How's your fan fluidity?

For many young fans their digital identity is AS IMPORTANT as their IRL identity, so sports rights holders must also consider how fandom can be facilitated across both dimensions.

The future of fandom must bridge digital and physical experience, so it's essential to consider how fan behaviour can be facilitated seamlessly across both spaces (49% of aged 8-17 said that what they do online contributes to their real-life identity as a fan – Internet Matters).

Football clubs for example face a challenge. Young fans spend more and more time in digital spaces, yet many clubs still treat these as separate domains. By looking at successful Roblox football experiences they might learn how those digital spaces can enhance rather than compete with more ‘traditional’ IRL football fandom.

There doesn’t need to be much of a divide between the two experiences, rather fandom should flow seamlessly between them. Roblox has tons of features that clubs should more closely replicate IRL, and vice versa.

Social connection and accessibility.

Although attending live games is considered the pinnacle of football fandom, Roblox shows how digital spaces make the social aspects associated with physical game attendance more accessible. On Roblox, friends gather, play and chat without financial or geographic barriers. It may not replace live attendance but it nurtures those community aspects that make match days special particularly for your global fans that will never attend IRL.

Content creation.

Roblox facilitates fans to create and share content, something that traditional clubs rarely empower fans to do. It’s REALLY important to young people. Alt commentaries, emotes and celebrations could be created in digital worlds and amplified by clubs, bringing digital fandom expression into the real world and acknowledging digital fans as valuable contributors to club culture.

Engagement via personalisation.

Roblox’s deep personalisation options and affordable digital merch show how users can satisfy their fan identity without the hefty price tags of physical products. Clubs really should offer digital versions of all IRL merch, it’s not hard, and it creates a bridge between physical and digital fan experience.

Fan reward.

Roblox’s achievement systems and progression mechanics create new ways to reward engagement. Clubs could create programs where digital play leads to physical opportunities – imagine if Baller League hosted a Roblox tournament where winners earn the chance to play exhibition matches at live events.

The closer integration of digital and physical experience isn’t just about ‘modernising sport, it’s about recognising that younger fans don’t always distinguish between their online and real-world engagement with the sports and clubs that they love.

By creating fluid pathways between experiences, sports can nurture more engaged young fans that seamlessly participate in BOTH spaces. Not just one or the other. It’s not a replacement of established sport experience, but it IS an evolution. Only by creating new entry points and building bridges, will football ultimately strengthen connection to the physical game.