Sky rallies behind charity challenge with release of England World Cup Christmas song

Footballing greats, pupils from Bolder Academy and Sky Sports News are rallying behind the Half Time Challenge with the release of a special England World Cup song for Christmas.

After hearing about the YST #HalfTimeChallenge, a new social media competition which aims to inspire families to play together via a series of fun football-based challenges, the broadcaster has pledged all proceeds it makes from streams and downloads of its ‘Another Kind of England’ song will go to the Youth Sport Trust as a Sky Cares charity partner.

Written by songwriter and producer Martin Sutton, the song features the voices of Paul Merson, Michael Dawson, Sue Smith, Lee Hendrie and Stephen Warnock (who have more than 120 England caps between them), and the voices of 17 students from Bolder Academy in Isleworth.

Jen Rouse, Commercial and Fundraising Director at the Youth Sport Trust, said:

“We are over the moon to have the support of Sky through the release of Another Kind of England. These are difficult times for charities like ours and this kind gesture will be a huge boost to support our work in the lead up to Christmas.

“Everything the song represents, hope and that sense of togetherness, is something our charity embodies. We strongly believe sport has the power to change young lives, by getting involved in the Half Time Challenge we hope to showcase the simple and low-cost ways there are to stay active and also raise awareness of the Chief Medical Officer’s daily recommended amount of 60 minutes of physical activity. We wish England the best of luck in their World Cup journey.”

Adam Bones, Deputy Head at Bolder Academy, said:

"We were delighted to team up with Sky to record the song Another Kind of England. Our students had a fabulous day on site recording their individual parts and verses, and as a school, we are delighted that this has now been released with proceeds going to the Youth Sport Trust. We look forward to collaborating on future projects and wish England all the best for the tournament - Come on England!"

Another Kind of England is now available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and all other digital music streaming platforms. For more information on how to get involved in the YST’s Half Time Challenge, read here.

Published on 25 November 2022