Three hacks for becoming the Leicester City of sport business

Rooting for underdogs is a national characteristic we need to nurture – and not just on the field, argues Alejandro Scannapieco of digital transformation company Sportian.

Everyone loves an underdog, particularly in sport. Whether it’s Emma Raducanu winning the US Open or Leicester City’s historic Premier League title, moments when great odds are overturned in favour of an unlikely hero are told as stories for generations.  

The majority of these iconic underdog stories come from sports, a world with global audiences and fierce competition. Interestingly, while we cheer for the dark horse when it looks like they might make history, we’re often hesitant to back new challengers when they first appear.

In nearly every sport, a small group of leagues or clubs hold dominant positions that have persisted for generations. While this isn’t necessarily negative, it becomes problematic if it discourages new, ambitious leagues from entering the race.

We need challengers to bring competition, and we need competition to drive innovation. Without it, complacency and stagnation take root, which ultimately harms athletes, fans, and investors alike.

Allowing room for emerging competitions is essential to sustaining the sports industry’s growth and maintaining the quality of the events we love.

Taking on established market leaders can feel insurmountable, given the advantages of legacy, fan loyalty, and revenue. While the playing field may be uneven, challenger leagues still have options for disrupting the status quo and building a dedicated fanbase.

In my experience working with both major players and emerging leagues, every competition can find its audience, provided they follow certain core principles.

To thrive in the sports market, underdogs should focus on the following three areas.

Understand and connect with your fans

Building a loyal and growing fan base is crucial for the survival of any league. Activating, retaining, and expanding your fan base lies at the heart of any effort to penetrate the market.

No league should assume it knows its audience or how best to engage them; it requires rigorous analysis and precise action. Fan engagement in 2024 hinges on technology.

Although you don’t need millions in investments, getting the digital experience right is non-negotiable. “Frictionless” is much more than a simple word and it’s fundamental for the relationship with fans.

Take Major League Rugby (MLR), the only professional rugby union league in North America. Despite traditionally low visibility, MLR has seen a 55 per cent increase in registered viewers this season, and a 20 per cent rise in stadium attendance.

By prioritising a best-in-class digital streaming platform, they ensured that a) fans could watch matches on their terms, and b) MLR had the data necessary to develop content tailored to their audience.

Use data to drive performance

Today, players, coaches, and broadcasters have access to a world of advanced tactical, physical, and video data to refine how they play and how fans experience the game. Access to timely, high-quality data is vital to ensuring quality.

In its mission to elevate Belgian football internationally, the Belgian Pro League has developed a complete data ecosystem capturing even the smallest player movements.

This initiative delivers highly advanced match data to all teams across its men’s, women’s, and youth leagues, boosting competition levels now while fostering a data-centric culture that will support the league’s growth over time.

Ranked as Europe’s eighth strongest men’s football league, we might just be witnessing the emergence of the next major European football league.

Leverage AI for operational excellence

Operational efficiency may not be the most glamorous aspect of sports, but it’s foundational. Without a solid infrastructure, scaling becomes nearly impossible.

AI tools now make it feasible for leagues of all sizes to adopt digital best practices at reasonable cost, processing extensive data sets to reveal insights that can guide fan campaigns, sponsor engagement, and content enhancement. AI also helps unify previously isolated data silos, a common barrier to strategic decision-making and realising returns on technology investments.

As a sports fan first and foremost, I really believe that tech is the key to growing and diversifying the industry, giving the underdogs a chance to reach and build new fanbases, create sustainable businesses and compete against the established players. 

Rooting for underdogs is a national characteristic we need to nurture. When legacy leagues face healthy competition, sport wins.

Alejandro Scannapieco is CEO of digital transformation company Sportian.