In the aftermath of England’s disastrous exit from Euro 2016, it was clear the team had reached a nadir. The fans were disconnected from the players; the media and the team had a toxic relationship; and the country as a whole seemed to be in the midst of an identity crisis following the decision to leave the European Union. Fans from other countries had simply gone to France and enjoyed themselves at the Euros, straightforwardly supporting their country and having fun. It’s hard to remember the last time that was the case for England.

This film was conceived at that moment. Why do England keep failing and why is the relationship between the players, fans and media so bad? Our intention was to bring supporters, players and the press closer together and somehow encourage an approach to the team that doesn’t fuel the negative cycle of unrealistic expectations, underperformance and overreaction.

We wanted to try to help fans (including ourselves) fall in love with England again: to give people an excuse to simply support the team and be proud of the country without any of the baggage we usually carry with us in matters of national pride. During the making of this short film we have discussed these idea with England players Raheem Sterling, Dele Alli, Kyle Walker and Adam Lallana as well as many of the football writers who cover the national team.

In our most optimistic moments we like to think the national team could be a symbol of a positive English national identity, an identity not borne of a sense of superiority, but one that celebrates the diversity and character of English people at our best: welcoming, multi-cultural, funny and creative. We think this team (and their manager) are a great advert for Englishness and we hope they can be a vehicle through which we can start to become more comfortable with ourselves – win or lose – in football and in the rest of life.

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