I’ve been in the UK for 5 years and living in London for 6 months, but never in my life have I attended a live football match – until last weekend. Between trying to navigate the bar queue and finding my seat in an anticipatory crowd, I wasn’t watching the empty pitch for any sign of a player or burying my nose in a program for tale-telling competitor statistics. No, in those few moments before kick-off I was more than a spectator: I was a researcher.  

In my role as Research Manager at We are Family, I have recently been involved in many projects for clients in the sports industry. The purpose of these projects have been primarily to understand the motivations and behaviours of young sports fans and their families to facilitate more frequent engagement with sports clubs or teams. By utilising the Fandom Journey to map these fans’ experiences, we can better understand the touchpoints that bridge the gap between an unaware passerby and a die-hard superfan.  

After becoming aware of a fandom by repeated exposure to it through personal touchpoints or platforms – such as social media channels, or from friends and family -potential fans need to experience a memorable, high-impact moment that hooks them instantly to ensure they remain engaged. This Instant Impact must leave a lasting impression on the potential fan, with a positive emotional resonance and a glimpse into potential experiences to encourage future involvement. In the industry of sports entertainment, this usually takes the shape of physical attendance for young fans: I have heard again and again the importance of experiencing a Match Day as the jumping-off point for a life-long football fan.  

One of my tactics when conducting fieldwork with young fans is to feign ignorance: “You guys are really going to have to help me out here, because I know NOTHING about football. Absolutely nothing, I’ve never even watched a match before.” This really gets them riled up; they become the experts, and I the novice. Many call on their memories of excitement and adrenaline in their responses, saying “It’s the atmosphere!” that really makes a Match Day special (if not the food).  

Now, I can call on my own experiences to empathise with these young fans and really embody their feelings when conveying the importance of a Match Day as the starting point of their Fandom Journey. What really hooked me was the noise when suddenly the crowd exploded with applause: an older gentleman beside me jumped to his feet with an invigorated spirit; a little boy was hoisted onto his father’s shoulder, his face paint already smudged and mustard dripping onto his collar. With everyone in an uproar around me, I couldn’t help but join in.  

Match Day is a key turning point for young fans (and maybe even me). As their first face-to-face encounter with the reality behind the stories they have been told or the things they have seen online, a Match Day breaks down the barriers of imagination and puts a young fan right in the centre of all the action. Not only does this action and excitement leave a lasting impression on a young child, but it will forever leave a mark as a core memory from their childhood. This is what sets the foundation for a life-long football fan.  

Circling back to last weekend, where I was an undercover researcher in a live and insightful environment, I could finally see what all those young fans had been telling me. While I’ll have to try a little harder now to feign my ignorance when conducting research (and maybe try to understand the offside rule), I can certainly understand what young fans mean when they say Match Days are centric to their experience as football fans.  

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