Most popular professional sport teams on social media across the world

[Marla_Singer]

Here is a list I've compiled of the most followed professional sport teams on social media all across the world. I thought it would be interesting to share it here:
https://www.international-football.net/social-clubs-2019

Followers are cumulated out of 4 social networks: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Weibo. The latter is the most followen social network in China. All professional sport teams with more than 1 million cumulated followers on those 4 social networks are listed here. If you see any team missing, please tell me so that I can add it.

The list currently groups 355 teams in 49 different countries. The following sports are represented:

• Football (Soccer): 197 teams (41 countries)
• Baseball: 36 teams (5 countries)
• Basketball: 34 teams (5 countries)
• American football (Gridiron): 32 teams (1 country)
• Ice hockey: 28 teams (2 countries)
• Cricket: 22 teams (4 countries)
• Kabaddi: 6 teams (1 country)
• Rugby League: 1 team (1 country)

Here is the top 15:

See full list​

 

[Arwon]

The Brisbane Broncos are a Rugby League team, specifically. "Rugby" by itself usually means Rugby Union.

Also it's weird how much bigger those Big Bash cricket teams are on Facebook, relative to Twitter and Insta, than AFL teams are.

 

[Arwon]

Also there are Indian Pro Kabbadi teams like the Bengaluru Bulls over this threshold

 

[Arwon]

And some women's teams would qualify, eg the Chelsea women's team has like 2m on FB

 

[Marla_Singer]

Thanks for this Arwon. The proper name of the sport played by the Brisbane Broncos name is now corrected.

As for the Pro Kabbadi teams, I didn't know them, thanks for the tip I'll add those later.

 

[Socrates99]

I like that name the list gives for American football, gridiron, we should just adopt that and ditch soccer in favor of the global football. Especially as its popularity grows in the US.

Neat list.

 

[Arwon]

I like that name the list gives for American football, gridiron, we should just adopt that and ditch soccer in favor of the global football. Especially as its popularity grows in the US.

Neat list.

The term "football" varies in usage depending on whether there's other types of football, as well as by language. "Football" and its cognates as the word for Association Football is predominant, but by no means universal.

Non-football using places include Italy, Korea and Japan, much of southeast Asia, Australia, Ireland, North America, and southern Africa. Could be nearly a billion people all up, some using other translations, some having multiple types of football to distinguish.

 

[rah]

The fact that the Bulls are even on the list considering how long they've sucked really disturbs me.
Probably that they suck is the main reason though.

 

[Marla_Singer]

The fact that the Bulls are even on the list considering how long they've sucked really disturbs me.
Probably that they suck is the main reason though.

The Chicago Bulls are so high mainly because of Facebook. I guess that's because Michael Jordan made the team mythical in many places where people don't follow so much basketball, like in Europe.

On the Chinese network Weibo, the team is only ranked 19th among NBA teams. Obviously the aura of Michael Jordan isn't as strong there.

 

[rah]

I'm from Chicago so I know the why, but that is quickly becoming ancient history. The current team has sucked for the last 5 years.

 

[Kyriakos]

I'm from Chicago so I know the why, but that is quickly becoming ancient history. The current team has sucked for the last 5 years.

It provides comedy with all those defeats by more than 25 points ^_^
Also infamous for its players rebelling against the notion they should go train in Sunday, after a 50+ point defeat.

 

[Arwon]

I think there's some more basketball clubs. I just checked Fenerbahce from Turkey and they've got a couple million, and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel from the Philippines look over the million mark.

 

[Socrates99]

I'm from Chicago so I know the why, but that is quickly becoming ancient history. The current team has sucked for the last 5 years.

They're sort of like the Dallas Cowboys. They're one of the default teams for states with no team or foreign fans. They'll always have a huge following even when they're terrible.

The one that surprised me was the Seahawks. Sure they've won a couple superbowls fairly recently but they've been a pretty run of the mill team for decades.

 

[Arwon]

They're also the closest team for a pretty big geographical area of the United States and I assume Canada

 

[Marla_Singer]

I think there's some more basketball clubs. I just checked Fenerbahce from Turkey and they've got a couple million, and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel from the Philippines look over the million mark.

Woaw, thanks a lot for those findings! They've been added to the list as well as Kabaddi Indian teams:
https://www.international-football.net/social-clubs-2019

 

[God of Kings]

I find it interesting that the Toronto Raptors have many Weibo followers, practically twice as many as those using any major Western social media outlet (separate). Because of Weibo followers, the Raptors are the only Canadian team to make the top 50.

It would be great if the social list included Reddit.

 

[Lexicus]

The one that surprised me was the Seahawks. Sure they've won a couple superbowls fairly recently but they've been a pretty run of the mill team for decades.

I'd guess some of that is hype from the political comments made my some of team members (or maybe just that one dude whose name I forget, not really sure)

 

[Bamspeedy]

They're sort of like the Dallas Cowboys. They're one of the default teams for states with no team or foreign fans. They'll always have a huge following even when they're terrible.

The one that surprised me was the Seahawks. Sure they've won a couple superbowls fairly recently but they've been a pretty run of the mill team for decades.

Won a couple of superbowls? One. Did play in a couple though (in the last 6 years, 3 of them if you go back 14 years)

I don't think that because a team sucked in the 90's has much effect on social media followers today.

Playoff appearances (17)

• NFL: 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018

Interesting to compare Seattle to Green Bay since they are right next to each other in the rankings. Sure, GB has more superbowls and their good run did start in the 90's (but sucked for nearly 30 years before that)
Twitter users is very close, Green Bay though has 1.4 million more facebook users. Grandma may even be on facebook, but not typically twitter and instagram.

 

[Socrates99]

I'd guess some of that is hype from the political comments made my some of team members (or maybe just that one dude whose name I forget, not really sure)

Richard Sherman maybe? I remember him condemning BLM. He was a prick even before that. Ran his mouth in a pretty unsportsmanlike way in post games.

Won a couple of superbowls? One. Did play in a couple though (in the last 6 years, 3 of them if you go back 14 years)

I don't think that because a team sucked in the 90's has much effect on social media followers today.


Interesting to compare Seattle to Green Bay since they are right next to each other in the rankings. Sure, GB has more superbowls and their good run did start in the 90's (but sucked for nearly 30 years before that)
Twitter users is very close, Green Bay though has 1.4 million more facebook users. Grandma may even be on facebook, but not typically twitter and instagram.

You're right I forgot they blew one they should've won.

I compared them to the cowboys who really haven't done much since the early 90s. I just know ever since they became a team they've been marketed as " America's team" and it's been pretty effective. They have fans everywhere.

You've got to go back pretty far to find a truly bad Green Bay. They went straight from the Favre years to Rogers and even when the Bears or Vikings are good the road to the playoffs is through Green Bay. They also have a pretty rabid fanbase.

Seahawks just seem like a left field team to be high on the list. Just surprised they have a big fanbase outside of their region.

 

[warpus]

@Arwon

Poland is wrong on that map. While some people do indeed use that word in Polish, the Polish name for it is far more popular. Mind you it means "ball of the foot" when literally translated, so the colour on the map is correct.