Youth Change The Game

Youth Change the Game

Youth culture is changing the game, the sports industry needs to adapt

Gen Z sports fans choose social media and streaming over watching live sports, according to YouGov.

In football a shift is taking place. Younger fans are becoming more active in their fandom and diversifying their consumption which is shifting how the biggest sport in the world is being shaped. According football and media platform VERSUS, only 18% of young football fans think that mainstream media is in touch with them. Additionally, 70% of these young fans are looking to interact with football content through a wider cultural and sporting lens. From fashion, to music and gaming, the of-pitch action is becoming as important to the on-pitch game.

“We need to take a holistic approach to engaging with [younger] fans, giving them opportunities to experience the excitement and energy of the Olympic Games”

Kit McConnell, IOC sports director, Broadcast Now

The change in football is representative of what other global sports are experiencing, especially when it comes to the media and consumption habits - prioritising short form content such as highlights over live TV; and conversations initiated by tacticos (creators who break down tactics) on social platforms and sustained on Discord servers & WhatsApp chats.

Additionally, attitudes on the role sports plays in society are also evolving. Sport is no longer an isolated entertainment category, but a measure of the issues afecting wider society. Gen Z expect sports people with infuence to address and combat issues surrounding sexism, racism and mental health issues. Less “shut up and dribble,” and more expectations on athletes to stand for things that are important to them.

Credit: Sports Pro Media

Athletes are dominating the media space and tipping the scales away from legacy platforms

Athletes, platforms and telling their own stories

While traditionally the end of player’s career would often mean seeking out punditry opportunities - it’s commonplace to see players explore new avenues of infuence through content creation - often in the form of a more active social media presence like England’s Mary Earps who has over 1m followers, or the plentiful audio & video podcasts that we’ve seen from sports stars.

Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights Podcast has seen its popularity grow recently (105% increase in YT views to 54m over the last two NFL seasons), while in the NBA stars such as Paul George & Lebron James similarly have their own video podcasts.

In UK football, Lionesses Alessia Russo & Ella Toone's BBC Sounds podcast is giving the players a chance to share their POV on the sport. It’s not unusual for players to break down match sequences, heartbreaking losses and championship defning victories - all from a more unfltered and insightful angle.

Fandoms are loyal to athletes over teams

As athletes grow their profles, teams are at risk of losing fans who choose the player over the team. This is especially true around sports with rapidly growing fanbases. F1 for example surged in popularity due to the success of Netfix’s Drive to Survive - a format that has birthed similar outputs in golf, tennis and Six Nations rugby. When seven-time world F1 champion Lewis Hamilton announced his shock departure from Mercedes to Ferrari, fans were quick to ditch any associations they had with Mercedes and jump ship.

Fans buy into the stars of the sport, connecting to the human element more so than the corporate entities professional teams embody.

Credit: New York Times

New generation of content creators are fan favourites

More ways to enjoy the game

Contrary to broader trends around young audiences moving away from live sports, the next gen haven't; completely cut out live entertainment.

Where their favourite creators have evolved their focus from online content such as podcasts to the live entertainment space, fans have followed. From football to F1, these creators also approach their content creation from perspectives that are evolving the shape of live entertainment .

The podcast duo made up of a former Red Bull performance engineer (@brrrake) and a former Red Bull F1 Senior Systems Engineer (@EngineMode11) ofer incredible inside knowledge of one of the fastest growing sports. Quickstop on the other side pride themselves on being unashamedly biased Lewis Hamilton fans and frequently proclaim so to antagonised rival fans. The most far-reaching and F1 supported is Pitstop Podcast - with shows for F1 newbies by newbies - that focuses on making the technical sport, approachable. This content ofering makes the increasingly complex sports media landscape, more accessible.

Credit: Mind the Game on YouTube

Credit: Quick Stop F1

"The

beauty of it is just having people who aren’t necessarily familiar with this [podcast] setting be comfortable the second they come and sit down. And we get those stories that people haven’t heard of, those stories that people enjoy.”

Paul George, NBA All star and co-host of Podcast P

The fastest growing sports crossover: fashion

Football as the bellwether of the fashion crossover

In football, we’ve seen the emergence of fashion trends such as the #blokecore aesthetic centre around vintage football shirts. The look that originated from Black & Latinx women but popularised on TikTok by fashionistas, propelled jerseys beyond the realm of football supporters.

