Scholars created this commercial to showcase the grit of the best football clubs in North and Central America battling it out in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Produced for the dynamic London-based agency Wildpigs, it’s a piece that brings out the best of us. For Scholars the finest films leave space, amidst the structure and planning, to stumble onto magic. In this case we refer to heading out with a camera (both film and the stills camera of the irrepressible Roger Jardine) into Mexico and not knowing quite what we’d find. But nonetheless finding an angry dog dressed in his team’s jersey or, in a tiny town under a mountain, a tough as nails little girl going toe to toe with the boys. Mexico lends itself to the magical. Both Wildpigs and CONCACAF had the creative courage to explore a side of football that is rarely celebrated: the beauty of the battle. A huge part of this project was scouring through thousands of images from dozens of incredible photographers across the Americas to show that grit and tenacity. Their being at the right place at the right time is what brings this piece to life.