ON the eve of the first Peaky Blinders film, the franchise is sparking an unlikely partnership with Atletico Madrid.
No, Tommy Shelby will not be scoring goals at the Metropolitano Stadium and nor will be having it out on the Birmingham cobbles.
Peaky Blinders is back with ‘The Immortal Man’Credit: Netflix
Barry Keoghan as Duke Shelby and Cillian Murphy as Tommy ShelbyCredit: PA
Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium will be Netflix’s big marketing for the Peaky Blinders filmCredit: Alamy
The club will promote the movie on their social media channels, while a short promotional film will feature first-team players, including , Uruguay defender Jose Maria Gimenez, Nigeria striker , Norway striker Alexander Sorloth and captain Koke.
Atletico and have signed the deal to promote the film that will star and drop on Netflix on March 20.
For their match at home to Getafe on March 14, Atletico’s players will be escorted to the ground and onto the pitch by a group of .
The plan is to “ensure their safety”, according to a report by The Athletic. There are no real safety concerns, of course.
Atletico will transform many of their facets into Peaky Blinders pillars.
Fans will be transported to 1930s Birmingham with a Garrison Tavern to drink at in the stadium, just like the pub where the Shelby family meet in the show.
There will also be a barbershop inspired by that post-war period and flatcap-wearing actors will distribute newspapers and berets to fans.
And that’s not all. There will be a special show on the Metropolitano’s screens and their public address system, as well as lights around the stadium’s wraparound video scoreboard, known as the ‘sky ribbon’.
Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann (right), and head coach Diego Simeone (left) may featureCredit: AP
While the commercial benefits between the La Liga giants and a British gangster film are hardly immediate, it’s understood that Netflix will be targeting more deals like this in the future.
This particular partnership is a one-off agreement, with the streaming giant paying the Spanish club to use their stadium, their players, and their social media channels to promote the film.
would have been the obvious pick being based in Birmingham, but Netflix obviously sees something in the reach of Atletico.
One thing that may have encouraged Netflix executives was the success of working with some of the Atletico players last summer.
Griezmann, Koke and were all involved in an initiative last July whereby they became chefs for a day to promote the Disney+ series The Bear.
Netflix has shown a strong commitment to sport over the past year or so and it seems they are intent on strengthening their grip on it wherever possible through a batch of live events and marketing agreements.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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