SOCIOS.COM DELVES INTO FOOTBALL FANDOM IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Last year, we commissioned Nielsen Sports & Entertainment to provide an in-depth look at football fandom in 6 key markets — Brazil, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. We wanted to understand the potential for Socios.com amongst football fans, but we also wanted to take a closer look at the football landscape including how fans interact with their clubs. We surveyed 2793 football fans in total (435 in the United Kingdom), all of whom support a football team.

Here we take a look at the findings from the United Kingdom, home of the world’s most popular football league and arguably the country where the great game began.

Surprisingly, when compared to the other markets, the UK registered the lowest national interest in the sport. Only 56% of the population are interested in the game, compared to 75% of Portugal, putting the UK at the bottom of the list in terms of interest.

When it comes to rating football as their most loved sport, 51% of British fans said that football was their favorite sport compared to 57% of Brazilian fans and 44% of Portuguese fans. Interestingly, football was significantly more likely to be a favorite sport for those under the age of 45.

In terms of club support, the 3 most popular clubs in the UK are those with some of the longest history. Unsurprisingly, Manchester United takes the top spot with a 22% following, Liverpool FC with 20% and Arsenal with 12%. Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur came in at 8% and 7% respectively.

72% of British fans stated that they support one particular club above all others, with the number of fans who follow a number of teams dropping to 25%. The numbers are significantly different when compared to Portuguese fans, of which 95% said that they support one particular club more than any other.

Interestingly out of the markets surveyed, when it came to familial influence, 35% of British fans said that a parent had introduced them to their favorite team, while 16% said another family member had done so. Both numbers were average compared to the rest of the markets.

When actually participating and watching the game, the numbers are very similar across all markets with the UK registering 58% of fans being very interested in watching football on TV, while engaging with football on social media stands at 17%.

British fans are more likely to engage with their favorite club on Facebook more than other social media, and are also more interested in results and scores and club news, followed by official match announcements.

When it comes to fans engagement and interest in their clubs, British fans stated that they feel very connected to their favorite club, while 51% said that they feel their loyalty is rewarded. 54% of these fans felt that they should have more influence of club decisions while 52% felt their views were important to the club.

In terms of being club membership, nearly a ¼ of fans claim to be members of their club’s official supporters fan club, and on average they invest nearly €86 a year on their membership. This varies drastically by market with places like Spain and the UK being 5x the price of Brazil.

Claimed spend on membership:

UK — £92

Spain — €174.5

Portugal — €61.9

Italy — €98.3

Germany — €52.4

Brazil — BRL 84.5

When it comes to how much fans would spend on fan tokens, British fans said that would spend £10 on the right to vote on club decisions.

In terms of club perceptions, 56% of British fans believe the primary role of a football club is to keep fans happy and 47% believe their only goal should be to win trophies. A quarter believe that clubs could engage with them on other platforms and 53% believe new technology could improve the fan experience. Almost three quarters believe clubs focus too much on making money and 64% of fans believe clubs could engage better by keeping ticket prices stable.

However, despite their passion, 24% of fans felt alienated by their club and 25% felt that their views were not valued. 19% believe fans should be given more autonomy and there’s demand for fans to have more influence over club decisions — 54% of respondents.