Poet Hussain Manawer teams up with The FA for St George’s Day video

To mark St George’s Day, poet Hussain Manawer (pictured) has teamed up with The Football Association to create This Is England – a film that celebrates the country and showing solidarity with frontline NHS and key workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The video features the England men’s and women’s teams and shows the country’s unified response to the current lockdown, also acknowledging fans for following The FA’s Football’s Staying Home initiative, which aims to educate, entertain and empower the nation during this difficult time, following government guidelines.

Hussain Manawer has previously worked with The FA as part of their Head’s Up partnership, having used poetry as a channel through which to combat his own mental health issues. He performed in front of members of the England senior men’s squad last year in support of the charitable partnership, which aims to spark the biggest conversation ever around mental health.

Speaking about the collaboration with The FA to honour frontline workers on St George’s Day, Hussain Manawer says, “We have seen that sport has the power to bring people together from all different backgrounds and nationalities, whether by playing it or watching, so it was an absolute honour to receive the phone call to write this poem for England. People who have shared with me their real life experiences and fighting spirit during these unsettling times really helped me find the words to create this poem. I continue to dedicate my body of work to citizens of England, united with the rest of the world. Happy St George’s Day everyone.”