The global fan engagement market is huge. It was worth around $6.68 billion in 2024 and is expected to be worth $44.71 billion in 2034. As a result, fan engagement in sports should be a top priority for clubs and brands.

However, companies often struggle to understand how to increase fan engagement. Implementing fan engagement best practices can be challenging even when the knowledge is available. Sports clubs and brands that prioritise fan engagement improve ticket sales, attendance figures, brand perception, and overall revenue.

In this guide, we outline what fan engagement involves, why fan engagement matters, and the ways to improve fan engagement for sports clubs and brands.

What is Fan Engagement?

Let’s start with the definition. Fan engagement determines the extent to which people interact with your sports brand or club. It involves a combination of engaging sports fans online and providing channels where supporters can feel part of the club or brand.

Sports fan engagement examples include personalising branded content and hosting live events where like-minded fans can socialise. These sports fan retention strategies aim to encourage fan participation and establish brand reputation.

Why is Fan Engagement Important?

Many clubs and brands have strategies in place to increase fan engagement, but they aren’t always optimised effectively. Additionally, many clubs fail to listen to their supporters’ true needs, which can lead to dire consequences.

Improving fan engagement can bring the following benefits:

●      A satisfied fan base

●      Sports brand loyalty

●      Heightened attendance and viewing figures

●      Strengthened reputation and brand perception

●      Improved team performance

●      Increased sales and revenue

Increase the engagement of your fans, and they will repay your business in both sales and support. For clubs, ticket sales will increase, and your supporters will be happier during match days. They’ll chant loudly and give your team a competitive edge in home games. Sports brands will see increased merch sales and an enhanced reputation.

Fortunately, the latest reports in sports coverage trends show that clubs are seeking to engage more with their fan base. They are giving their supporters more power and influence over the club as part of a broader trend of decentralisation in sports.

Your sports brand or club must capitalise on this trend and prioritise fan engagement strategies. In the section below, we’ll show you how to do this.

8 Ways to Improve Fan Engagement in Sports

How can sports clubs and brands increase their fan engagement? You can take several straightforward approaches, from building your social media presence to offering exclusive fan rewards and loyalty programs.

1. Create Personalised Content

Personalisation is a top trend across sales and marketing in the sports industry. It’s also vital in fan engagement. Creating tailored content for your fans will encourage them to engage more with your club or brand.

Deloitte recognised the need for personalisation in fan engagement. Together with the International Olympic Committee, they developed the Olympic Fan Data Platform[2] , which combined behaviour and interest data to create fan profiles and tailored content. They rolled it out in time for Paris 2024 and saw record levels of fan engagement.

Around 300 million people used the Olympics app or website. The Olympics' social media channels saw over 12 billion engagements across Paris 2024. These statistics from this Deloitte sports fan survey show the impact of personalised content in improving fan engagement.

2. Establish Fan Communities

Club community building is a key strategy to boosting fan engagement. Sports teams and brands must establish these community spaces and actively involve them in decisions.

Brentford FC is a club that gets this right. To date, it’s the only English Premier League club with a fans’ representative on the board of directors. Its Fan Advisory Board (FAB), consisting of eight representatives from its core supporters’ groups, meets up to four times a year - more than the minimum of two required by the league.

The club’s 2024/25 fan engagement plan[3]  outlined that the FAB aimed to bring in people from other fan groups for wider representation.

By building these fan communities and actively involving them in club decision-making, Brentford FC has established league-leading fan engagement levels. The club achieved a score of 83.1 out of 100 in the Premier League’s matchday fan experience survey[4]  for the 2023/24 season, with an average of 69.5.

3. Build Your Social Media Presence

Social media is valuable for any business. Sports marketing fan engagement strategies can be strengthened through Facebook and Instagram, where you can promote your brand and foster closer relationships with your supporters.

Interestingly, 36% of people now prefer social media for watching or following football. And this figure is growing. With such a large section of your fanbase interacting through social media, you must establish a digital presence across platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

Digital fan engagement for sports teams via social media will encourage supporters to interact with your brand. Your continued presence on their feeds will increase trust and brand awareness, too.

4. Partner with Influencers

Influencer marketing is a reliable approach to improving fan engagement. By partnering with influencers, you can reach a wider audience and grow your fanbase via social media platforms.

Fans are more likely to engage with brands they trust. People who follow influencers online often hold some form of trust or admiration toward them, which can extend to the products and brands they endorse. If an influencer trusts your sports brand (by promoting it), their followers will trust you too.

Your fans will also be more likely to engage with content that features personalities they know or can relate to, such as influencers and celebrities.

5. Create Interactive Experiences

Interactive fan experiences in sports can enhance supporter engagement. Clubs and brands can create these via apps or using the big screens in stadiums on matchdays.

Some examples of interactive fan experiences include:

●      Real-time trivia and polls

●      Video calls and streaming

●      Mobile-powered light shows

●      Sponsored games

●      Displaying user-generated content (UGC)

Live video calls and streams are predicted to be the fastest-growing segment. They’re expected to increase rapidly until 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.69%.

Creating live and interactive experiences increases fan engagement metrics like app downloads, social media interactions, in-game purchases, and brand awareness.

6. Offer Exclusive Access

Exclusive rewards and loyalty schemes can also boost fan engagement. Giving your supporters exclusive access to perks creates a feeling of community and care, which elevates your brand’s perception and reputation.

Offering fan rewards via an app, with an accompanying email marketing campaign, will enhance these feelings. In-app bonuses and deals can also attract more supporters to your venue, boosting fan engagement in stadiums.

Loyalty programs also help increase fan engagement, as they encourage consistent and prolonged interaction from your supporters. For example, a sports club could reward fans with points for every game they attend, which they can use to buy discounted club merchandise or receive early ticket access for the most popular fixtures.

7. Host Fan Events

Sport is an inherently social activity, whether watching, playing, or buying merch. The TGM Global Euro Report 2024[5]  revealed that 60% of fans planned to watch the 2024 UEFA European Championships with friends or family. By hosting live events, you can enhance your fan engagement and improve the overall matchday experience.

For example, sports clubs can show live games in their stadiums or affiliated bars, and sports brands can partner with local venues to host themed events. This gives your supporters space to socialize with friends and family, increasing fan engagement.

8. Conduct Fan Surveys

The last fan engagement strategy is perhaps the most important. Sports brands and clubs must actively listen to what their fans want in order to increase their engagement. The best way to do this is by conducting fan surveys.

For example, the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust[6]  conducted a survey in 2024 to gauge fan sentiment of the club. It found that 85% of fans opposed the changes to scrap concessions for senior season ticket holders.

Additionally, the Level Playing Field Annual Fan Survey 2024[7]  reported that 71% of disabled sports fans decided when to arrive or leave sports events based on accessibility options. Two-thirds of these also emphasized crowds and queues as attendance concerns.

These issues show an apparent disconnection between the fans and the clubs. Executives seem out of touch with reality, which has led to distrust and negative sentiment among supporters. Fan engagement has faltered due to a lack of understanding from the club’s executive figures, showing how vital surveys are for increasing fan loyalty in football clubs.

There Is No Sport Without Fans

A club is nothing without its fans, and a brand cannot survive without loyal customers. Businesses in the sports sector must prioritise fan engagement to improve brand perception, increase ticket and merch sales, boost customer retention, and strengthen their reputation. Enhancing fan engagement can also positively affect team performance and fan morale.

We’ve outlined eight key fan engagement strategies to help you achieve these benefits. Now, it’s up to you to integrate these into your sports club’s or brand’s approach to fan engagement.