Nissan: World-class footballers become racing drivers in Nissan’s Dream Job Swap

  • Football stars David Silva, Bacary Sagna, Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando swapped their football boots for racing suits in Nissan’s Dream Job Swap
  • Inspired by a Nissan study which found nearly one in six children aged between 9 and 13 say footballer is ‘the most exciting job’ in the world – topping the poll for young boys, followed by racing driver
  • The Nissan Excitement Index also aims to explore the science behind what makes football so exciting, with European adults seeing football as more exciting than their jobs
  • To watch the Job Swap visit: https://youtu.be/bcHgs5V_3j8

LONDON – Manchester City players have experienced the ‘Dream Job Swap’, exchanging their boots for racing suits and becoming race drivers for a day.

David Silva, Bacary Sagna, Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando got behind the wheel of Nissan’s Juke NISMO RS, taking to the track tutored by some of Nissan’s best GT Academy drivers and went head-to-head in an intense session of car control.

The job swap concept was inspired by a Nissan-commissioned study* that found over one in five (22%) nine to 13-year olds1 consider becoming a professional footballer their ultimate dream job.

And just under one in six (16%) nine to 13-year olds believe that being a footballer is the most exciting career, topping the poll for young boys – with over a quarter (26%) voting footballer as the most exciting job in the world.

Youngsters are clearly dreaming of following in the Nissan GT Academy drivers’ footsteps too, with 64% of the 1,000 respondents highlighting ‘learning to drive’ as their most exhilarating future milestone, with racing driver taking second place (19%) for young boys as the most exciting job in the world.

Jean-Pierre Diernaz, Vice President for Marketing at Nissan Europe said: “Excitement is at the heart of everything we do at Nissan. We’re focused and committed to bringing innovation and excitement to everyone – be that football fans or budding racing drivers – by making advances in research, technology and engineering which are propelling Nissan towards a thrilling future.”

 

Nissan have also been studying what gets European adults excited, with football also rating highly in a survey commissioned as part of the Nissan Excitement Index – looking to explore and understand the science behind football excitement, with Nissan announcing a partnership with sports science experts Loughborough University.

The Study** of over 5,000 Europeans from the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy found that  adults get more excited about watching football than any other pastime. More than half (55%) revealed that watching football is the moment or activity that gets them excited week-to-week or month-to-month.

European adults are all in agreement that their favourite football club is more exciting than their current job. When asked to rate the two aspects of their lives they found most exciting, one in four (24%) chose their football club, compared to less than one in five (18%) who chose their current job.

 

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Notes to editors:

The Nissan Juke NISMO RS used in the driving elements of the Dream Job Swap is the hot, performance version of Nissan’s popular crossover model. The car marries the rich racetrack heritage of the enigmatic NISMO brand with impressive performance credentials, aggressive styling and optimum handling characteristics.

*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from Censuswide
1Total research sample size: 1000
Subject range: children aged 9-13
The survey was carried out between 4.04.16 – 6.04.16

**Survey of over 5,000 European consumers conducted by Norstat Ltd. on behalf of Nissan Europe in February 2016 (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain).