BACKGROUND
Manchester City Football Club is seeking to expand its global following and fanbase. It has identified
China, India, and the United States as three strategically important territories to target for ‘fan growth’.
In each country, a satellite office has been established with a small team responsible for developing and
coordinating fan engagement initiatives.
Our goal is to create fans – individuals who say that their favorite football team is Manchester City and
who are prepared to engage and spend directly with the club to purchase merchandise, experiences, and digital content.
BRIEF
Today Manchester City assumes that watching or following matches is the key to forming an emotional connection with our football club, but what actually helps overseas fans build a more meaningful connection to the team?
How might we better understand overseas football fans’ needs and emotional connections to Manchester City?
FINDINGS
The study identified three main needs: knowledge, affiliation, and admiration.
FINDINGS
The study discovered that in collectivist societies, people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of each other in exchange for loyalty. This explained the symbiotic relationship of fandom noticed by participants in this study. Furthermore, fans want to be knowledgeable about the club so they can talk about it to others with common interest. Lastly, research also stated that the need for admiration could be satisfied with acts within a group that commands respect, which in Manchester City’s case is done via star player profiles and actions or the team’s achievements.
