UEFA Europa League Shuffle: Real Sociedad's Mohamed Ali Cho and UK artist Tom Gregory
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
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"I'd love nothing more than to have a day in Mo's life!" says singer-songwriter Tom Gregory as he and UEFA Europa League ace Mohamed Ali Cho meet in Shuffle.
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The UEFA Europa League's new Shuffle series brings up-and-coming talents from this season's tournament together with figures from the world of music to talk about their shared passions.
In this episode, Real Sociedad's Mohamed Ali Cho and UK singer-songwriter Tom Gregory explore where their careers cross over, the rituals ahead of a big performance, the excitement of stepping into the spotlight, and how they engage with their fans.
Exploring his inspirations, Mohamed Ali Cho talks of his love for Brazilian legend Ronaldinho, and Gregory explains that although choosing a single inspiration is like "choosing your favourite kid", he holds Canadian superstar Drake in the highest esteem for "opening up, and making soppy love songs cool".
While the 19-year-old Cho deals with the dilemma of choosing which fan to hand a shirt to at the end of 90 minutes, Gregory faces a more unusual situation: a superfan who collects his tattoos. "[She] has screen-grabbed all my tattoos and is getting them in the right positions on her arm!" he explains.
The Europa League challenges ambitious clubs and gives young players like Cho a chance to test themselves in new surroundings, much like a musician does while on tour. For Cho and Gregory, stepping out onto a new stage is always a big experience. "Looking at the stadium, how many people that are there, the pitch, the players I'm playing against: those are the moments I love to play football for," says Cho. "I cherish them as much as I can."
As part of their encounter, Cho and Gregory took turns to hit shuffle and answer quick-fire questions about the soundtracks to their lives. From Cho's walk-out anthem Wins & Losses by Meek Mill to Gregory's guilty pleasure One Direction, they both shared the songs that mean the most to them.
Finally, the two took each other on in the lip-sync shoot-out, hitting the mute button and trying to guess what the other was saying.
Watch Cho and Gregory's launch episode as Shuffle spotlights promising Europa League players and up-and-coming artists, alongside the UEFA Europa League Official Playlist.