Bromley FC promoted to English Football League as award-winning Xbox docu-series ends

McCann London's final episode of 'The Everyday Tactician', a three-part docuseries, ends in Bromley Football Club’s roaring success and promotion to The English Football League, with the help of Nathan Owolabi, a Tactician hired by the club through the game Football Manager 2024.

The project was launched in November 2023 to celebrate the release of Football Manager 2024 (FM24) on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for the game’s 20th anniversary and promised to give one skilled gamer the chance to live out their dreams and start a career at a professional football club, Bromley FC, as a Tactician.

After a tough interviewing process, Bromley FC revealed they had hired Nathan Owolabi as their Tactician on a 5-month contract.

During this period Nathan worked full-time under Bromley FC’s Manager, Andy Woodman, bringing a unique Football Manager game perspective. Episode Three documents his final moments at the Club, peaking at the National League’s final in May as Bromley FC went head-to-head with Solihull Moors in a match like no other. Nathan, whose role involved analysing penalty tactics, had a part to play in the club’s win after a tough penalty finisher. Bromley beat Solihull Moors 4-3 on penalties to secure promotion for the first time in their 132 year history.

McCann London has been praised for their outstanding innovation and creativity, winning a total of eight awards in exciting categories at the Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity for this campaign alone. The agency brought home the coveted Dan Wieden Titanium award, alongside two Grands Prix (50 per cent of the industry’s total UK haul) in Direct and Entertainment for Gaming, one Gold in Brand Experience and Activation, and four Silvers in Entertainment for Sport, PR, Creative Data and Entertainment for Gaming alongside five other shortlists.

Fans have been following Nathan’s journey at the club online and on social media via TNT Sports, the Vanarama National League's official Broadcast Partner, as well as Xbox UK, Bromley F.C. and Football Manager channels.

Exell Films, renowned for its work on the 'Tour De Femmes' documentary, directed 'The Everyday Tactician' series, in collaboration with McCann London’s production team, Craft.

Supported by Xbox, Nathan will now pursue further UEFA coaching qualifications.

Mohan Gehlot, senior global product manager at Xbox said: “A year ago, Nathan was working as a tour guide at Wembley. This May, he lifted a trophy at Wembley, as a full-time member of Bromley FC’s staff. And now has a promotion on the CV. It’s been an incredible journey, not just for Nathan but everyone involved from the start. Ultimately with games like Football Manager providing real data and powerful game engines, we sought to explore the correlation between gaming prowess and real-world football strategy and I think we’ve done just that. We’ve proved that virtual skills transfer to the pitch. It’s been a huge success and we hope to continue to see the positive impacts this campaign has had on everyone involved. All the best of luck to Nathan, he has a bright future ahead of him.”

Jim Nilsson, creative director at McCann London added: “This final episode is an epic conclusion to Nathan’s journey – from playing Xbox to working for a professional football club. We congratulate Bromley FC on their historic achievement and hope this project inspires more clubs to see the untapped potential in gamers.”

Nathan Owolabi, Bromley Football Club’s tactician commented: “Being new to the whole process of staring in a documentary was initially daunting but working with McCann helped massively and allowed me to be as relaxed and authentic as possible which shows in the episodes.”