What started off as a cheeky joke by Careem, turned into a fun guerilla campaign for the biggest football tournament in the world. Careem, the regional multi-service app, went out on Twitter with a Captain Call-Up, tweeting at famous footballers whose countries didn’t qualify for this year’s tournament, offering them one last chance to go to Qatar as captains. Here’s the twist: They won’t be captains of their football team; they’ll be Careem Captains. Each tweet leads the footballers to an actual ‘Special Captain’ job post on LinkedIn, written with their skill set in mind.
Careem calls its registered drivers Captains as a sign of respect, trust, and appreciation. Recognising that both football and Careem share the ‘Captain’ territory, they called up the leaders of the pitch to become the leaders of the streets.
When the legendary Duch defensive midfielder Nigel De Jong saw the tweet, he recognized the playful joke and instantly took the job. On 11 November, Careem tweeted the job posting to Nigel De Jong: “Hallo @NDJ_Official ?? We wouldn’t want a legend like you to miss out on being a Captain in Qatar! We’ve got just the solution ⚽ Check it out ?? https://careem.me/CareemCaptainCallUp #CaptainCallUp”.
Nigel De Jong announced his new job as a Careem Captain on Friday: “When I saw the tweet, I couldn’t help but engage with Careem. I truly loved the simplicity and cleverness of the joke and how they always put their Captains at the heart of everything they do. “
De Jong is a former Dutch professional footballer who has played as a defensive midfielder for major European football clubs including Manchester City, AC Milan, Ajax and Hamburger SV. He has huge achievements to his name including being an FA Cup winner and World Cup runner-up in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ tournament.
Now living in Qatar and playing for Al Shahaniya Sports Club, De Jong frequently appears as a guest commentator for beIN Sports covering Premier League, Champions League football, and international football tournaments.
