How Fantasy Premier League Changed Football

Fantasy Premier League (FPL) has entirely changed how we watch football. The idea of gamification has always been raised when sports clubs and leagues were discussing how to boost fan engagement but never before had we an example of such an efficient solution.

Fantasy Premier League is a season-lasting, data-gathering and -processing platform that allows the league to enhance fan experience worldwide and collect important data about its users. The massive popularity of Fantasy Premier League shows the right direction for the sports industry: 

If you want to engage modern supporters, you need to find digital solutions based on gamification allowing your fans to act and interact!

Let’s learn on:

• What is Fantasy Premier League and wy it’s become so popular,
• Why gamification is perfect solution for sports clubs’,
• What is the FPL impact on moder Premier League game.

‘HOME SUPPORTERS’ – DIGITAL GAMIFICATION BENEFITS

The concept of entertainment similar to Fantasy Premier League already existed a long time before it was implemented in its current form. However, never had we so many technological possibilities to make it such a pleasing experience for the users. The line between being “just a casual fan” and “the one having a real impact on the football’s reality” is blurring.

What’s important, all these opportunities are available to the fans from the privacy of their homes. While chilling in your garden, lying on the bed, spending a vacation on a distant island or having a break in your office, you can actively engage in the Fantasy Premier League features.

The value of satisfying ‘Home Supporters’ needs will be growing. COVID-19 “closed” stadiums, and we can already see that many fans – even from older generations – got used to backing their teams in a new, digital way.

Gamification such as Fantasy Premier League allows supporters not only to keep following the statistics of their favourite team, but it also gives them the possibility to constantly interact with people having the same passion for football as they do.

Digital gamification lets you engage and monetise fans while not forcing them to leave their homes. Why is it a great benefit? Calculate how much money and time it saves and how much convenience it provides to your supporters. No matter what cultural background your community has, the numbers you’ll get are easy to describe -> a lot!

Add to these deliberations that Gen Z changes its way of consuming sports and expects to be actively participating in the brand creation process. Now you see that investing in gamification solutions in your sports club might be a proper long-term strategy to boost fan engagement and monetise it. 

FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE CHANGING SPORTS CONSUMPTION HABITS

The way we consume sports changes because of the way we live. The youngest group of fans’ attention span is estimated to be at the level of around 7 seconds. That’s a very short period in which you can either win a supporter or lose it.

Moreover, currently, the majority of supporters are doing ‘dual-screening’ while watching sports live. Apart from following the action on the pitch, they tend to seek opinion-forming content that will allow them not to miss any important event or information. It corresponds to one of the newest fears of the young generations called FOMO – Fear of Missing Out.

Fantasy Premier League perfectly fulfils this emerging need. Playing an engaging game while following the match on the other screen? That’s what modern fans love to do! Digital gamification such as FPL gives priceless value to the league and the clubs. It makes fans be constantly close to them, not choosing any other alternative entertainment opportunity. 

Fantasy Premier League engages fans not only during Match Days but also between them! Following if your choices on selecting players are right and making notes about whom to choose in the next rounds is just one of the essential steps. Another refers to interacting with other users, checking their decisions, discussing them and proving to your community that “you’re the best!”. 

Enhancing fan experience between Match Days is one of the toughest challenges for all the sports clubs in the world. Surprisingly, it may also lead to unexpected results. Fantasy Premier League features made Aston Villa’s coach, Dean Smith, unhappy and nervous. Why?

GREALISH, ASTON VILLA – FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE’S IMPACT ON EVERYDAY REALITY

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith tried to keep the secret of Jack Grealish’s injury to surprise their rivals with his absence. However, a Twitter spy hit the right track. How was that possible?

Fantasy Premier League fanatics are responsible for all the confusion. Before the deadline, one of the active players wrote that he just heard that Jack Grealish had suffered a severe injury in training and might have a long break.

Still, it wouldn’t cause such a profound problem if not what happened next. FPL Insider kept digging. Fantasy Premier League features allow followers to check the teams managed by players, staff members and other employees of sports clubs in the UK. 

From that, we learned that The Villains’ players Matt Targett, Neil Taylor, and the physiotherapist, Rob Marshall, have sold Grealish. The rumours began to spread. Finally, the information leaked to the manager of their rivals – Leicester City. 

In this way, the digital gamification platform, Fantasy Premier League, had a tangible impact on the game’s result: 

Aston Villa 1:2 Leicester City

Once again… The difference between being “just a casual fan” and “the one having a real impact on the football’s reality” is blurring!

PERSONAL BRANDING ACTIVITIES

Fantasy Premier League has such a wonderful impact on fan engagement not only because of the insightful knowledge it offers. Apart from that, by giving points to the players, it creates the image of footballers’ efficiency in their supporters’ eyes.

That’s essential for personal branding activities, which recently tend to be more important than the club’s marketing. Why? 

The young tend to follow and support the athletes because of their lifestyle, background and stories! Sports clubs face difficulties with pointing out their values. For that reason, many people under thirty decide to be players’ fans, not the teams’ as a whole. 

That’s a fascinating change that had never happened before!

Fantasy Premier League leaves much space for football players to use its features smartly in order to strengthen their ‘personal branding’ activities.

Emphasising the great number of points a player gained in the competition? Sharing his decision on the selection of the team with the public? Creating his own league with a prize related to his history of successes?

Those are just a few possibilities that footballers gain through digital gamification, such as Fantasy Premier League. Their task is to choose wisely the strategy and stay consistent with providing new content. It can increase the demand for their image, which will help both the team and the players themselves financially. 

CONCLUSION

Digital gamification? There are tons of various ways to adapt it. Fantasy Premier League constitutes a great example of how you can do it, but it’s not the only one. Using blockchain technology based on Club Tokens might also be an interesting solution for you!

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