Sports are part of our daily lives, our culture, and our identity. For many fans, the year revolves around the season of their favorite team, whose main matches are the backdrop to memorable experiences. That’s why when sports had to stop, fans felt lost. The idea that sports, present for years on our Sunday afternoons, would disappear from one moment to the next had never been considered. But where there is chaos and uncertainty, it is sometimes possible to find the seeds of new ideas.

In this situation, attention has very naturally shifted online, in search of emotions in a “virtual” format: we have seen the same athletes stuck at home during the lockdown taking part in online gaming matches. In April, footballers took part in the Premier League eSports Invitational, where they were followed by 150 million people, with an increase of 275% from the opening match to the finals.

In June, the F1 eSports – Virtual Grand Prix Series reached an audience of 30 million people across TV and digital platforms, allowing Formula 1 fans to continue experiencing the emotions linked to racing, but above all to follow their favorite drivers as they challenged different personalities. Finally, before the Tour de France began in recent weeks, the first Virtual Tour de France was organized on Zwift, a rapidly growing indoor cycling platform. For the first time in history, male and female cycling teams were able to compete against each other.

What can we learn from all this? That fans can’t wait to watch the stars they love even if they are on a football pitch or a virtual circuit. And that the athletes themselves maintain their competitive spirit even in these new contexts, sometimes even entertaining the public with funny jokes that we would hardly be able to hear when they are inside a single-seater in a real race.

“Fans can’t wait to watch the stars they love even if they are on a football pitch or a virtual circuit”

In addition to the opportunity to follow their favorite athletes in online competitions, fans have experienced other types of virtual events, such as those created to make up for the lack of summer camps, camps where fans themselves traveled en masse every summer. The Chinese fans of Borussia Dortmund, a club in the Bundesliga – German Serie A – had no intention of not following the team in camp last summer, which is why they inspired the BVB Virtual Asia Tour: online sessions between players and fans, live streaming and training sessions allowed fans to follow the retreat of their favorites even remotely, being able to interact in real-time. The first virtual party hosted a whopping 3.7 million fans; the next, 5 million. With so many requests, the club was able to get to know its global fan base better, being able to then introduce new engagement formats such as podcasts, but also a virtual tour of the stadium to be able to connect fans with the team all year round.

Rival club Bayern Munich produced their virtual tour in collaboration with Audi, creating the Audi Digital Summer Tour. Over nine days, the team hosted virtual meet-and-greets in China and the United States, using the Audi Robograph to transfer player autographs from Munich to China. From virtual fan challenges to exclusive content, fans have plenty of reasons to keep coming back to the new global platform.

These digital pilots have proven that fans have a strong desire to stay connected with their favorite teams, and that distance has never been an issue. By offering new experiences, new content, new perspectives, and increased interactions, teams have rewarded their fans by opening new hubs to attract more fans from all over the world. Likewise, the synergy between traditional and virtual sports has the potential to increase seasonal content year after year, thus opening up new revenue streams. Even injured players can find ways to stay connected to their fan base while keeping the competitive spirit alive.

The passion of fans has inspired a new space for professionals who will continue to devise new solutions until COVID-19 makes a full return to stadiums difficult. Of course, in all of this, it will be up to teams and sports leagues to keep the interest of the fan base alive, to guarantee a full return to normality when the time comes.