Tkay Maidza, Young Franco, NERVE kick off the 2021/22 A-League with new song Real Nice (H.C.T.F.)
A trio of Australian musicians – Tkay Maidza, Young Franco and NERVE – have been tipped by A-Leagues to help launch the 2021/22 season with a new song, ‘Real Nice (H.C.T.F.)’.
With ‘H.C.T.F.’ standing for ‘Here Comes The Future’, the trio’s track is set to help the league bring in “a new era of football”, with the season beginning earlier this month.
The song’s accompanying music video, directed by Gabriel Gasparinatos, sees cameos and references to Melbourne City FC winger Marco Tilio, Matildas and Sydney FC goalkeeper Jada Whyman and celebrated commentator Simon Hill.
“We’ve stated our ambition to reimagine the football experience for fans in Australia and this collaboration, and broader campaign, are testament to the vision,” Rob Nolan, A-Leagues’ director of marketing and data, said.
“‘Here Come the Future’ captures the essence of the future of Australian football and has the ability to reach millions of people. We already know that there is a significant crossover between football and music amongst our existing fans on social media, so this cultural collaboration was the perfect fit.”
The campaign, and the song, arrives at the same time as Maidza collects her first ARIA award, taking home Best Soul/R&B Release for her recent EP Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 at the ceremony last week.
The campaign was put together by R/GA in partnership with Universal Music’s BR!NG agency.
Watch the video for ‘Real Nice (H.C.T.F)’ below.