The Portuguese Football Federation’s (FPF) digital transformation has taken on several evolutions over the past decade. During every step, the federation has trusted in its technology partner, Altice Portugal, which has been part of the FPF’s journey for more than 20 years, not only as an invested rights partner, but also as a guardian for the federation’s technology integration.
Speaking in 2018, the FPF’s President Fernando Gomes described Altice as “an exceptional partner in the implementation of state-of-the-art technology solutions that allow us to be a better and more competent federation”. Alexandre Fonseca, Altice’s Co-Chief Executive (Co-CEO), added that the partnership “allows us to develop and implement innovative technology solutions and communications [that] earn us prestige worldwide”.
Since then, the FPF has continued to augment the digital fan experience, including the launch of its own linear-TV cum streaming platform, Canal 11, in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). In addition, the organization’s robust inventory also boasts its own ecommerce and ticketing portals, plus a free subscription offering, Portugal+, which – combined – makes the FPF one of the most digitally diverse among FIFA’s 203 member associations (MA).
Although its Canal 11 over-the-top (OTT) service invites users to create a new account, separate from the federation’s other digital platforms, the fpf.pt website offers access to multiple functions via a single profile, including the Portugal Store, FPF Bilheteira ticketing portal, and are integrated within the Portugal+ fan club, which aims to create an ‘even closer connection between the Portuguese and the national football, futsal, and beach football teams’ as part of its offering.
This connection can be felt among the FPF’s social media channels, too, which demonstrated above-average cross-channel activity (11+ daily posts) among the 32 MAs which were represented at the Qatar 2022 men’s FIFA World Cup, and an average 16,000 engagements per social media post.
These findings were highlighted in our World Cup Data Report 2022, published ahead of the tournament, and found that the FPF generated 16.50 million social engagements between August and November – behind only the French Football Federation (FFF) and the Argentine Football Association (AFA), which recorded 21.57 million and 16.55 million engagements during the same period, respectively.
FAN ENGAGEMENT KEY DRIVER BEHIND FPF’S DIGITAL STRATEGY
One of the standout traits of the FPF is its appetite to innovate early and to be among the first to lend its name to new digital solutions designed to drive fan engagement. Before Dugout’s acquisition by OneFootball, the FPF became the first national football federation to join the sports social content platform in 2017 in a move that leveraged its national teams’ star quality on the pitch to maximize their social reach.
During the years thereafter, in 2019, the federation partnered with AWS to launch Canal 11, the first TV channel managed by a UEFA federation, and is also made available via the FPF website and a dedicated mobile app. The channel, which is produced from the FPF’s and Amazon CloudFront’s studios in Lisbon, features more than 600 live matches per season, and has provided a platform for maximizing engagement among fans in Portugal, including a partnership with Eleven Portugal to televise the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the UEFA Futsal Champions League.
At the time of Canal 11’s rollout, the FPF’s President, Gomes, described the federation’s partnership with AWS as a “vision and mission” for promoting Portuguese football globally “via a single platform”. Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa added: “A digital pioneer like Portugal must take advantage of a secure and robust cloud to reinforce the technological development of our country and its companies. We are delighted that AWS is betting on being a key player in this process.”
“Football’s vast global following places the sport in the unique position for expansion. While already a major influence within popular culture, the game represents more than its feats on the pitch or during the finals of major tournaments.”
Mounir Zok, Chief Executive (CEO), N3XT Sports
Throughout its digital transformation, the fan experience sits at the center of the FPF’s move to innovate. In the summer of 2021, the federation partnered with the global blockchain provider Chiliz to develop and launch its very own $POR non-fungible token (NFT) via the Socios fan engagement and rewards mobile app. “The launch of the $POR fan token will allow us to create new ways of reaching our supporters and interact with them in new and innovative ways,” said Nono Moura, FPF’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
The move puts the FPF among the first international football federations to adopt a blockchain partner, alongside the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the Belgium Football Association (RBFA), the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), as well as the AFA and FFF. In July 2022, the English Football Association (The FA) launched a tender process to identify its first ever NFT partner.
WHAT’S N3XT?
As with many other sports organizations, the FPF is showing promise for consolidating its digital touchpoints and creating a centralized ecosystem capable of building and retaining strong customer relationships. As part of this transformation, the federation leverages external consultation for nurturing its bonds with individual fans and the required technology solutions for managing its digital assets portfolio, which continues to expand with the times.
Beyond its streaming capabilities and content partnerships, the FPF adopts a simple but effective model for capturing the hearts of new fans and turning them into loyal followers; and one which other federations could easily implement into their ecosystem given the correct guidance. The federation’s Portugal+ subscription platform is designed to give members access to unique experiences and advantages that work to centralize the FPF’s fan data and segment the federation’s marketing campaigns via exclusive content. These include special discounts and priority purchases for matchday tickets and via the Portugal Store, with promotions made available via the Portugal+ newsletter on an ongoing basis.
“Football’s vast global following places the sport in the unique position for expansion,” says Mounir Zok, N3XT Sports Chief Executive (CEO). “While already a major influence within popular culture, the game represents more than its feats on the pitch or during the finals of major tournaments. It’s off the field of play where the sport and its federations, leagues, and teams can continue to connect with fans via their digital infrastructure and therefore holds the potential to impact the digitalization and modernization of FIFA’s MAs and their respective markets beyond Qatar 2022.”
Our team at N3XT Sports works tirelessly to develop and implement digital strategies across a multitude of sports properties at federation level, competition level, and club level. To learn more about how digital transformation can support the growth of your organization and optimize your data-collection capability, 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.