The proliferation of direct-to-consumer (D2C) content, via digital and social media, has dramatically changed the way sports properties engage international audiences. Digital transformation is shaping not only how rights holders and sports organizations produce content, but also how they measure digital fan behavior and engagement. They are now able to pinpoint the markets in which different types of content perform best while the ability to leverage fan data is helping to augment their overall commercial strategy based on consumer trends per region.
While the US and Europe continue to drive the largest market share and value of over-the-top (OTT) streaming, and the regions’ elite sports leagues are setting benchmarks for modernization, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) sports market is taking appropriate steps to innovate, too. This is partly in response to “the demands from fans and expectations of sponsors”, according to Mustafa Ghouse, an investment professional and general partner at India-based Centre Court Capital.
“It’s about having more of these datasets to which we can go to the sponsors and partners and show how well they are monetizing their relationship with [a club] and at the same time, as a club, provide more for your fans because they are loyal to you,” Mustafa said, speaking at World Football Summit (WFS) Asia, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, earlier this month. “It’s a necessity. You can’t have access to such a large fan base and not know enough about them and what they are doing. All clubs are starting to adopt that into their systems.”
During the event, our Chief Executive (CEO) Mounir Zok moderated the Embrace Advancement: Asia leading Digital Transformation in Football panel alongside Mustafa, who was also joined by André Zanotta, Technical Director of Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise FC Dallas, and Matthieu Lille-Palette, Senior Vice President of Opta, STATS Perform, who spoke to the lessons of digitalization in their own markets.
André explained the importance of collaboration between MLS directors and how the digitization of player contracts, in particular, has made the process a lot easier for clubs. Digital transformation extends to the technologies used to identify new talent, too. “We share a lot of knowledge between the sporting directors in the MLS and learn from each other,” André said. From 2024, all 29 MLS clubs will be required to have a performance data scientist in their team.
As “data has become a standard”, particularly in performance analysis and fan engagement, Matthieu said the next challenge is for football properties to increase their levels of digital and data maturity and could be a point of reference in some Asian markets seeking to maximize their potential. “The rise in data in the football world is due to the fact that the market has accepted it is necessary. While it has followed a rise in technology, this allows people to make sense of the data, and then use it in the decision-making process or use it to engage with their fans.”
‘MIDDLE EAST PLAYING INFLUENTIAL ROLE IN FOOTBALL’S INTERNATIONALIZATION’
During the team’s visit to Saudi Arabia, which saw N3XT Sports announce the opening of a new office in Riyadh, coming in 2024, our CEO Mounir was also invited to speak on a WFS Asia panel focused on how football can leverage fan engagement-based partnerships in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Denise Menasan, Managing Director, MENA and APAC, at Nielsen Sports, said the fan’s passion for football is a “common theme” which links the two regions. “But their access to the internet and mobile broadband [in the Middle East] is significantly higher than in Africa, which gives clubs and rights holders an opportunity to engage with them more easily,” she added.
There is an opportunity, according to Mounir, for sports properties around the world to “internationalize” their brand through the power of digital transformation and personalize their fan communications to specific regions. Christoph Winterling, Chief Marketing and Commercial Director at Bologna FC, concurred, highlighting the “potential” to commercialize fan culture, globally, by “opening up officers around the world”, something that Italy’s Serie A top-flight men’s football league is undergoing.
Personalization of fan engagement will be “key” for elite football properties to maximize their commercial potential in overseas markets, according to Mounir, and requires a level of data maturity. “How an Italian football club [such as Bologna FC], for example, communicates in Italy will be very different to how it communicates with fans in different countries around Africa and how they communicate here in Saudi Arabia,” Mounir continued.
“Understanding the nuances of the country and region is very important. This goes hand-in-hand with the capability of collecting enough data points on your fan base in the different regions and enabling yourself, as a property, to be satisfied with not only collecting isolated data points once a year, but coming up with a data strategy that enriches your database around who the fan base is.
“We encourage our clients to think about digital behavior data, not only demographic data,” Mounir told WFS Asia. “What else does our fan base like? Adding to this, the digital behavior component would allow [the data owner] to build a 360° view of its fan base and start to come up with a personalization strategy when they are internationalizing.”
Speaking on the subject of fan behavior, Hassan Elkamah, Commercial Director of the African Football Confederation (CAF), outlined three pillars, other than football, on which the confederation is building its commercial strategy – including music, fashion, and food. “It’s very important to realize that most of our players in the African continent are shining all over the world. The top players you see in Serie A, LaLiga, and the Premier League, we have a great pool of players that are making us proud as an African football confederation.
“That’s why, when we started our commercial strategy, we wanted to engage more fans around the world and are now in conversation with our partners on activations around our competitions. For example, we also brought the CAF Super Cup to Saudi Arabia for the first time this year and we’re very proud of our MOU with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) because African football has a big potential to grow in the Gulf and the MENA region.”
WHAT’S N3XT?
As outlined in Sport’s Digital and Data Transformation Guidebook 2023-2024, our team at N3XT Sports has seen a significant increase in sports organizations pursuing digital transformation initiatives throughout 2023. Looking to the year ahead, the opening of N3XT Sports’ new office in Riyadh “underscores our belief in the immense potential of the sports industry in the MENA region and our confidence in adding value”, says Hisham Shehabi, the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), and is testament to the company’s unwavering commitment to the sports industry in the MENA region.
Our team at N3XT Sports works tirelessly to develop and implement data and digital transformation strategies across a multitude of sports properties at federation level, competition level, and club level. To find out more about how N3XT Sports can serve your organization, fill out the form below, and we’ll be in touch. Our goal is to drive the digitalization of the sports industry and our clients.