The English Premier League is well known as being the most followed football league in the world, with more than 1.8 billion people having weekly interactions with EPL-based media.
This popularity is spurred by individual team fanbases, with some having an international reach. It is this popularity that drives the league’s value and ensures it remains the top league in terms of sponsorship and TV revenue.
The gambling industry is also a big part of the EPL’s success with millions of consumers placing wagers on dozens of match markets, as well as backing their teams for league or European glory.
iGaming analyst Peter Addison explains how online sports betting sites have also helped by providing a convenient and secure way for consumers to access a variety of betting markets on the move. This makes it easier for in-play betting.
One way of judging just how popular EPL teams are getting is by checking their social media follower numbers. This gives a great indication of their global reach, and also acts as a great marketing tool for teams who can use these figures when negotiating sponsorship deals, and market new products directly to their fans.
As you might expect, the “Big Six” are leading the way when it comes to the biggest fanbases in the UK, and Manchester United are still top of the pile.
Despite struggling in recent years to recapture their success of the 90s and early 00s, Manchester United still command a Facebook following that exceeds 83 million.
This puts them well ahead of their closest rivals Chelsea who have a following of 55 million. Manchester City’s recent dominance has propelled their popularity, and international sponsorship deals has improved their reach significantly as their popularity edged over the 50 million mark.
Liverpool and Arsenal’s global appeal sees them both enjoy fanbases that exceed 40 million, while Tottenham’s lack of silverware sees them a bit further behind with 34 million followers.
After Tottenham, there is a big drop off to Leicester City who have 9 million followers. This popularity was spurred by their incredible achievement of narrowly escaping relegation before winning the league in the 2015/16 season.
Everyone loves an underdog story, and Leicester’s odds of around 5,000/1 reflected their chances. To put it into perspective, bookmakers thought that Leicester City’s chances of winning the league were the same as the Loch Ness Monster being found, Elvis turning up alive, or Kim Kardashian winning the Presidential election.
Leicester also enjoyed popularity in the Asian market after being taken over by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash at Leicester’s ground.
Leicester are followed by Aston Villa, Everton, Newcastle, and West Ham, but continued success and European football seem to be key to a team’s popularity in modern football.
Despite these massive figures, Real Madrid and Barcelona still lead the way in terms of social media popularity with Real being followed by 124 million and Barcelona having 114 million following them.
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