The Fan Lifecycle Framework: How Smart Clubs Turn Data into Loyalty
Reading time:
13 mins
Adam Stighäll, CEO of Forza Clubs, helps clubs across Europe grow digital fan engagement and turn attention into revenue.
His take: Social media doesn’t provide fan data. Websites don’t engage fans. That’s why modern football clubs are making their mobile app the new front door for fans.
In this interview, Adam shares:
Football clubs and leagues tend to focus on Social Media followers and engagement for measuring fan engagement. Social Media companies focus on the "attention economy".
And clubs must dare to do the same, by following these basic metrics of the attention economy:
If these metrics grow, then you have laid the foundation for every other metric to follow, ticket sales, sponsorships, tv rights and so on.
Social media won't give you fan data and you will have to pay them to please their algorithm and reach your own fans. Clubs and Leagues keep obsessing with fans 13-17 years of age, but everyone keeps forgetting that applications are the only scalable tool to collect fan data from "NextGen Fans". We usually see around 15% of the club app users below the age of 17.
With that said, clubs should use Social Media as marketing channels for maximum reach.
To reference back to your first question, a high performing app engages the maximum number of fans (people) who spend maximum time (hours) while enjoying themselves (€).
The basics of the attention economy.
Apps are currently the superior platform to convert, sell and collect customer data. You ever wondered why you get a 10€ voucher to download the app of a fashion or ecommerce brand?
It's not for charity...
On top of all that, a high-performing app integrates with all the other digital tools at a club, whether it being to store your digital tickets or to gamify your loyalty program.
In the past, club and league applications used to be a mirror of the website, it was just about "having an app".
Now, we finally see apps performing all kinds of purposes, from being a content platform to becoming the place for "everything matchday related".
You may say: "It sounds like you are describing club website 25 years ago?"
You are right, websites used to be the front-end for the club towards the fans. Apps have taken that space, allowing for smart tech integrations such as ticketing and a much more engaging platform to interact with the fans. This shift can be seen all over Europe, from website and Social Media focus, to club applications.
I really liked how Adam brought clarity to the concept of the attention economy, a buzzword that’s often used but rarely applied with such practical relevance to sports. His way of framing engagement as a combination of people, time, and enjoyment (€) is spot-on. These are exactly the variables CRM and CDP systems should be optimizing for. The idea of club apps becoming the new digital home makes sense, not just for Gen Z audiences, but for any club that wants to own its fan relationships instead of renting them from platforms. There’s a lot of subtle, strategic thinking in Adam’s answers, and they’re worth revisiting.
