Why Do Sports Teams Need Social Media?

There is a tendency to think of social media as the place where sports teams post the final score, announce a new signing and upload a few photos from training.

But that is only the surface.

For a modern sports team, social media can be part of the business model itself.

It can bring sponsors to the table.

This is one of the biggest reasons — and one that is often overlooked.

A team with a strong social presence has something valuable to offer beyond what happens on the pitch: attention.

Brands want to be seen. They want access to communities, conversations and audiences that already care about something. A team that knows how to communicate with its audience online can therefore become much more attractive to potential sponsors.

The ΜΠΑΜ FC project is a particularly interesting Greek example.

Founded in 2022 by YouTubers Haris Milionis and Haris Tassos, BAM FC was built from the beginning around the connection between football and the creator economy. Its social presence wasn't simply a communication channel for the team — it was part of what made the project interesting in the first place.

And that changes the question.

Instead of asking, “What can social media do for our team?”, perhaps teams should also ask:

“What could our team become because of social media?”

It gives athletes visibility beyond the game.

A team has a brand.

An athlete has one too.

And they don't always have to be the same.

For athletes, especially those competing in individual sports, visibility can be incredibly important. Athletics, tennis, fencing, swimming and countless other sports often don't have the same commercial exposure as football or basketball.

Social media can help change that.

An athlete who is good at communicating, building an audience and showing their personality can become more visible to people who would never have discovered them through their results alone.

And that visibility can open doors — including personal sponsorships.

For many athletes, sponsorship isn't simply about having a nice logo on their clothing. It can help make training, travelling, equipment and competition possible.

Performance matters, of course.

But sometimes, being seen matters too.

It can show the person behind the jersey.

Sports rivalries are part of what makes sport exciting.

But sometimes the rivalry becomes bigger than the people involved.

Fans see colours, logos and opposing sides. Athletes see teammates, friends, colleagues and competitors.

Social media can help close that gap.

A simple moment can remind an audience that there is a human being behind every jersey.

We saw a powerful example of that recently when Panathinaikos' Azzedine Ounahi visited Olympiacos' Ayoub El Kaabi in hospital after El Kaabi suffered a serious injury. The two are teammates and friends with Morocco, despite representing rival clubs in Greece.

Moments like this don't erase rivalry.

They simply put it into perspective.

And perhaps that is one of the most valuable things sports storytelling can do: make us see athletes as people before we see them as opponents.

It builds an identity people can recognise.

Some sports accounts are serious.

Some are funny.

Some are chaotic.

Some feel cinematic.

Some feel like the fan who runs the account is sitting next to you in the stands.

There is no single correct personality.

But there should be one.

A strong social presence gives a team the opportunity to develop a recognisable identity — through its visual language, tone of voice, humour, content choices and the way it speaks to its audience.

That identity can become just as recognisable as the team's colours.

And when it is done well, people don't just recognise the logo.

They recognise the voice.

This is something we will explore further in one of our upcoming breakdowns of Panathinaikos FC's social presence and, especially, its Instagram strategy.

And it can take sports beyond the sports everyone already watches.

Football. Basketball. Volleyball. Handball.

These are usually the first sports that come to mind.

But there is an entire world of sport outside them.

Fencing. Wrestling. Athletics. Tennis. Swimming. Gymnastics. And so many more.

Social media gives these sports something they have historically struggled to get:

attention without waiting for traditional media to give it to them.

A great athlete can become discoverable.

A niche sport can become interesting.

And an audience that never thought they cared about fencing might suddenly find themselves watching a fencing competition on TikTok.

That is the opportunity.

Social media doesn't just help sports teams talk to their existing audience.

It can help them find a new one.

And perhaps that's the real point.

Social media isn't an extra channel sitting next to the sport.

For the right team, it can become part of the sport's identity, its business model, its community — and its future.