Are Clubs Managing Their Fan Data Appropriately?
In the current digital age, sports clubs are increasingly finding innovative ways to use technology to improve their fan engagement.
As clubs continue to focus on maximising fan engagement, they will encounter challenges along the way. This article will assess the current trends of fan engagement, the legal risks, and what to expect in the future.
Current Trends
As highlighted in our last article, sports fans now have a colossal amount of player data at their disposal, which is revolutionising the way sport is consumed. Another growing trend in the sports data market is sports clubs building their digital engagement with their fans to help with marketing campaigns and to enhance fan experience.
For example, Bayern Munich partnered with software company SAP to collect fan data, which they have labelled as the ‘golden fan record’. [1] Through collecting fan data, they were able to locate their large following in the Asian market, and target further marketing in the region to improve their revenue.
Clubs have also taken to directly engage with their superfans. Valencia CF have engaged with their season ticket holders by creating an app to speed up their food orders and matchday check-ins. [2] Likewise, Man City have utilised a WhatsApp group for its fans to promote club merchandise and content. [3] In a world where it’s easy for fans to be lost in the thousands or millions of followers a club has, systematic fan engagement goes a long way to keeping fans engaged.
Nevertheless, social media still remains a very prevalent way for football clubs to collect fan data. All 20 Premier League clubs have active Instagram, YouTube and TikTok accounts to engage with their fans. [4] TikTok has emerged as the fastest-growing social media network across all the top 5 European Leagues, and has offered clubs an avenue of diversifying their following. [5]
Clubs have also pinpointed younger audiences as a market to focus on to expand their current fanbase, and to drive loyalty from an early age. [6] For instance, Arsenal became the first Premier League club to launch an app specifically for its young supporters, called Junior Gunners, allowing fans between ages 0 and 16 to create their avatars, receive fixture news and play club-themed games. [7]
These examples all show a pattern of clubs going the extra mile to ensure their fans get a wholesome experience both at games and away from the stadium.
Legal Implications
As with sports performance data, the main legal concerns of clubs collecting fan data relate to privacy law under the UK GDPR. [8] Sports fans arguably do not enjoy the same data protection benefits as athletes do, who arguably have much greater bargaining power to ensure their data protection rights are respected. [9] Nevertheless, sports fans should still be aware of their rights under the UK GDPR.
Sports clubs must prove that they process the data of their fans lawfully, fairly and transparently under Article 5(1) of the UK GDPR. [10] According to the International Commissioner’s Office (ICO), lawfulness should be shown by identifying an appropriate basis for processing fan data. [11] Fairness can be shown through clubs handling data in a way their fans would reasonably expect, without deceiving or misleading fans. [12] Lastly, transparency can be shown by clubs being open and honest with their fans throughout all forms of data processing. [13]
Additionally, clubs should not store data beyond what is necessary, to avoid potentially breaching Article 6 of the UK GDPR. [14] Under this article, processing can be deemed necessary if there is a lawful means of processing. Consent will genuinely be the basis that clubs rely on to process fan data, and they will have to prove the specific purpose which they processed the data for under Article 6(1a). [15] Nevertheless, the scope of necessary processing under the UK GDPR is generally broad, so there is a wide scope for clubs to justify their data collection. [16]
Moreover, data collection of children presents legal challenges of its own. Under Article 8 of the UK GDPR, the age to consent to data processing is 13. [17] All children under the age of 13 must rely on parental consent. Additionally, clubs must be aware that processing data of children brings upon them an additional responsibility to protect them from risks children may not understand. [18] The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) affirms that companies who wish to market to children must first conduct a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), to reduce potential processing risks. [19]
What can we expect in the future?
As sports clubs continue to look for ways to outperform competitors both on and off the pitch, maximising fan engagement will continue to play a pivotal role in doing so. As a result, it is fundamental that any fan engagement methods used by clubs comply with data protection regulations.
Additionally, as clubs are realising the importance of connecting with their younger fans, it is also imperative that clubs process their data in line with the regulations.
We may potentially see a future trend of fans demanding greater protection over their data. For instance, the Sports Fans Coalition (SFC) has already been established to take up processing claims on behalf of fans to ensure their privacy rights. [20] If such campaigns continue to grow, we could witness a shift in power regarding data protection in favour of sports fans. For now, only time will tell.
Sources
[1] Financial Times, ‘Fan Engagement: football clubs consider themselves content providers. They need to start acting like it’ https://www.ftstrategies.com/en-gb/insights/fan-engagement/ last accessed 19th October 2024.
[2] Forbes, ‘The Super Fan: Steeped In Tradition, Empowered By Data’ https://www.forbes.com/sites/microsoft_/2022/11/02/the-super-fan-steeped-in-tradition-empowered-by-data/ last accessed 19th October 2024.
[3] n(1).
[4] LawInSport, ‘A Guide To Using young people’s data in sport’ https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/item/a-guide-to-using-young-people-s-data-in-sport last accessed 19th October 2024.
[5] Samba Digital, ‘TikTok establishes itself as the fastest-growing social network in European National Leagues’ https://sambadigital.com/tiktok-establishes-itself-as-the-fastest-growing-social-network-in-european-national-leagues/ last accessed 19th October 2024.
[6] n(4).
[7] Marketing Week, ‘Arsenal in engagement push as it launches first Premier League app for kids’, https://www.marketingweek.com/arsenal-in-engagement-push-as-it-launches-first-premier-league-app-aimed-squarely-at-kids/ last accessed 19th October 2024
[8] UK General Data Protection Regulation
[9] LawInSport, ‘How technology is improving the fan experience – and creating legal challenges for clubs and leagues’ https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/item/how-technology-is-improving-the-fan-experience-and-creating-legal-challenges-for-clubs-and-leagues last accessed 19th October 2024.
[10] n(8) Art 5(1).
[11] Information Commissioner’s Office, ‘Principle (a) Lawfulness, fairness and transparency’ https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/data-protection-principles/a-guide-to-the-data-protection-principles/the-principles/lawfulness-fairness-and-transparency/ last accessed 19th October 2024.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] n(8) Art 6(1).
[15] Ibid.
[16] Stats Entertainment, ‘The Legal and Regulatory Issues Arising from the Data Analytics Movement in Association Football’ https://www.entsportslawjournal.com/article/id/1163/ last accessed 19th October 2024.
[17] n(10) Art 8.
[18] n(4).
[19] Information Commissioner’s Office, ‘What if we want to target children with marketing’ https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/childrens-information/children-and-the-uk-gdpr/what-if-we-want-to-target-children-with-marketing/ last accessed 19th October 2024.
[20] n(4).
