Dear reader,
today I come to talk to you about us, the fans.
I've already told you the story of how I became a supporter of my club. However, as I was born and brought up in a small town in Portugal, Tomar, it might seem strange to some fans why I don't support the local team (where I even played for 9 years) União Futebol Comércio e Indústria de Tomar (UFCIT).
Well, it's not a question of not supporting, it's a question of how one supports. In a country like Portugal, where the power of football is too concentrated in a handful of clubs (I'm even being kind enough not to say just 3), the attraction they exert ends up becoming unbeatable for any youngster who wants to celebrate winning titles.
The more modest clubs, because they don't have the capacity to fight for "silverware", find it very difficult to attract and retain fans. This lack of fans, combined with geographical limitations, is an obvious problem in terms of long-term competitiveness.
The question then arises of the survival of these clubs. Do they have to settle for financial mediocrity? Is there nothing they can do in terms of attracting fans? Is the little budget they have being spent on the right fans? Could they do something different?
I believe that to answer these questions, it's imperative to know what types of fans there are and that's precisely what I want to address in this edition of Factball, and as you already know, always resorting to facts.
Let's get to it!
The problem
As you can see from the introduction, the lack of fans is one of the major problems facing many of the world's football clubs. Obviously, I'm not talking about those that play in European competitions and line up superstars, because they represent a very small part of the overall industry.
For a club the size of União de Tomar, which currently plays in the fourth tier of the Portuguese football pyramid, it's very difficult to fill its stadium week in, week out, a stadium that is already very small - it seats 500 people.
Apart from the modest ticket sales, it's almost impossible to think of any other significant sources of income for this type of club:
revenue from the stadium bar or restaurant, when there is one, depends directly on the number of tickets sold;
merchandising, i.e. shirts, scarves, accessories and other trinkets, are often not available because many clubs don't even have a store;
sponsors, most of whom are local, are also unable to contribute much revenue because the club's reach is too narrow;
transfers of players have no significance in these competitive contexts.
The most attentive will have noticed what's missing from these accounts, and it's a source of revenue that accounted for an average of 48% of the income of the 20 richest clubs in the world in 2022: television rights.
And this is precisely why fans play a crucial role for these clubs with less financial capacity: because they are still one of the main sources of income, each one carries additional weight.
Categories of supporters
So let's look at the types of fans that exist and how clubs can segment them to communicate with them and satisfy their needs in the most efficient way.
In a 2020 study carried out by the European Club Association, which analysed 7 markets (United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, India and Brazil) and took 2,000 responses from each, giving a sample of 14,000 people aged between 8 and 64, some data was collected that I want to share with you.
After analysing the behaviour of these people, more precisely the frequency and depth of their interactions with the game, it was possible to separate them into 6 distinct groups:
FOMO Followers (27%)
A relatively young segment (52% under 35), predominantly male (54%);
Moderate fans - say they follow the sport closely, but don't identify themselves as big fans;
They follow football mainly so they can use it as a topic of conversation;
Have frequent involvement with football through news, illegal streams, sharing stories/memes, but are not emotionally invested in the game;
Prefer to follow the big European clubs and competitions rather than the domestic leagues because of the better quality of "entertainment" this brings them.
Main Eventers (19%)
Typically older (64% over 35) and mostly female (52%);
Moderate fans - follow the news and watch on television;
Weak involvement with the game, but this increases during big matches or competitions;
Less concerned with the results and more interested in the event itself.
Tag Alongs (19%)
Typically older (65% over 35) and mostly female (59%);
They are the least fervent football fans, with little emotional or intellectual involvement;
Interest is sparked by friends/family or by a preference for the national team;
Despite their lack of interest in sport, most have heard of the Champions League and Europa League, and their interest increases during major competitions.
Club Loyalists (14%)
This is the oldest segment (70% over 35) and they are mostly male;
Highly invested in the game and long-time supporters;
Football is interesting and a source of entertainment for them, and they follow their clubs very closely;
They are emotionally invested in their club, which helps form their identity;
They regularly attend football matches and are always on top of the latest news.
Football Fanatics (11%)
They follow football as a whole, with a very high emotional involvement - football carries a community feeling that is fundamental to their experience;
They are slightly younger than average (37% over 35) and it is the group with the highest male prevalence (69%);
They follow other sports, but football is the main one;
They prefer to go to the stadium to take advantage of the bonding and social experience;
They have a very strong connection to their club, but their involvement goes far beyond that, including lower division football.
Icon Imitators (11%)
This is the youngest segment of all (53% aged between 13 and 34) and mostly male (57%);
Their interest in football is moderate or high, with a growing trend;
Their interest in football comes mainly from the fact that they play - they prefer playing to watching;
They follow specific players and identify with them;
They are not so focussed on competitions, but enjoy the big games where the best players in the world play.
Conclusion
To be truly rigorous, each club should carry out a study of its audience and separate fans into categories that reflect their reality, but the above study is a good starting point.
In global clubs, this is common practice, and what are known as fan engagement strategies are applied. This area arose from the need for clubs to expand, since local fans are no longer a sufficient source of income for the investments made in infrastructure, technical staff and, above all, player transfers and salaries.
But of course, what is studied in these universities around the world are the "easy" examples of clubs with huge marketing budgets that can afford to go on pre-season tours in other continents and "hoard" fans who have never even visited the club's stadium.
So what I want to highlight here are the clubs with the fewest fans, from cities, towns and villages that, because they have no presence on the international sporting scene, find it increasingly difficult to attract new fans.
This leads me to raise some questions that all club decision makers should ask themselves to develop their marketing strategies:
Aren't we paying too much attention to a small part of the fan base? If the strategies are simply aimed at fans who are loyal to the club, you have to realise that they only represent 14%.
How can we captivate football fanatics (11%)? If we give them access to more detailed content about the game, can we get their attention? More player statistics, tactical analyses by club staff, detailed information on player recruitment processes, etc. In general, giving more access and combating the "secrecy" that still plagues this industry.
How are we going to get fans who follow sport moderately (19%) interested in our team? How can we make the football club the most talked about subject in our small town or village? Can we create actions and dynamics for the players to be closer to the community (participation in local events, interaction with causes and activities that are of interest to the surrounding community, etc.)? Create promotional activities in places that attract people and are not football-related (municipal markets, restaurants, cafés, local retail businesses, for example).
Fans who follow major events (19%) and those who follow sporting icons (11%) are perhaps more difficult to attract to this type of club, but what if we could design strategies for the club, even if not playing, to be closer to the action? Inviting fans to watch matches of major competitions on television with the team's players, or even taking some fans to the big stages (dressed in the local club's colours).
What if the spectacle we're offering could be more attractive? What if we gave our fans the chance to add to the spectacle from the stands? Support for the organisation of fan groups, workshops about respect for those involved in the game, allocation of funds for small "tifos" and flags.
These are just a few suggestions that should obviously be adapted to each club, but they serve to illustrate that there ARE possibilities, even if the gap seems impossible to narrow. It's plain to see that football has to make an effort to conquer its place in people's entertainment agendas, so it's no longer enough to just think about the squad and how to win games. You have to make every game a party and an enjoyable moment for those watching.
I'll end, dear reader, by appealing to you and especially to all those who complain about the current football scene and the millions that flow through the big leagues, Saudi Arabia, the MLS and so on: this weekend give up watching one or two games on television and go to your local stadium. Whether it's the 3rd, 5th or 7th division, support the clubs that still play the game for the game's sake and give yourself a chance to fall in love with football all over again.
Cheers and a well taken offside by Mr Vítor,
João Francisco
Extra Time
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