5 Ways Modern Football Fans Are More Engaged

Football has always had fans, especially here in the UK, a country that is about as obsessed with football as can be.

23:15 16 June 2023

Football has always had fans, especially here in the UK, a country that is about as obsessed with football as can be. However, what’s undoubtedly changed is the way that fans experience the sport they love. There’s a big difference between the sports fandom of the 1950s and the sports fandom of 2022. This hasn’t all been for the better, of course; many modern fans have been priced out of a game that was historically working class, for instance. But there have also been plenty of positive changes, too. For one thing, modern football fans are arguably more engaged than ever before. 

In this blog, we’ll run through just some of the ways the modern experience benefits fans. 

They Can Share Their Opinions

All sports run on opinions, but football does so more than most. In the past, fans could only share their opinions in the local pub or with their friends or family members. Today, they can share thoughts with the whole world on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

There are always extremely lively discussions taking place online after each game, and the sporting world is all the richer for it. 

It’s On Their Phone

If there’s one thing that has pushed the fan experience forward, it’s the rise of the internet and the smartphone. With that handy little device in their pockets, fans can experience the sport they love in ways that would never have been possible before. 

With just a few clicks, fans can get an in-depth analysis of their favorite teams, put their sporting knowledge to the test by getting a free bet offer from oddschecker, and buy tickets to football matches around the world, to name just three of the many possibilities that the smartphone allows. It took a while for the football world to incorporate technology into their operations, but now that they have the world’s the oyster for fans. 

Access to Highlights

We mentioned at the beginning of the article that many fans had been priced out of attending games in person. But the modern experience does increase accessibility to highlights of football matches. 

In the past, fans would need to stay up to watch Match of the Day if they wanted to see their team’s goals. Now, they can access those goals via a web browser on their phone or laptop. They can do this for games all around the world, in near real-time. Never before has it been possible to see a goal scored in the Brazilian league within minutes of it hitting the back of the net, but that’s just what’s happening today. 

It’s a 24/7 Interest

Football used to be reserved for Saturdays. Today, it’s a full-time hobby. Fans can dive into the sport whenever and wherever they like, and there’ll also be something new and engaging to enjoy. There are plenty of reasons for this, but perhaps the biggest shift was the move toward social media, which allowed football clubs to speak directly to their fans. 

Deep Dives

Related football coverage has also never been as good as it is right now. In fact, in the old days, it was virtually non-existent. Even the pundits before and after big Premier League games seemed to have little more than a fairly limited grasp of the game. Now, fans can access in-depth tactical analysis and take a deep dive into the footballing experience. 

Gary Neville’s YouTube series The Overlap is an excellent example of this. For the first time, fans can get an intimate and honest insight into the inner workings of the football world, and it’s all available for free online. 

Conclusion 

Football has always been good, but it’s now arguably more thrilling than ever, both on and off the pitch. On the pitch, the best players and teams to have ever played are doing their thing. Off the pitch, football fans can enjoy the sport in ways never before possible. And we’re all the better for it.