COVID-19, Football & Digital: 2020/21 Season & Beyond
Sponsors want true partnerships; companies are looking for increased alignment on brand and purpose with digital marketing platforms underpinned by data. Diversifying fan base: Ahead of the 2019/20 season, clubs were focusing on the diversification of their fan base including initiatives to better understand ‘Generation Z’. Content strategy: fans are now able to interact with swathes of digital content outside of the traditional matchday. New trend: Innovation: audiences are watching how-to-videos, game walk-throughs, professional gamers, athletes livestreaming their play, and eSports competition. With the cancellation of live sports, many professional athletes have stayed connected with their fans by streaming and commenting on their own video gameplay. Moreover, the Premier League launched the inaugural ePremier League Invitational competition during lockdown. 
Personalised experience

In-stadium experience – changed and accelerated

Uncertainty looms over the prospect of fans return to football stadiums for the upcoming 20/21 season. Whilst some recent announcements may provide hope that a measure of normality can return, in countries that have been more severely impacted by COVID-19, it is unlikely that we will see full-stadiums any time soon and questions will be asked about whether the stadium experience will ever be the same again.

We may see leagues adopt a “phasing approach” similar to the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia. The “phasing approach” at first consisted of fans confined to corporate boxes, and has now progressed to hosting up to 10,000 fans in larger, modern stadia. In New Zealand, all restrictions on mass gatherings have now been relaxed and attending live sports events has proved immensely popular. The first four games of the Kiwis’ ‘Super Rugby Aotearoa’ tournament had an average of 26,000 people in attendance, a 100% increase on club rugby attendance prior to the global pandemic.

Unfortunately for sports fans in countries such as the UK, the return back to the stadium may be slow and uncertain. At the time of writing (July 2020), the Deloitte State of the Consumer Tracker highlights public reluctance to use public transport – 57% of people plan to limit their use of public transport over the next three months whilst only 24% of people plan to use rail travel for leisure purposes. Meanwhile 36% of people are delaying large purchases, which may include expenditure on season tickets or corporate entertaining. Clubs will therefore want to use the data they have about non-season ticket holders to increase ticket sales and utilise all available capacity once a return to the stadium is possible.

A key question for the in-stadium experience is whether fans will want to “stay around for longer” in a post-COVID-19 environment. As outlined in the Deloitte Football Money League, creating a memorable spectator experience is vitally important in encouraging fans to extend their visits, increase their expenditure and book return visits. This can be facilitated through creating a positive environment in the stadium, in which it is easy to locate seating and seamless to purchase merchandise, food and drinks. Social distancing requirements are likely to accelerate the use of digital technologies to improve the fan experience, particularly if staggered entry and exit times are enforced; thereby fortifying extended stays at stadiums as a component of how event operators manage social distancing. This is likely to include using contactless technology (e.g. tickets, parking and cashless vendors) to reduce physical touchpoints and digital tools to monitor and optimise queuing times or provide at seat or click and collect delivery.

At home experience – accelerated

The demand for ‘At Home’ experiences will be even more important in the near future. In the 2019/20 season we saw football come back ‘behind closed doors’, but minimal change to the at-home experience was delivered. In other sports, such as Tennis’s Schroders Battle of the Brits tournament, there was a noticeable increase in player engagement such as in-play player /coach / commentator interaction that was broadcast in real-time to viewers at home.

There was also an increase in social interaction during games, for example replicating the experience of watching football alongside a friend, which is something that Generation Z have been demanding over the last couple of years. Clubs will need to look to build on these experiments to continue to enhance the experience and engage fans during the 90 minutes of the game. The extent to which this is possible will of course depend in part on the rights held centrally and those held by the club. Interesting discussions lie ahead as broadcasters seek to enhance their product whilst clubs seek to hold on to the rights that allow them to create their own content.

Digital experience – unchanged

Fan expectations are changing. They are expecting unique services, offerings and insights through experiences that are personalised and contextualised. Clubs can use technology to deliver a scalable, tailored, omni-channel experience that transforms fans from spectators to participants, whatever the time and place. These initial predictions, made in the Deloitte Football Money League, remain largely unchanged, however the impacts of COVID-19, may cause clubs to increase their attention on fans at home and the future in-stadium experience.

New trend: Innovation – new revenue streams

The potential absence of fans in stadia for at least part the 2020/21 football season and the associated loss of matchday revenue means that clubs may be spurred to accelerate the exploration of alternative revenue streams. As outlined in our Football Money League report, clubs’ ability to boost revenue streams that they control directly will have a significant impact on their financial prosperity. The impact of COVID-19 provides a catalyst for fresh ideas and innovation.

In accordance with the Deloitte Digital media trends survey, prior to COVID-19, around 25% of consumers watched livestreamed and recorded video of others playing video games each week. For Millennials and Gen Z, it was around 50%. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, these numbers have held strong, with audiences predominantly watching how-to-videos, game walk-throughs, professional gamers, athletes livestreaming their play, and eSports competition. With the cancellation of live sports, many professional athletes have stayed connected with their fans by streaming and commenting on their own video gameplay. Moreover, the Premier League launched the inaugural ePremier League Invitational competition during lockdown. According to Nielsen Sports, the final between Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) and Diogo Jota (Wolves) attracted three million viewers on Facebook and 394,000 viewers on YouTube, demonstrating a 275% rise in viewership from the opening round to the final. It is likely that this phenomenon of playing, streaming, watching, and socialising within video games will continue to grow and expand when lockdowns and restrictions are eased.

During lockdown, football clubs used their brand to help their fanbase and the wider community adjust to the ‘new normal’. This is evidenced by the Premier League’s Primary Stars and Spurs’ home-schooling initiatives. Clubs also began to use their fitness and exercise credentials to produce video content via digital channels. For example, Liverpool’s ‘LFC Home Workouts’ series with Andreas Kornmayer (Head of Fitness and Conditioning) and Chelsea’s 20 minute videos, which featured players training with shirt sponsor, Nike. Joe Wicks’ high intensity interval training routines, aimed at all ages and fitness-levels, have formed a central component of people’s lives during lockdown, with his online videos being viewed by up to 950,000 people at a time. Online workout platforms, such as Les Mills On Demand (900% increase in use since January 2020) and Peloton (where 23,000 people participated in a single class), have also seen a massive surge in demand.

How people fuel this proliferation of exercise has also changed. Deloitte’s retail and consumer product trends report found that COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of non-traditional models in “essential” categories such as food, grocery and pharmacy. For example, in April, consumer spend on meal kits, online grocers, and prepared food delivery services increased by 40%. In particular, the rise in relevance and revenue of meal kit providers, such as HelloFresh and Gousto, may prove an appetising partner for many football clubs and players alike.