Southgate backs a new era of fan engagement

The Fifty Digital team enjoyed a trip to the home of English football this week, as Wembley Stadium hosted Connecting 2019.

The event saw the Football Association outline their future digital strategy, as they take momentum from a fantastic 2018 and aim to revolutionise the beautiful game from top to bottom.

Whilst Gareth Southgate’s squad wowed the nation with a rollercoaster ride to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia last year, it was a transformation off the pitch that seemed to capture the hearts and minds of a nation.

A young, dynamic group of players suddenly made international football fun again, in no small part thanks to a series of smart moves from their governing body that embraced the world of social media.

At the forefront of this step change was a showpiece content series by the name of ‘The Lions’ Den’, as affable influencer Craig Mitch fronted up a show that allowed fans to get to know the true personalities of previously unreachable superstars.

It was YouTube done right. Live, long form content that saw average watch times double and attracted over 30,000 views per episode.

Southgate himself spoke warmly of the initiative, gently ribbing Mitch as the pair recreated the Den with a special Q & A for delegates at Wednesday’s event.

“When we talk about media strategy and more commercial things, that’s not my area of expertise,” said the Three Lions boss.

“The really top people that we employ, I need to ensure that they’re engaged in what we do. It’s their ideas but I support and back them, even if it means bringing people like Craig in! You’ve got to go with some brave things.

“If someone had said to me ‘we’re going to bring a YouTuber in’ or ‘we’re going to run a programme from the team hotel’ I would’ve thought ‘blimey, that’s a big shift from the world I grew up in!’. You could easily think of what could go wrong, but actually, going with it opened up a whole new generation of fans and really connected a different social dynamic with the team.”

With the Nations League finals and Women’s World Cup looming on the horizon this summer, as well as a Euro 2020 tournament boasting a number of fixtures on home soil, opportunities are rife for the FA to capitalise on such a strong start.

Away from the limelight, grassroots football is also due to reap the digital benefits, with plenty of plans in pace to ensure the sport is appealing and accessible to all.

At Fifty Digital, we can’t wait to see what’s next!