Marketing, Fan Engagement & CSR
Football is nothing without its fans – and the global number of supporters grows with every passing year.
While everyone shares a love for the beautiful game, not all football fans have the same interests and tastes. New developments are bringing fresh ideas and ever-closer links between fans and their clubs.
Most clubs now take a multi-dimensional approach to supporter engagement and growing their fan bases, in terms of the ways they connect and interact with fans on matchdays and non-matchdays, whether they be in the stadium or at home.
Data-mining is a key element to developing a winning digital strategy, but the physical matchday experience is still vital to building excitement and generating loyalty.
With the rise of the sport in Asia, Africa and North America in particular over recent years, many new developments have emerged that could well change the face of relationships between clubs and supporters in ways they may not yet have considered.
Here, we take a look at some of the best examples of fan engagement from each confederation.
Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao (AFC)
The first Chinese club ever to play in the FIFA Club World Cup™, the South China Tigers, as Guangzhou Evergrande are known, are probably the biggest club in Asia.
Now coached by former FIFA World Cup™ winner Fabio Cannavaro, they drew an average of 45,795 spectators to their impressive Tianhe Stadium for home matches in 2018/19. Hundreds of banners adorn every home fixture, which is enlivened by rhythmic clapping, organised singing, cymbal bashing and even dragon drums among a sea of red shirts – a sight (and sound) to behold.
Kaizer Chiefs (CAF)
When fans of Kaizer Chiefs say they are supporters for life, they mean it.
The South African club has its own insurance funeral policy for the Amakhosi, as their millions of followers are known. Famed for producing an incredible atmosphere, a highlight of the South African Premier Soccer League season is the El Kasico derby between the Chiefs and the Orlando Pirates, which most recently attracted more than 88,000 fans to Soccer City in Johannesburg. Some fans are at the stadium from first light and stay long after the final whistle to greet their team after victories.
Seattle Sounders (Concacaf)
With an average attendance of over 40,000, these north-western US fans in MLS have become famous for their passion and innovative spirit.
Season-ticket holders at the club become automatic members of the Sounders FC Alliance, entitled to vote on the appointment or removal of the general manager every four years, as well as other voting privileges and perks. For instance, the fans get a say on the club’s charitable donations, advise on fan experiences and make recommendations directly to the owners about matchday activities.
Among many innovations forged from the close link between the supporters and club, a 53-strong marching band – known as the Sound Wave – has been created at CenturyLink Field. Before each home game, thousands of fans join the band and take part in the so-called March to the Match from the city centre to the stadium. It is an awe-inspiring sight for visiting teams. The club’s charter puts its commitment to the fans in writing, describing them as “a compass, always striving to guide the Sounders towards triumph on and off the field”.
Flamengo (CONMEBOL)
The best-supported club in South America, Flamengo lay claim to an incredible 30 million fans worldwide.
The Red-and-Black Nation, as the supporters are known, is such a part of Rio de Janeiro that it has even been officially declared part of the city’s cultural heritage, along with bossa nova music. So huge is their popularity that 23% of all Brazilian football fans consider themselves Flamengo fans. In the 1983 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A final, Flamengo took on Santos at the Maracanã stadium in front of 155,523 spectators. But even that figure is dwarfed by the biggest-ever attendance for a Flamengo match, against Fluminense in 1963: a staggering 194,603. These days, the stadium has a slightly smaller capacity, but the combined attendance for Flamengo home games in 2018/19 was still more than 1.1 million – an average gate of 59,285 fans. So big is their influence that the club has retired the number 12 shirt in domestic competitions, celebrating the supporters as the 12th man.
Auckland City (OFC)
The Navy Blues are the only semi-professional team on this list, but that doesn’t make the fans of the Auckland outfit any less passionate.
Their 3,500-capacity Kiwitea Street stadium seats only 250 fans, but that has never held their followers back in one of the most beautiful settings in world football.
Fans intermingle with rivals and lounge on the grass to see City in action in the Premiership, which the Navy Blues have won 11 times since its inception 16 years ago. They have also won the OFC Champions League nine times and in 2014, they finished third in the FIFA Club World Cup.
They may not be the biggest team on this list, but their fame extends all over the world, with supporters’ clubs meeting up in London, New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver, as well as forming connections with New Zealand-based fans from other major clubs including Tottenham Hotspur and Glasgow Rangers.
Forest Green Rovers (UEFA)
Claiming to be the world’s first vegan club, Forest Green Rovers have clearly set out their agenda to be the “greenest football club in the world” since joining the English Football League (EFL) in 2017.
Serving only vegan food to players and supporters alike, the club has established an international profile for its groundbreaking approach.
Outside Rovers’ The New Lawn stadium, fans can plug in their electric cars during the game, while the organic pitch is tended using only natural ingredients, including rainwater collected from around the stadium and Scottish seaweed. In fact, they are the first team in the world to be declared carbon-neutral by the United Nations.
The whole club is powered by solar energy – including its grass-cutting “mowbot” – and it is planning to build a new 5,000-seater stadium, Eco Park, made entirely from sustainable wood. It might not sound huge, but the club is based in the village of Nailsworth with a population of just 6,000, the smallest conurbation ever to be represented in the EFL, where they compete against the likes of former Premier League side Bradford City – whose average home attendance is 16,000. They even let their supporters decide on the colour of their kit when they voted to switch from black and white: the winner was... green, of course.
