Table of Contents
The fans are the bedrock of modern football and without them, it’s unlikely that football teams would have reached the heights of success that we’ve seen in recent years. Wherever you go around the world, you’ll find football and people who love it.
Every fan is an opportunity to provide leagues and teams with funding which then supports future fan engagement plans, like new stadiums and merchandise. Research has found that Premier League teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool make more than £1,500 per fan each season.
Keeping fans in love with the sport is essential, so fan engagement is a priority. Winning is the best way to keep people following the sport, but enhancing the live experience and creating compelling content outside of match days is also effective. There is more content than ever to keep fans entertained, and they use three key strategies.
How Do Football Teams Grow a Fan Base?
Make the experience personal
The interests of fans are no longer interested in just watching a good match; now they are here for the whole experience. This includes everything from better stadiums and on-site entertainment.
You can strengthen the association between fans and a club by having exciting, new merchandise! Fans can pick up souvenirs that will be great mementos for a fun day out.
Engage all year-round
Fan engagement doesn’t end just because the football season does! A Deloitte survey found that 60% of fans are more likely to engage with a team in the upcoming season if they had a positive year-round experience. Off-season engagement was then found to be directly related to higher spending.
Live game action is the most important thing that can be offered to fans, but off-season engagement provides a whole other avenue of content! This could be anything from keeping fans current with their team by providing general news or using social media to get them excited for the new season.
Community
Football clubs retain a worthwhile connection with their fan base by delivering community projects in and outside of the active season. This includes holding tournaments for younger people through schools and youth leagues, donating tickets to those who are ordinarily unable to afford to attend, and making school partnerships that sponsor literacy and coaching programmes.
This shows that a football club is dedicated to enriching the fan base that has funded the success it’s found.
Fan engagement in the modern age
Fan engagement has evolved in the modern age, and clubs are looking for more personal ways to connect with fans and become a global force. Following strict data analysis, a need to provide novel experiences using technology and social media has been highlighted. This is something for football clubs to think about in the future.
