How Do Fantasy Football and Predictive Games Drive Revenue for Football Leagues?

Fans today are changing football. Soccer or Association Football is the most popular sport in the world after cricket, with five billion fans worldwide. This figure is significant in light of the fact that most of these fans use mobile devices to consume football content. This fact has made major football leagues change course over the years and start serving fans where they are.

Three of the world’s biggest football associations, namely, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the English Premier League (EPL), and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), have evolved as the most fan-friendly organizations. What makes them fan-friendly? There are a number of factors. First, let's dive deep into how football fans have evolved.

Football fan behavior has changed

Sports technologies are significantly impacting the football ecosystem, both on and off the pitch. Today, there are video assistant referees for the football teams, augmented reality systems, and blockchain technologies for the football fans.

Younger fans (who are part of 40% of the world’s population under the age of 24) constantly use mobile devices and the internet while watching football games. They are interested in the games as well as behind-the-scenes content and the knowledge associated with football.

83%	77%	460%
Football fans use smartphones while watching TV.	Football TV viewers watched the FIFA World Cup in 2018 using smartphones or tablets while watching the game.	Was the increase in the digital consumption of FIFA Women’s World Cup France in 2019. [Source: FIFA]

Fantasy and Predictive Games in the Football Ecosystem

Since fans want an immersive football game experience, fantasy sports apps and predictive games have experienced a massive rise in the last decade. According to Research and Markets, the global fantasy sports industry is likely to cross $49 billion by 2028. Fantasy football and football predictive games have the largest user base around the world.

Fantasy football allows fans to create their own fantasy teams based on the actual league and existing football teams. They can create their own leagues and games and play football on their laptops, tablets, or mobile phones. They require both knowledge of football and player and team statistics.

Predictive games, on the other hand, are trivia games that do not require a lot of knowledge, but fans can make predictions about future events. Both of these types of games are not considered gambling and, hence, are legal to play.

How Do Fantasy Football and Predictive Football Drive Revenue?

Predictive football games and fantasy football have greatly benefited FIFA, EPL, and UEFA championships. They have increased fan engagement with the leagues, leading to sales from merchandise, more viewership, and ticket sales. Here are some ways fantasy and predictive games drive revenue for these leagues:

1. Deeper Fan Engagement: It is the dream of any sports business that their fans always think about them. This is particularly true for fans who engage with fantasy football applications or predictive game websites. They follow games, watch replays, engage in non-live content, and are most likely to buy in-stadium tickets or watch games live on television. This results in revenue growth for football leagues, which are always looking to expand their fanbase and sell sports goods, tickets, and other resources.

2. Enhancement of Sports Sponsorships: Through fantasy sports and predictive games, many sports companies offer unique sponsorship opportunities for the leagues. These partnerships may be related to branding, advertising, or promotions. The leagues may offer prizes and reward points and allow sports merchandise companies to sponsor these prizes.

3. Unique Subscription Models: Another advantage of fantasy sports and predictive gaming apps is the expansion of revenue streams via subscription models and premium memberships. They can offer subscription models to provide access to premium features such as advanced statistics, football trivia, expert analysis, or enhanced game play options. These apps can be customized based on user analytics and have the scope to further introduce new features in the future.

4. Increase in In-App Purchases: Leagues and push their products and merchandise or simply interesting football data via fantasy sports apps and predictive gaming software. These are called microtransactions that double the revenue streams of the leagues.

5. Fan Gear Revenue: Engaged fans most likely will buy fan gear because their idea of fanship is to live the lives of their favorite players. Leagues can push their gear and player-related merchandise like jerseys, sports shoes, bags, etc. through engagement on fantasy sports apps.

Which Features Should Be Included in Fantasy Football Apps and Predictive Games?

1. User Experience (UI) Features: The user experience on these apps is everything. A good fantasy football application is easy to use, easy to navigate, and easy to play. Here are some must-have UI features:

Intuitive Dashboard
Player Selection and Line-Up
Real-Time Live Scoring and Updates
Contest Details and Rules

2. Data Analytics: Fantasy sports and predictive gaming apps should provide important and relevant data for both your own company and your fans. Here are some analytics features:

Insights and projections
Historical Data
Team Stats
Player Stats
Performance Analytics

3. Contest Elements: Fantasy sports apps should excite players to play more. As a result, they should have interesting contest elements such as:

Leaderboard
Ranking
Cash Prizes
Secure Transactions
Rewards and prizes

4. Community Interaction: The more interaction features you have, the more engaged football fans will be. Here are some ways to increase interaction:

Chats and forums
Social sharing buttons
Comments and challenges

5. Other Important Features:

Payment Gateways
Push Notifications
Multi-Language Support
Customer support channels

ZabSports can build a killer fantasy sports app for you

If you are a sports fan engagement company, a football or sports league, a predictive games provider, a sports startup, or a sports merchandise company, we have something to offer. We build and develop fantasy sports apps and predictive gaming apps for deeper fan engagement. We have a track record of creating successful fan engagement software and fantasy sports apps for many leagues and companies. If you have an awesome fantasy sports idea, we are listening. Feel free to contact us.

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