Another year is over – and for JD, what a year it’s been! After a mega 2021 saw us partner up with some of the biggest events and faces of today, we’ve gone one better this time.
Can’t remember everything that’s happened over the past 12 months?! No need to worry, as we’re running through just some of our best bits from 2022.
Stay locked in right here, it’s a biggie…
Fresh Faces
Among our long-standing YouTube series’, such as Survey Says, In the Duffle Bag, Champions League of Everything and Three’s a Crowd, we’ve dropped some brand-new shows!
Including Make it Make Sense, Confessions, Pay the Cost, Take the Crown and Foundations. The latest instalments feature some of the biggest names in sport, music and social media, as well as our crew of JD regulars.
Not subscribed? Get onto JDOfficial so you never miss an ep!
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Super Bowl LVI
Back in Feb, we teamed up with NFL UK (@nfluk) as an official partner for the Super Bowl. Bringing you tonnes of behind-the-scenes content out in Los Angeles, our American Football superfan Josh Denzel (@joshdenzel) was givin’ us the inside scoop from the epic SoFi Stadium.
Watching the game live from the stands, Josh saw the winning moment the LA Rams secured their first Super Bowl, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.
International Women’s Day
On 8th March, we joined the globe in celebrating International Women’s Day by teaming up with our friends at adidas to champion women.
Going one step further, we brought our Make it Make Sense show to a live, all-female audience! Guests got the inside scoop from our gals on stage, as well as exclusive goodies to take home.
Our Guy Chunkz
April came and a new addition to the JD family was announced! Social media king and all-round funny man Chunkz signed pen to paper, linking up with JD.
Known for his music, his love of football and so much more, he’s been a mainstay across our YouTube channel, as well as making appearances across our campaigns, showing off the latest heat that’s landed.
Women’s Boxing History
April didn’t stop there though! It was a busy month for us as we headed over to New York City to watch Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano battle it out for the undisputed lightweight crown.
Taking place at the iconic Madison Square Garden, Taylor managed to secure the belts and write her amongst the best in the sport with a split decision victory.
With action both in and out of the ring, we enjoyed an unforgettable week full of boxing classes, sightseeing and a trip to our flagship store on Times Square with our JD crew!
Mental Health Awareness Week
May was here and so was Mental Health Awareness Week. A time for encouraging others to speak out, we sat down with two Premier League players in Tyrone Mings and Adam Forshaw as they told us about the pressures of professional sport.
Not only that, we got a chance to hear from three members of Andy’s Man Club, where they use the charity as a safe space for men to talk.
Continuing our partnership with Leeds United, we brought Play On The Pitch to life at the infamous Elland Road Stadium, where a team of Andy’s Man Club members faced off against a JD select XI.
Soccer Aid for UNICEF was Back! ⚽
Staying on the pitch, June brought us the biggest charity football match of the calendar once again. And it didn’t disappoint!
As principal partners for another year, the game headed south to West Ham’s London Stadium. With both the England and Rest of the World squads featuring legendary ‘ballers and A-list celebs, it was Robbie Williams who stole the show with his halftime performance!
Raising over £15m for UNICEF, it was an incredible act of generosity from everyone involved.
Summer in Full Swing
As the sun was shining throughout June, July and August, it was time for the launch of our all-new TikTok challenge – #JDSummerDrip.
We asked you guys to head over to TikTok and use our branded Summer storm filter to be in with a chance of winning VIP festival tickets! From choreographed dances to showin’ off your fresh ‘fits, you lot blew us away! Who’s ready for the next one? 🙋♀️
@jdofficial Throwback to day 1 of Ibiza Rocks🙌 A summer at @Ibiza Rocks ♬ original sound – JD Sports
Festival season came around and kicking it off was the Ibiza Rocks opening weekend! Proudly partnering up with the dance fest that runs all Summer long, we were bringin’ you exclusive access and inspo’ from our JD gang.
This included the JD x Ibiza Rocks Pool Party, where the likes of Central Cee, Meekz and Snoochie Shy brought the heat. 🔥
It wasn’t just Ibiza we were turning up at, we brought our exclusive Beats For The Feet area to Parklife, Longitude and Wireless festivals. Featuring floor-fillin’ tunes from our line-up of DJs and a VIP arcade zone, the weekend was full of feel-good vibes and the hottest artists performing.
