Abstract

After decades of change, the rise of digital and social media has redefined how contemporary communities are formed, maintained, and developed. This change has also had a significant impact on the sports world. Fans used to be limited to the stadium, television screens, or radios. Still, they can directly interact with athletes through platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Reddit and share and learn from other fans with similar interests. These platforms have become hubs for real-time communication, content creation and collective action, enabling sports communities to become more interactive, global and participatory.

This article explores the transformative role that social media plays in sports, focusing on how fans use these social platforms to organize, redefine fan circles and influence the cultural and commercial aspects of sports. Social media empowers fans, expands the diversity of community structures, redefines the relationship between athletes and fans, and introduces new challenges related to ethics, safety, and moderation.

The Rise of Digital Fan Communities

This article will draw on case studies from professional cyclists, football, basketball and niche sports to explore how fans use social media to engage with content, promote and create discourse, and contribute to the business ecosystem of sports. By situating this discussion within the conference stream “Communities and Social Media,” the paper critically assesses how the affordances of digital platforms have allowed sports communities to evolve from geographically bound, often passive audiences to dynamic, participatory, and even activist collectives. Through a synthesis of scholarly literature, digital ethnography, and current examples, the essay makes a strong argument for the centrality of social media in understanding modern sports fandom and its broader cultural implications.

Traditionally, sports fans have been labelled passive consumers of professionally curated content, with limited access to the inner workings of clubs, athletes, and decision-making processes, and unable to participate. Today, social media platforms allow fans to become participants and contributors to the sports ecosystem, enabling them to express opinions and create media content. One of the most critical aspects of this empowerment is the ability to create and share content. Fan-made idol videos, highlights, memes, podcasts and analytical comments are now widely circulated on platforms, gaining a lot of engagement and popularity and even influencing mainstream media narratives. For example, football fans on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts remix footage into highlights and satirical content, which tends to be more resonant than what official clubs post. This user-generated content reflects fans’ creativity and shows the diversity of media production.

Twitter (X), in particular, has become a space for fans to talk directly with players, managers and club stewards in a previously unthinkable way. A study by Sanderson and Frederick (2015) found that fans of Twitter not only interact emotionally with their community but influence players’ behavior and reputations through collective comments. This interaction will lead to measurable changes in management pressure on fans regarding ticket pricing, management decisions and social justice positions. The rise of fan-led campaigns also illustrates how social media redefines supporter institutions. In 2021, Manchester United fans organized an online protest against the European Super League, as well as live sports and hashtags to express global outrage. The speed with which social media spread was so rapid that the proposed league disbanded within days, demonstrating the power of digitally organized sports communities to influence dollar decisions.

However, decisions empowered through social media are not entirely without problems. Some platforms where badly behaved fans engage constructively also allow toxic behavior, including mockery, racial discrimination and online harassment. For example, English Premier League players – particularly black players and ethnic minorities – are discriminated against on Instagram or Twitter. Despite the introduction of content moderation tools, the problem persists, leading to questions about platform and community managers’ responsibility for maintaining a healthy platform environment.

In short, social media today plays an important role in sports culture, allowing fans to communicate, create and organize with players in ways that challenge traditional media structures. Although this participation in drinking represents a shocking new possibility, it also requires a thoughtful response to the dark and toxic aspects that appear in social media.

Identity Formation and Representation in Sports Communities

Social media has also revolutionized how sports communities can be formed and maintained, no longer affected by geography, allowing fans with similar interests to connect. Traditional fans were largely shaped by the geographical distance between teams or stadiums, and today, sports fans are part of the digital Internet. A good example is the rise of niche sports communities. Sports like ultimate frisbee, mixed martial arts, e-sports, and even roller derby often receive limited coverage in mainstream media. Still, platforms such as Reddit, YouTube, and Discord have enabled fans and athletes to build passionate and self-sustaining online spaces. For instance, the subreddit r/formula1 has over 2 million members who discuss races and create memes, analysis threads, fan art, and fantasy leagues. These digital spaces become central to fans’ consumption and participation in their chosen sport.

Additionally, social media platforms have allowed for the emergence of what Jenkins (2006) calls “participatory cultures,” where users are not just consumers of media but also co-creators. This is particularly evident in how global fans use social media to engage with regional teams. For example, the English Premier League (EPL) has gained enormous global traction through social media campaigns, live-streaming partnerships, and multi-language content strategies. Clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool have cultivated international fanbases through Facebook groups in India, China, and Africa, where fans organize watch parties, merchandise exchanges, and community events without ever setting foot in the UK.

Similarly, the cycling community in Australia known as “couch peloton” exemplifies how fans get together online to participate in the sport in real-time. In the Tour de France and other competitions, online fans have formed a good atmosphere, comments, encouragement and a friendly platform. Often, the digital experience is more attractive than the activity itself. According to Cycling Weekly (2024), this social media interaction engages fans, and the friendly atmosphere provides a social layer to an otherwise lonely viewing experience. In addition, sports communities on social media often evolve into support systems beyond gaming. Fans often come together to offer emotional support to injured players and celebrate moments that go beyond sports culture. These interactions strengthen the previous chain of bonds between players and fans, taking the emotional relationship between them one step further and building a sense of belonging.

