Credit: More Than a Vote

More Than a Vote teamed up with MLS to raise awareness.

In a partnership with voting rights organization More Than a Vote and racial equality coalition Black Players for Change, US Major League Soccer released a new promotional video today on the More Than a Vote YouTube channel encouraging all US citizens to make a concrete plan to vote in the 2020 Presidential Election.

The video features footage of various soccer games and, perhaps more poignantly, footage and pictures of the recent racial inequality protests and troubles that have arisen as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The video’s narrator says the country is currently in stoppage time, a reference to a soccer game mechanic wherein time spent on miscellaneous things during play is tacked on to the end of the game, and that the limited time the country has until the election must be utilized with the utmost care and urgency.

“By changing the culture around civic engagement and really taking ownership of our ability to influence the electoral process, we can begin to build a society inclusive of all of our diverse backgrounds,” said Portland Timbers forward Jeremy Ebobisse, an executive board member on BPC, in a statement. “This summer, we’ve taken our energy to the streets, and now it’s time to be heard through our vote.”

According to More Than a Vote, a shorter version of this video is also available, and they are currently in talks on showing it during commercial breaks for MLS games.

In addition to making plans for voting, the video also encourages people to volunteer as poll workers, a position that has been seeing shortages due to COVID-19 fears, and call their state representatives to inform them of their opinions.