With all the action happening on each stage, we got our man Moyo (@yourboymoyo) behind the scenes, offering lifts to the acts before their set in our ‘Buggy Bars’ series. From Mason Collective to IVD, Moyo got the inside scoop on each act with quickfire questions!
@jdofficial We’ve got festi season on lock with @yourboymoyo 🛺 🎪 🎶 Get ready for heat in the passenger seat 🔥 #fyp #JDBuggyBars #jdxparklife ♬ original sound – JD Sports
The Premier League Returned
August brought heatwaves, but with a new season of the Prem looming, we made waves partnering up with two Premier League sides.
We became the Official Sleeve partner of Southampton FC for this season, while at Selhurst Park, we announced our official partnership with Crystal Palace FC. Look out for our signature JD branding across the stadium. 👀
AJ v Usyk II 🥊
Another huge sporting event took place at the end of August as our guy AJ stepped back in the ring to face Oleksandr Usyk in the hope of reclaiming his heavyweight titles.
Taking place out in the desert at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in front of a 12,000-capacity crowd, AJ couldn’t quite become a three-time champ, losing out to Usyk by split decision.
A big 2023 lies ahead for AJ, and we’ll be backing him all the way!
New Term, New Style
As Summer drew to a close and September rolled in, our Click Refresh School Bus was on tour across the country, stopping at London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Dublin and Bristol.
Those that hopped on board got to play games at our gaming station with a few familiar faces. As well as this, Matt B Customs (@mattbcustoms) was on hand to level up your latest cop for FREE.
Not only did we bring term-time essentials as part of our Back to School campaign, we also launched our Click Refresh Match-3 app game. With the chance to win a £1000 gift card, you guys showed us your skills!
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Sidemen v YouTube All Stars
Kings of the YouTube scene, the Sidemen brought back their charity football match against a YouTube All Stars XI for the first time since 2018 – and to celebrate, we were the official Sidemen Kit sponsor.
Taking place at Charlton FC’s Valley Stadium, the game raised an incredible amount, with all proceeds going to the suicide prevention charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).
Going one further, two lucky competition winners got VIP tickets to the match, the latest Sidemen shirts, travel and an overnight stay in London!
Nike Membership at JD 🎁
Another huge announcement this year was our link-up with Nike to offer you even more exclusive rewards!
When you sign up to Nike Membership at JD by connecting your existing JD and Nike accounts for free, you’ll get access to unmissable, members-only benefits on top of the perks you already receive with each of your JD and Nike memberships.
One of these exclusive benefits was a competition for a mega trip to NYC, where our winner had the chance to see an NFL and visit the Nike NYC House of Innovation and had a huge shopping haul at our Times Square store.
Wanna be a part of these huge competitions in future? Sign up today!
King of the Game 👑
As November came and things started to feel a bit more festive, we dropped our highly-anticipated Christmas ad – King of the Game.
This year’s ad featured huge stars including KSI, Kano, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Virgil Van Dijk, our guy Chunkz and many more famous faces.
Always lookin’ to level up, we brought the ad to life! Our JD-exclusive arcade headed to shopping centres to give you guys the chance to play and win some prizes, just in time for Christmas shopping!
Better yet, we celebrated the launch of the ad with a #KingOfTheGame challenge over on TikTok, where you could show off your skills to the branded filter to be in with a chance of winning a whole year of ‘fits!
@jdofficial Wanna WIN a year’s worth of ‘fits?! 🤯Show us how you’re King of your game with our #KingOfTheGame ♬ King of the Game – Elzy
Showin’ Your Support
2022 also brought the biggest tournament in world football, the World Cup. Taking place in Qatar, we got behind Gareth Southgate’s side by hosting our JD Fan Zones at TOCA Social in London and the Love Factory in Manchester.
We had the likes of Savage Dan (@savagedan10) and PK Humble (@_pkhumble) getting in and amongst the fans for England’s wins over Wales and Senegal. While in the desert, the boxing pride of Wales Joe Cordina (@joecordina_91) joined football presenter Kyle Walker (@kylewalker115) to give us inside access to life in Qatar.
Argentina may have lifted the trophy, but the Three Lions did us proud throughout the tournament.
That’s a wrap! After another massive year for us here at JD, we can’t to see what 2023 holds. Make sure you don’t miss out on our next highlight by following @jdofficial, @jdsports and @jdfootball across our socials. 📲
Expect big things…
