Ffion Hourigan-Davies of Formidable on How Sports Transcends Language and Cultural Barriers

Inside the 'Sporty AF' campaign

Ffion is a senior sports producer at Formidable, a social-first creative agency.

We spent two minutes with Ffion to learn more about her background, her creative inspirations and recent work she’s admired. 

Ffion, tell us …

Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?

I was born and brought up in Swansea, Wales, but have lived in London for about 10 years. 

What is your earliest sports memory?

Watching the Olympics with my dad. I was a keen gymnast as a kid and spent hours watching the gymnastics and track events. If YouTube had been around in the ’90s, you’d never have dragged me away from the screen. I remember being so amazed by these athletes who seemed superhuman.

Who are your favorite sports team(s).

Wales for rugby, Arsenal for the WSL and Ferrari for F1.

Favorite athlete(s).

Serena Williams, Simone Biles. And I remember watching Jessica Ennis-Hill at London 2012 and being so in awe. Team GB have some incredible female athletes and getting to work with them on our “Sporty AF” series was a real pinch-me moment. When else do you get to hang out with Olympians and listen to them deep dive into topics they’re passionate about? 

What is your favorite sports movie and/or show?

TV: Has to be Drive to Survive. It’s been a game-changer, in terms of introducing a whole new audience to a sport, which for a long while was seen as inaccessible outside of its core fan base. It’s fascinating to see the pace of growth around F1 now—especially in new audiences. A significant part of that can be attributed to the success of Drive to Survive.

What is your favorite sports podcast or news show? 

The Sports Agents, which gives a great overview across a broad range. I also enjoy the more in-depth interviews on The Game Changers, which is focused solely on female athletes.

What is a recent project you’re proud of?

In 2023, I led development and production of a six-part YouTube series for Team GB called “Sporty AF.” It brought together female Olympians from across the Team GB family to discuss a variety of issues affecting women in sports. It ticked so many boxes for me both personally and professionally. I was especially proud of the fact that we created a space where athletes were able to speak openly and candidly about personal matters. The fact that we shot and edited the series with an entirely female team was something I was really proud of, too. The end results—3.5 million views, and its own line of merch—were the icing on the cake.

More recently, we’ve been working with the London City Lionesses. They’re excited to try ideas and test different types of content on their socials, which has made them a fun and creative client.

Someone else’s work that you admired recently.

The “Persil’s Dirt Is Good” ads did a good job of highlighting the conversation around periods in women’s sport. This one genuinely grabbed my attention when it flashed on my screen. I liked the way it showed the physicality of women’s sports while also not shying away from the topic of menstruation. It’s something we talked about in “Sporty AF” and is fascinating culturally and from a sports science angle. 

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What sports can do that nothing else can.

They have a unique way of bringing people together—either as players or fans. Sport transcends language and cultural barriers, which is really special.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in the sports space.

Before moving into sports, I worked in TV on reality shows. So I would probably still be working in the entertainment space—a whole different kind of drama!