World-Class Footballers Become Racing Drivers In Nissan’s Dream Job Swap

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.”

The video can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/bcHgs5V_3j8

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.