The 10th FIFA President
Hope Sogni
Dark Horses
The Challenge
FIFA, the international governing body of football, has struggled to represent the full spectrum of the sport, particularly in regards to the women’s game.
Gianni Infantino, who ran unopposed in last year’s elections, has overseen a world rife with posturing, cronyism, and misogyny.
Women in football who challenge this status quo often find themselves undermined or sidelined. There is a crucial need for more women in key decision-making roles; however, no female candidate has ever run for president.
As specialists in this area, Dark Horses see it as their responsibility to hold the industry accountable. This involves going beyond paid work for clients – they have taken it upon themselves to draw attention from both the industry and the public to the injustices of the current situation.
The Solution
Dark Horses created Hope Sogni as the 10th FIFA President and the first-ever female candidate to stand – but more significantly, she represented the collective voice of women in football worldwide.
Hope was developed using AI, with her knowledge and progressive perspective shaped exclusively by women. She possesses an encyclopedic comprehension of the sport, its policies, and the primary issues it confronts while being able to engage in real-time conversations.
Hope is adept at delivering keynote speeches, reacting to real-time incidents, and participating in PR interviews, offering insights on sensitive subjects that might otherwise jeopardize the careers of senior women in football. Fans can even interact with her in real-time and inquire about her policies.
The Results
Within two days, news of Hope’s candidacy spread globally across 42 countries, multiple languages, and national titles, sparking an international debate and worldwide engagement regarding the lack of senior women in football. A week later, the campaign had reached an audience of 364 million. The website hosting Hope’s real-time interactions had accumulated 39,810 page views from various countries, resulting in 13,800 sessions, 7,600 users, and an average session duration of 4.4 minutes.