Premier League: A Quality Brand with Local Expansion Potential via its Players

Even the poor performance of the Brazilian national team in the 2024 Copa America hasn’t affected the Brazilian public’s high regard for the Premier League. This was evident as players like João Gomes, Bruno Guimarães, and Lucas Paquetá, who play for Wolverhampton, Newcastle, and West Ham respectively, were praised for their quality and technical skills simply for being Premier League starters. Recognizing this positive perception of the Premier League brand in South America, we see a significant opportunity for territorial expansion. According to GWI Insights, the Premier League has three times more declared fans in Latin America than in the UK, with 71.2 million Latin American fans compared to 23.4 million in the UK.

Focusing on Latin America is not just an opportunity for growth but an essential strategy for the future of Premier League clubs. The region offers a vast and engaged audience that can significantly increase the value of clubs in terms of reach and potential new sponsorship revenues through this direct connection. One of the most effective ways to establish this direct connection is by leveraging players as the bridge between the club and the local audience.

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Uma publicação compartilhada por ⚽️ BRUNO GUIMARÃES (@brunoguimaraes)

Players as Influencers

The direct connection between club and fan can be established when players use their personal profiles to connect the two sides. According to GWI Insights, more than half (51%) of Latin American Premier League fans follow players on social media. Additionally, 35% of these Latin American fans say that having content in their native language increases their interest. Lastly, 32% of these 71 million fans believe that having relatable players increases their interest in the competition and the teams. With this direct connection established, the challenge becomes converting player followers into new club followers.

Converting Player’s Followers

Instagram is the most popular platform among Latin American Premier League fans, with 52.8% of users accessing it more than once a day. Considering this social network as the main digital connection between the 20 Premier League clubs and their 75 players from Latin America, we are looking at a combined audience of 267.5 million followers. According to data from Samba Digital, only 9% of these followers also follow the clubs. This means there is a large universe of potential followers to be converted. If clubs can convert these player followers, we could see a growth of about 222.4 million followers.

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Uma publicação compartilhada por Richarlison (@richarlison)

Slowing Domestic Growth

Premier League teams have seen significant growth on social media over the years, but this growth has slowed in domestic markets. In 2024, the accumulated followers of the teams reached 805.5 million, a considerable increase from 581.1 million in 2021. However, to continue growing, clubs need to explore new markets, and Latin America is a goldmine, given that football is a cultural trait of Latin American countries. It’s time for clubs to look south and embrace the potential that Latin America has to offer.