However, this transcendent connectivity comes with risks. While global communities can be inclusive, they can also promote division. Different fans and cross-cultural communication, once limited to disputes at physical stadiums, are now escalating rapidly and uncontrollably due to the speed and reach of the Internet.

Nonetheless, the emergence of a niche and a global sports community illustrates the transformative potential of social media in breaking down traditional geographically limited barriers, fostering a sense of belonging and a new identity in sports. This diverse and inclusive community allows fans to participate in any way and is much more vibrant.

Social media has become the main construction and representation in the sports industry. Fans, athletes and teams use these platforms. Billings and Hardin (2014) emphasize that digital platforms have enabled more personalized and dynamic sports narratives, particularly for fans from underrepresented backgrounds. People of colour, for example, can use social media to provide safe spaces and challenge conventional wisdom. These communities can also become crucial in reshaping how sports fans are defined and who can get involved. Athletes are also often active on social media to show off the joy of their daily life outside of sports. However, representatives of gendered and radicalized persist. Bruce (2016) points out that women athletes are often influenced by stereotypes after gaining fame online, focusing more on their appearance and life than their sporting achievements. This affects not only fans’ views of athletes but also female athletes’ views of themselves in the sports world. In this form, social media provides both opportunities and limitations. It creates space for diverse expression, and the ability of athletes to build communities through shared identities remains one of the most powerful aspects of sport-related digital engagement, especially as these communities offer inclusivity and resist stereotypes.

Organizing and Mobilizing Fan Activities

In addition to engagement and identity expression, social media provides athletes with a platform to organize and mobilize fan events. Digital platforms make it easier for fans to initiate and coordinate activities, from gatherings and charity fundraisers to protest movements and viral campaigns, transforming the sports community into a more active public. One example is the 2021 backlash against the European Super League proposal, with fans across Europe rallying online to express anger and protest, eventually forcing the club to abandon the plan. The Guardian (2023) highlights how fan groups used hashtags, memes, and livestreams to spread awareness and galvanize global support within hours. The speed and influence of the fermentation on social media illustrate the growing political and economic clout of online fan communities. Additionally, Cycling Weekly (2024) reported how cycling fans leveraged platforms like Strava and Twitter to raise funds for local bike charities, support injured riders, and campaign for safer infrastructure. Social media have effectively organised charitable activities, demonstrating the potential for community-building of sports fans.

Challenges of Social Media in Sports Communities

Social media also encounters some challenges in sports; while facilitating interaction between fans and athletes, it also gives them a voice to judge and question, particularly regarding harassment, surveillance and mental health. The openness and participation of social platforms mean that athletes are more vulnerable to abuse and criticism from the outside world. FiFPro (2022) reports that many anonymous users target professional footballers with racial slurs, death threats and sexist remarks, especially during high-stakes championships. Similarly, Kick It Out (2023) points out that in recent years, racial abuse in English football has been exacerbated by platforms such as X and Instagram. These toxic behaviours not only harm the well-being of players but also reflect the serious inequality and prejudice that sports suffer in cyberspace.

Women athletes are among the most affected. Vogue (2024) documents stars such as Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles talking about the mental cost of maintaining their public image in the face of online criticism and rhetoric. Social media often requires them to control their emotions, but it creates a lot of pressure to always “keep,” perform and be brand conscious. This emotional labour is tiring and harmful, especially for younger players. Another concern Sanderson and Frederick (2015) argue that social media now offers a much larger participatory platform, and many brands are choosing to profit from it.    Personalized advertising, influencer trading, and algorithm-driven content prioritize visibility and virality over authenticity and community. This commercialization makes fans feel bored and reduces the fan base to the remaining consumers rather than community members.

These challenges remind us that social media empowers us, that we must keep it a true community space, and that platforms and organizations must actively address these harms through moderation policies, education, and systemic reform.

Conclusion

Social media has changed how the sports world forms, communicates and develops. Increasing fan participation and interaction has reshaped how people experience sports, not just as spectators but as dynamic and interactive community participants. As Hutchins and Rowe (2012) explain, today’s digital media has broken down traditional boundaries, allowing fans, athletes, and organizations to interact more directly, personally, and powerfully. However, this shift has also brought a lot of trouble, with online abuse, the rise of gender and ethnic representation, and growing commercialization threatening the authenticity and safety of the space in sport. As Jenkins (2006) points out, these changes have advantages and disadvantages, so the sports world needs to change and improve as it evolves.

The article argues that social media has undeniably empowered the sporting world, allowing them to engage, connect and express in ways they have never been able to. However, attention also needs to be paid to critical reflection and proactive measures to ensure that these spaces remain inclusive and respected as they deserve. These insights are consistent with the focus of the “Community and Social Media” conference stream, understanding how digital technologies shape the practices, identities, and power structures of groups in modern societies.

Reference list

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