ADIDAS BACKYARD LEGENDS
FIFA World Cup 2026™ Official Campaign
Client - ADIDAS
Agency - LOLAUSA
Prod - SMUGGLER x TWENTYFOURSEVEN
Director - Mark Molloy
DoP - Harry Wheeler
1st AD - John Lowe
Movement Director / Sports Choreographer / Sports Consultant — Alex Kingue
adidas releases Backyard Legends, its official campaign for FIFA World Cup 2026™, bringing together Timothée Chalamet with Lionel Messi, Bad Bunny and an iconic adidas football cast including Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, Trinity Rodman, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Alessandro Del Piero. The film turns neighbourhood lore into a larger-than-life story reminding athletes everywhere: You Got This.
Contributed to the creative development and physical direction of the campaign sports scenes, working across casting, technical recce, rehearsals and on-set execution. I designed the sports choreography, gestures, actions and interactions, while directing athletes, VIP talent and doubles throughout the shoot.
Worked closely with the creative and production teams on scene design, props, camera angles and the physical mechanics of the performances, ensuring each movement translated naturally to camera.
- Creative input on sports sequences, choreography and player actions.
- Sports casting and talent selection.
- Technical recce and location scouting.
- Sports choreography and movement design.
- Design of sports gestures, actions and interactions.
- Athlete direction and performance direction.
- VIP talent direction.
- Acting and performance direction for talent.
- Scene, prop and physical environment design.
- Camera angle and movement considerations.
- Rehearsals and on-set movement preparation.
- Coaching doubles on sports mechanics and physical execution.
- Supervising movement, performance and safety on set.