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According to Brand Finance’s Scott Parker: “In today’s hyper-connected world, sport is no longer confined to the pitch. Football is more than a sport – it’s a global cultural phenomenon, a multi-billion-dollar industry, and a deeply personal passion for billions of fans.”
Football clearly revolves around the passion of the fans.
This is why proactive leagues and clubs across the globe now think about how to attract the attention of fans. The objective is to mine the passion of the fans.
To achieve that aim, “Fan Engagement”, comes in.
With fan engagement, the behavior of the fan, who is the football consumer is taken into consideration.
Premier League
In and out of season, brand managers of the Premier League understand the need to keep fans engaged with the right content.
Back in July, the Premier League announced a deal with tech giant Adobe in a multi-year partnership that promises to revolutionize how fans interact with the beautiful game online.
With the start of the 2025/26 campaign, punters will find Adobe Express technology woven into the Premier League’s digital ecosystem.
According to the Premier League: the integration promises to “give fans new ways to create and share Premier League content and enhance their digital and Fantasy Premier League experience.”
It’s another sign of how the Premier League continues to flex its commercial muscles in the digital space, staying miles ahead rivals when it comes to fan engagement technology.
NPFL
What is the NPFL’s Fan Engagement strategy?
The topflight Nigeria Premier Football League kicks off on Friday, August 22, without a plan for fan engagement.
To keep fans in the loop, top leagues outline their fan engagement strategies. It’s mandatory for clubs to do likewise.
Over the years, independent content creators have taken the bull by the horns to engage fans across the digital space. Rather than salute their creativity, the NPFL brand managers use uncomplimentary words to tarnish their nationalistic attempts to boost the league’s brand appeal.
A few days ago, an independent content creator, @NPFL_News announced their quest to engage photographers on X (formerly Twitter), to boost their coverage of the league, but were criticized by the NPFL.
Sporting Lagos produced a picture of what fan engagement should be. Has the NPFL learnt anything from what the club delivered?
What has been done to recruit more fans and retain existing ones this term?
It only takes imagination.
Fans as ecosystem’s primary driver
Scholars like Rundh & Gottfridson (2015), Bailey et al. (2014), and Maltese & Danglade (2014) consistently identify fans as the ecosystem’s primary driver, fueling revenue, engagement, and the success of leagues and teams!
Social media has become an essential platform for football clubs and leagues to engage with fans in real time, build global communities and humanise their brands.
Until the NPFL goes back to re-think fan engagement that will cater for the peculiar Nigerian football consumer, the Premier League and others European leagues with better fan engagement strategies will constantly deliver passion and unforgettable experience for fans in Nigeria.
Ojeikere Aikhoje, Founder of MatchRoom Football Business Institute, Lagos, works with Sports PR Agency, www.matchroom.com.ng and has over 3 decades international experience in the sports as well as editorial industry, including a strong background in journalism and social media management.
Aikhoje was a two-time member of the Lagos Business School (LBS) Sports Business Management Programme (SBMP). He writes regularly about Fan Engagement in football and Sports Geography.
You can reach him via ojeikereaikhoje@gmail.com or @ojeksaikhoje on X.
