campaign which delivered the world-first use of new technology designed to increase accessibility to football for deaf fans.

Research conducted by Sela and charity partner RNID revealed 71% believe new technology can be implemented to make live sports events more accessible. Sela identified the opportunity to use their technological capabilities to bring the electricity and roar of St. James Park to the incredibly passionate, yet underrepresented community of NUFC fans who are deaf or have hearing loss.

Alongside technology partner, Cute Circuit, Sela incorporated haptic technology into replica NUFC match shirts that transform the noise of the stadium into real-time touch sensations, allowing deaf fans and fans with hearing loss to experience the atmosphere of a live football match like never before.

The technology debuted at NUFC’s Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur in front of 50,000 people, with millions more on TV and with a match take over to bring the campaign to life.
The wider impact of the campaign is already being seen throughout global football, with Sela working towards mass adoption of the technology, including commitments from several major European football leagues to introduce the technology.

With consistent messaging and tone of voice, complimented by the match day activation, the result was a compelling and credible story to tell the media, fans and the industry at large. The campaign was covered by a total of 771 media outlets across 37 countries, and saw Sela rise to become the lead share of voice amongst the top six EPL club sponsors.