Football Clubs in the 21st Century: Balancing a Local Heart with a Global Pulse

In today’s football landscape, the importance of balancing local identity with global ambition is greater than ever. Football clubs are no longer just community cornerstones; they are global brands with diverse fan bases that span continents. Navigating this dual responsibility—maintaining a strong connection to local roots while expanding the club’s global influence—presents both challenges and opportunities. The key to thriving in this environment lies in recruiting the right people, engaging new fans, and telling a compelling story about the club.

Recruiting the Right Talent: The Foundation of a Strong Identity

Every successful football club starts with its people. From players to executives, recruitment is the cornerstone of building a sustainable and thriving organisation. But it's not just about acquiring talent; it’s about finding individuals who understand and embody the culture and demands of the club’s environment. To quote Peter Drucker, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner".

A player or staff member's alignment with the club's values is critical. Bringing in people who understand what the club stands for and the importance of its local identity helps maintain the community connection. But there’s another side to recruitment that can elevate a club's profile beyond its home base: international talent.

When football clubs recruit players from different countries, they don’t just acquire a skilled athlete; they often gain access to a new fanbase. International players bring with them a following from their home countries, which can significantly enhance the club’s visibility and engagement in global markets. It’s a huge bonus, both in terms of sporting ability and commercial growth, when these players act as ambassadors, helping to spread the club’s identity to new territories.

The Local Heart: Engaging Domestic Fans and Strengthening Community Ties

While a club's global pulse drives growth, it is the local heart that sustains it. Football clubs are born out of communities, and no matter how far they expand, their roots remain in their local towns and cities. For any club, engaging and retaining local and domestic fans is crucial. These fans represent the core of the club’s identity and are often the ones filling the stands every week.

Navigating the tricky waters of maintaining local loyalty while seeking commercial growth requires a delicate balance and is an element which clubs struggle with constantly. Clubs must ensure that the pursuit of increased revenue doesn’t alienate their most passionate supporters. Listening to these fans and giving them a voice in the club’s decisions helps create a deeper connection, which is critical for long-term success. This could mean collaborating with local supporter groups, offering affordable ticket and travel options, and ensuring that local fans feel valued as part of the club’s DNA. Whilst these off-the-pitch elements are crucial, club's can often overlook the importance in developing talents of their own from local or surrounding areas, the players that just get it. Think Saka and Arsenal. Think Foden and City. Think Gerrard and Liverpool. Think Xavi and Barcelona. The fans see themselves represented through these players who have the privilege of wearing the shirt.

At the same time, clubs must look for ways to commercialise aspects of the organisation and increase revenues year upon year. This often includes diversifying income streams, expanding merchandise offerings, or finding new sponsorship deals. With broadcasting rights somewhat plateauing over recent years post-pandemic, rights holders continue to explore alternative revenues. The challenge lies in doing this without compromising the club's values or pricing out the local fanbase, leading to distaste towards the club.

Balancing community ties with financial growth is no easy task, but clubs that can engage local fans, fill stadiums, and generate loyalty will create a strong foundation for their global ambitions. Ultimately, maintaining this local heart while growing as a global brand is what allows clubs to thrive.

The Global Pulse: Connecting with Fans Around the World

One of the most effective ways for a club to engage an international audience is through overseas pre-season tours. These tours do more than just prepare the team for the upcoming season. They put boots on the ground, allowing fans in other parts of the world to see their favourite players up close, connect with the club’s culture, and feel a deeper sense of loyalty. Pre-season tours are an opportunity to build local support in regions that may not have had previous exposure to the club and can drive commercial revenues in ways that were previously untapped.

However, building a global fanbase requires more than just short-term engagement through tours. It demands a comprehensive international strategy that focuses on marketing, branding, and content creation. Clubs must position themselves as content powerhouses, telling the story of their brand across multiple platforms. Why does the club exist? What values do they stand for? These are the stories that fans—both new and old—want to connect with, and they need to be told in a way that resonates globally.

The Three Fan Types: Spectator, Follower, and Devotee

Understanding fan engagement is crucial for any football club looking to grow its influence. Fans typically (but not always) fall into three categories: Spectator, Follower, and Devotee.

• Spectators may only tune in for major matches or high-profile moments. The challenge for clubs is to grow awareness among these fans and introduce them to the club’s values and identity.
• Followers stay more connected to the club, keeping up with the latest news, player signings, and match results. These fans can be encouraged to interact with the club’s content, increasing their connection to the brand and its community.
• Devotees are the lifeblood of the club. They are season ticket holders, attend matches home and away, and regularly purchase merchandise. These fans drive significant revenue, and maintaining their loyalty is paramount.

The goal for any club is to move spectators up the ladder to become devotees. To achieve this, clubs need to create tailored digital content, localise messaging for international markets, and offer fans meaningful ways to engage, such as memberships, loyalty programmes, or supporters’ clubs. A strong, globally focused content strategy can help spectators and followers feel like they’re part of something bigger—regardless of where they are in the world.

Competing for Attention: The Battle for Global Fans

Football is a vastly contested arena, and clubs are constantly competing for the attention and loyalty of fans worldwide. The proof is in the pudding as European clubs frequently head to the USA, East Asia and Australia for their pre-season (and sometimes post-season) tours, to engage with these fanbases. With so many options available, clubs need to stand out by telling their story in a compelling way. This goes beyond matchday performance; it’s about connecting on an emotional level, creating a sense of purpose that resonates across borders.

Localised content is essential to achieving this goal. Clubs need to recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work in today’s diverse media landscape. Fans in different regions may connect with different aspects of the club’s story, and clubs must tailor their digital products and content strategies to meet these varied expectations. By doing so, they can create a truly global brand that feels local no matter where it’s viewed.

Monetisation: More Than Just a Game

For many clubs, international expansion isn’t just about growing a fanbase—it’s about monetising it. Clubs need to drive retail growth by making merchandise easily accessible to international fans. This could mean developing local collaborations, finding international partners, or creating retail channels that cater specifically to overseas audiences. Sponsorships and partnerships that align with the club’s values can also help drive meaningful revenue, as can offering unique experiences through supporters’ clubs, recognition programmes, and direct access to match tickets.

By focusing on fan acquisition, engagement, and monetisation, clubs can strengthen their global presence without losing sight of their local identity.

Conclusion: A Club with a Local Heart and a Global Pulse

The modern football club is as much a global business as it is a local institution. To succeed, clubs must maintain a delicate balance between their local heart—the fans, values, and culture that define them—and a global pulse that drives their growth in international markets. Recruitment, engagement, storytelling, and strategic monetisation all play a vital role in shaping this future.

Ultimately, football is about more than what happens on the pitch. It has always been and will always be more than the 90 minutes. It’s about the people who support the club, whether they’re in the stadium on matchday or watching from halfway across the world. Clubs that understand this dynamic and embrace both their local and global responsibilities will be the ones that thrive in this ever-changing 21st Century environment.