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Welcome to issue #086 of Contemporary Football, your inside look at how the game really works behind the scenes.
Monday to Friday, you’ll uncover a new perspective on football business, and sometimes a deeper story that sharpens your thinking and gives you an edge in the beautiful game.
If you need support on your football journey, just write me.
Most clubs are trying to sell to a generation that doesn’t want to be sold to.
Young money doesn’t buy products.
It buys:
▪️ Identity
▪️ Access
▪️ Experience
▪️ Values
This is already happening.
People spend €200 on limited drops that disappear in minutes.
€50/month on premium content.
€500 on curated experiences.
Thousands on digital assets most clubs still don’t understand.
This is not about price.
It’s about meaning.
Most clubs treat this as marketing.
More content.
More social media.
More campaigns.
But this is a shift in how value is created.
The model
A club today operates on four layers:
1. The team
Matches, results, performance.
2. Access
Real proximity to players, staff, decisions.
3. Identity
Symbols, aesthetics, language.
4. Economy
Subscriptions, drops, experiences, digital assets.
Most clubs live in layer one.
Some experiment with layer two.
Very few build all four together.
Belonging cannot be forced.
Access without meaning is just content.
Experience without identity is just hospitality.
Values without proof are just slogans.
The key questions for a club
What do fans recognise in us that no one else can offer?
Where do they get closer to us than anywhere else?
What moments live beyond the match?
What do we stand for, and where is it visible in behaviour?
Traditional fans bought shirts.
New fans buy systems.
If a club still thinks in tickets and merchandise, growth will plateau.
The model is shifting:
Transactions to lifetime value.
Audience to participation.
Customer to member.
The winners
The clubs that win won’t sell more.
They will build environments people choose to belong to.
Forever.
How does a club become something people want to be part of?
Answer this quarterly, and you’ll be better off than most clubs.
Thanks for being part of Contemporary Football!
Federico
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