Lega Serie A managing director for MENA region writes for Arab News about how connecting to young football fans in the region has become a priority Modern football has never been as dynamic and fast-flowing as the wonderful spectacle played out in stadiums around the world each week, and the way fans keep pace with the modern game is also changing at a rapid rate. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport With an array of entertainment options like never before, football has been forced to adapt to stay competitive in an ever-widening sporting arena. There are already an estimated more than 16 million Lega Serie A fans in the Gulf Cooperation Council and generally in the Middle East and North Africa region — half of them under the age of 25 — and connecting with this fan base and with the wider audience of football lovers in the region is our top priority. Gen Z is the most diverse and tech-savvy band of football lovers yet, which has created a set of unique opportunities and challenges for us as sports marketers. This generation has grown up in the internet era and has not known life without fingertip access to information via their phones. In the football world, this translates into real-time match updates, scores and goals streamed onto mobile devices seconds after they hit the back of the net. Supporters attending live matches in stadiums will always be the lifeblood of football, as testified by an absence of fans during the COVID-19 pandemic that severely diluted the product as an entertainment spectacle. Despite this, there are only so many match tickets available for a live stadium experience, even in the biggest of venues, leaving significant opportunities to capitalize on a captive audience that can stream live action at home or on mobile devices while on the go. And Gen Z audiences are looking for football experiences that are more than just watching a game on TV. They want to be able to interact with the game and players and feel like they are a part of the action. Social media has given insider access and behind-the-scenes content, allowing fans to connect directly with players on a new level. As the technology progresses, fans could soon use virtual reality headsets to watch games from the perspective of a player on the pitch or use augmented reality apps to interact with players and coaches in real time. In the Arab world, the huge success of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 revealed the excitement and passion for the sport, as epitomized by the huge followings for Saudi Arabia’s Green Falcons and Morocco’s Atlas Lions. And as Saudi Arabia prepares to host the World Cup in 2034, that passion is only going to increase. With the global football market projected to reach $4.0 billion by 2028, this presents an enormous opportunity to connect with Gen Z in the region and reach new audiences who may be developing an early love for the international game. Italian football is already making sports more relevant by integrating social media into its experiences. Lega Serie A has become the first global football league to provide Arabic content on the platforms that matter most to young fans, launching Snapchat and TikTok accounts dedicated to MENA audiences. This will allow fans to produce unique content and creation tools. Meanwhile, reality TV shows have offered a never-before-seen look inside the workings of top football clubs. From Middle East-owned clubs like Manchester City and Newcastle United to Italian football giants like Juventus, the football establishment has been lining up to give fans an inside view of their club, vying to capture the attention of an emerging Gen Z audience. Building on this momentum, while also ensuring we make a contribution to youth talent in the region, Lega Serie A has partnered with on-demand subscription service STARZPLAY, healthcare provider PureHealth, and award-winning film and entertainment studio Image Nation Abu Dhabi, to produce “The Italian Dream” — an original show that aims to unearth the next football prodigy from the MENA region. Across six episodes, young footballers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Egypt will get the chance to train and play in one of football’s biggest and most storied leagues, Lega Serie A, while honing their skills alongside world-class players, including Lega Serie A legends Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero, Fabio Cannavaro, Marco Materazzi and Luca Antonini. Lega Serie A has also signed a broadcasting partnership with Starzplay and Abu Dhabi Media to exclusively stream the league’s matches to audiences across 20 countries in the MENA region, offering fans unparalleled access to live games, exclusive content, and in-depth analyses of both the clubs and players. There’s a reason why Lega Serie A is committed to innovation and is finding new ways to engage with its fans by developing new digital platforms, creating new interactive experiences, and experimenting with new content delivery methods. It’s because our current fans, and our fans of the future, demand it. A new era of football is upon us. The only thing supporters need to do now is sit back and enjoy the show.