Cultural icons Kim Kardashian got papped while wearing a vintage Roma jersey, attracting millions of views; while Winnie Harlow took the look to Milan Fashion Week to show of a special edition version of the Inter jersey. Jersey’s have become less about showcasing your allegiance, or afnity for a particular player, but more about status and taste.

In response, fashion brands have partnered with clubs to jump on this cultural currency. Dutch streetwear brand Daily Paper teamed up with adidas and Ajax to design their third and pre-match jersey, and Italian club AC Milan joined forces with OfWhite the streetwear label founded by the late icon Virgil Abloh. Sport’s cultural capital is unmatched and the fashion world is doing well to capitalise on it.

“The shirts you’d only ever see on a match day, the ones worn by players and thousands of supporters, are no longer just for 3pm on a Saturday. ”

Tayler Willson, HighSnobiety

New fringe fandoms inspire new collars

The growing popularity of F1 has seen various teams themselves explore partnerships in clothing and apparel.

McLaren partnered with Reiss to give the fans unrivalled merch. Puma partnered with ASAP Rocky to release a Formula 1 line of merchandise including gloves, jackets and a balaclava - selling out minutes, and French based outft, Alpine teamed up with Palace and KAPPA for their winter 2023 collection in Las Vegas.

All these partnerships are a symptom of the shifting demographic of the fandom surrounding Formula 1, punctuated by the growing female fanbase (up by 40%), who are drawn to culturally relevant and interesting people, sport and entertainment.

Credit: @OfcialASRoma

Credit: Creative Soccer Culture

Credit: Skylight

Golf is the next frontier of the fashion & sport crossover

Trad sports are inspiring the next era of streetwear

A string of streetwear and golf fashion inspired lines that have been popping up, cementing golf as the next sport to fex it’s infuence on wider culture and fashion. Sun Love is an Australian brand that was created “for everyone who loves golf,” mixing streetwear with golfng cues. Jain Golf who also operate in the streetwear golf market and use a golf ball protagonist as a distinctive asset in their branding.

Across the Atlantic in the US, Eastside Golf are paving the way in how fashion is thought of from a golf POV. They’ve collaborated with Jordan for a cultural crossover that has the potential to propel golf aesthetics to the forefront of American streetwear culture.

Similar to F1, the emergence of brands in the golfng space refects the shifting fandom, including more women and younger audiences. While with F1, fandom is strictly supporter focussed, golf fans are more inclined to to play - and being more fashion conscious they want to look good while they do so.

41%

of younger golf fans consider themselves fashion conscious compared to 30% of older golf fans according to GWI.

Golf intentionally appealing to younger fans

The proliferation of younger golf fans is partly down to the LIV Golf’s contentious commitment to prioritising the fan experience over tradition (71% of 18-34 year olds familiar with LIV golf plan to watch the event). The tournament was set up to be shorter with a faster pace of play. They also have a unique team based competition with plenty of big names. Since launching in 2021, LIV golf has challenged the status quo resulting in a more diverse fan base with contemporary cultural touch points that brands can lean into.

Credit: Sports Illustrated/Fan Nation

Credit: Miami Herald

"My phone was ringing off the hook more for the Eastside Golf collab than for some of the projects we did with Christian Dior. The sport is looking for another shot of energy, and this was a great way to introduce something new to it.”

Gentry

Humphrey, former Vice President of footwear at Jordan Brand

Brands are finally engaging with a underrepresented fandom

Young women are the fastest growing sports audience

Despite deep-rooted stereotypes, research from Deloitte proves that women sports fans are just as if not more engaged than men in sports - 22% increase in the number of females aged 18-24 who visited a sports website or app.

In motorsport, Charlotte Tilbury has capitalised on the growing viewership by partnering up with with the all female series, F1 Academy. It is the frst beauty brand to do so, highlighting how brands are seeking to opportunities on the growing opportunities in women’s sports.

Looking stateside, WNBA teams are partnering with with diverse brands as women’s teams and leagues draw more casual viewers. From Urban Decay partnering with three time champions Los Angeles Sparks, to SKIMS becoming the ofcial partner of the WNBA - the value of women's sports as an avenue to grow a consumer base is clear.

Yasmin Dastmalchi, general manager at NYX spoke about the value of Women’s sport as it captures more attention from the public - “We see a lot of passion from our consumers — particularly the Gen Z consumer — for the sports space, both on and of the court.”

“There is an opportunity in women’s sports for brands to build and create franchise positions across platforms in a relatively uncluttered environment”

Sara Gotfredson, founder of Trailblazing Sports Group

Credit: Charlotte Tilbury

Credit: Glamour Magazine

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