Egyptian league match ball arrives via delivery service in Al Ahly fixture | OneFootball

Food delivery service Talabat delivered the official match ball before kick-off in an Egyptian league clash between Pyramids and Al Ahly.

Perhaps taking inspiration from UEFA’s use of a tiny car at both Euro 2020 and currently Euro 2022, the halcyon days of officials heading to the pitch with the ball themselves appear to be numbered.

But while the Euros please the crowd with a little, remote control car whizzing the ball onto the pitch in front of thousands of fans, the Egyptian Premier League has taken the concept to hilarious new heights.

In the game of modern football, fans are more than used to PR stunts and the various, creative ways in which teams try to involve their sponsors.

Be it an awkward advertisement involving a club’s most famous players, or the endless advertisement boards which light up the side of the pitch, it’s nothing new and something we’ve simply had to accept with football having such a massive global audience.

Think about all the iconic companies and sponsors we associate with different competitions. The Premier League is still fondly remembered as ‘the Barclays’ by countless fans, merely by association from years ago.

Advertising in football is powerful. And those who can get creative with their advertising campaigns tend to enjoy the best response. We certainly can’t knock Talabet for their efforts in advertising their delivery service during the game that saw Al Ahly lose 2-0 to Pyramids.

Ahead of kick off, a man dressed as in the Talabat uniform – delivery bag included – strolled onto the pitch and hand delivered the ball to the referee from the bag, before heading off again.

It’s an incredibly bizarre yet rather humorous watch, and has piqued interest over on Reddit. Take a look below.

Whoever came up with this idea for an advertisement campaign deserves a healthy pay rise.

It is unclear whether or not the man tasked with delivering the ball is an actual delivery driver for Talabat in Egypt, but his commitment to the job was stellar regardless.

Let’s take a look at some responses to the bizarre advertisement idea.

Just wait until Europe’s top five catch wind of this. Before you know it, the Premier League will be clouded by fights over which UK delivery service is delivering the footballs for Super Sunday, while the Champions League gets delayed because the drivers are stuck in traffic.

Notice that the delivery driver left on foot, also. Hopefully his mode of transport was just parked outside, but for entertainment purposes, seeing an electric bike or scooter make their way onto a Premier League pitch in front of thousands of confused fans would make for hilarious viewing, if nothing else.

It will take a lot to trump the magnificent tiny car operated by UEFA, but we have to give credit where it’s due to Talabat for their creative effort.

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