The Footy Fandom: What Brands Get Wrong About Soccer Fans

The Bottom Line:

• Brands lose soccer fans by bandwagoning teams, sending unconnected influencers, and getting the language wrong.

• The non-negotiable entry to the Cup is vocabulary (its a goal not score or point, its a draw, not tie).

• The untapped white space is fantasy (FPL, Fantrax).

Hear it first-hand:

This Fandom runs deep. Fandoms aren’t just audiences with a shared passion – they’re thriving communities built on shared identity, rituals, and a deep emotional investment.

In general, communities don’t require co-presence. They can exist as distributed systems (fandoms, cultural cohorts) where connection is expressed through shared behaviors, language, and signals—even without direct interaction.

Spaces strengthen communities—but don’t define them. Platforms (Discord, TikTok comments, events) act as accelerators of connection, but the community can persist beyond any single place.

Those facts are a double edged sword. On one side, brands can utilize their existing channels to impact distributed fans. On the other side, the perception of a low barrier (why not chime in?!) gets confused with an easy “win.”

For brands, a deep understanding of fandom is key to building a community-first approach because it shifts the focus from simply reaching audiences to creating a strong sense of belonging. The strongest fandoms don’t just consume content - they participate in it, shape it, and advocate for it.

We cornered Aidan Maloney, Social Manager and certified real fan™️ to find out what a real soccer fan looks like.

From the 2014 Cup to Liverpool: A Fan’s Origin Story

“Is water wet? I’ve been a diehard fan of watching soccer since the 2014 Cup, but have been playing since I was young and grew up around the game. On a national stage I root for the USA and Italian teams, but at a club level I’m a Liverpool FC fan to the end. I was finally able to see Liverpool this past fall and it was one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life. If we’re being honest, most weekend plans are built around what matches I need to watch.”

Soccer Fandom Builds Lifelong Friendships

“Soccer really means a lot to me, it’s essentially my life. I grew up playing the sport through high school and because of it, met my best friends who I’m still extremely close with today. Beyond the love of the sport, the communities built supporting (or rooting against) teams is one of my favorite parts - watching with others is always better than watching alone.”

Where does the fandom gather online?

“Through my experience the best hub for footy conversations is X (FKA Twitter). It acts as a real-time conversation hub during games and allows for fans to connect with others supporting their teams. X is also THE hub for transfer rumors and news. Outside of the pitch, transfers are probably the most exciting part of the game. The most reliable voices in this space - Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein - live on the X platform primarily as they can break news instantaneously.”

What are a few ways brands get the fandom wrong?

“Brands tapping into the Cup shouldn’t just bandwagon teams. Actual footy fans ride or die for their teams, so it doesn’t feel authentic when brands immediately latch onto the next best, or most popular team when things go south. There are heated rivalries with decades of history in the sport - bandwagoning downplays this and also ignores necessary context as to why certain games are so important.

Additionally, fans have already been frustrated with pricing for this tournament. Watching brands send popular influencers who have no previous connection to the sport could feel like a slap in the face to the average fan who isn’t able to attend.”

What’s the non-negotiable if a brand wanted to enter this fandom?

“The non-negotiable in this space is the language. It’s a goal, not a score or a point. It’s a draw, not a tie. Using the wrong language is an instant sign to fans that brands are just diving in because it’s trending. If a brand anticipates shooting content at watch parties or man on the street style, it’s also important for brand ambassadors to have a base knowledge of the teams and expectations for the tournament. As much as I would love for the USA to win it all, starting an interview or a post by saying we’re the clear favorites is an instant flag in authenticity.”

What is an untapped opportunity to win with this fandom? What would you like to see happen?

“There’s a lot of untapped potential in the American soccer fandom as the sport begins to gain more popularity and grow in the United States. But, a specific space I would love to see a brand activate in is fantasy sports. The largest fantasy sport in this space is FPL, which follows the English Premier League and currently holds a following of 6.7M on X. I’ve played fantasy soccer on the app Fantrax for 8 years now with my best friends and it’s something that connects us all every single day. It’s a community builder that doesn’t require physical sports capabilities.”