Fan experience: how to balance business, access and belonging in a club
The fan experience cannot be measured only through VIP revenue, commercial activations or television visibility. For a club executive, Day 8 of the 2026 World Cup raises a governance question: how to grow as a spectacle without distancing the average supporter or turning players into simple marketing assets. Spain’s 4–0 win over Saudi Arabia confirms that the pitch remains at the centre, but the environment surrounding the tournament reminds us that price, access, belonging and identity are also part of the sporting project.
Fan experience: a governance decision, not just a revenue issue
The fan experience is often managed through marketing, ticketing, hospitality or operations. But for a sporting organisation with a development project, it should be treated as a strategic decision: what kind of relationship does the club want to build with its community, and what signals does it send when designing prices, boxes, access, content and exclusive benefits?
Day 8 of the Development Observatory offered a clear contrast. Spain beat Saudi Arabia 4–0 and secured qualification, while media coverage around the tournament focused on helipads, exclusive lanes for high-end vehicles and extremely expensive boxes during the knockout stages. The lesson for executives is not to reject the commercial dimension of modern football, but to ask where the balance lies.
A club needs revenue. An academy needs sustainability. A major event requires investment. But when the premium experience dominates the narrative, the average supporter may feel that football is moving away from them. And when that happens, the institution may gain financial margin in the short term but lose a sense of belonging in the long term.
The fan experience should answer one simple question: is the club building community or merely segmenting people by their ability to pay?
Commercialisation and accessibility: a balance that must be planned
The commercial growth of football is a reality. Premium hospitality, VIP packages, exclusive areas, sponsorships and personalised experiences are all part of the economic model of major events. FIFA has an official hospitality programme for the 2026 World Cup, managed by On Location, offering premium experiences across tournament venues. FIFA World Cup 2026
The problem is not the existence of high-value products. The problem appears when the revenue strategy is not balanced by a clear accessibility policy. An executive should assess whether the organisation offers different levels of experience without breaking the bond with those who emotionally sustain the club: families, season-ticket holders, academy players, former players, the local community and young supporters.
The fan experience should be designed in layers. There can be a premium offer, but also affordable tickets, family days, academy benefits, shared spaces, transparent pricing communication and ways to prevent the club from appearing reserved only for those who can afford to pay more.
Accessibility is not only about price. It also includes transport, schedules, clear information, treatment at the stadium, safety, services, visibility of the match, options for families, inclusion of people with disabilities and a genuine sense of belonging. If the club thinks only about the executive box, it neglects the stands that build identity.
Leadership that creates belonging within diverse squads
Day 8 also offered an institutional reference point: a national-team coach managing the diversity of his squad “for the good of the team”, while organising opportunities for players and their families to spend time together. For an executive, this example connects directly with the fan experience and with the club’s internal culture.
Belonging is not created only in the stands. It begins within the group. A diverse squad needs spaces where players are not simply competitive assets, but people with stories, families, languages, roots and different ways of understanding football. When the institution looks after these connections, the team competes from a stronger foundation.
At academy level, this is crucial. Players from different countries or family backgrounds do not integrate through sporting rules alone. They need an institutional culture that explains what it means to belong to the club, what is expected of them, how their families are supported and how differences are respected without compromising the collective objective.
Marcet approaches development through autonomy, understanding of the game and the development of players capable of integrating into demanding environments. For an executive, translating that vision into structure means designing environments in which diversity is not managed as a problem, but as part of competitive learning.
A club that wants its players to represent an identity must first create the conditions for that identity to be lived, not simply communicated.
Families, academy and community: belonging must also be managed
Organising opportunities for families to spend time together is not a minor gesture. In academy projects, the family forms part of the player’s ecosystem. It can support adaptation, reinforce habits, reduce anxiety and strengthen belonging if the institution involves families with clear criteria.
For an executive, the question is not whether families should be involved, but how to include them without invading the sporting space or creating dependency. An academy should define what information it shares, which communication channels it uses, which social moments it encourages and which boundaries it maintains to protect both the player and coaching staff.
The fan experience is also shaped by this close community. An academy family is not simply accompanying the player; it is part of the club’s culture. If the family feels supported, it understands the project more clearly. If it feels excluded, every decision is interpreted through uncertainty. If it feels treated only as a customer, the relationship becomes transactional. If it feels part of an educational mission, commitment changes.
Institutional belonging is built through consistency: what is said when presenting the project should be reflected in how a new family is welcomed, how a difficult decision is communicated, how an injury is managed, how cultural adaptation is supported and how progress is celebrated beyond results.
Home-grown sporting heroes: when a player becomes a marketing asset
Day 8 also raises a warning about the institutional management of home-grown sporting heroes. When an academy or national-team player suddenly becomes highly visible, the club may be tempted to turn them immediately into a commercial symbol.
The fan experience can improve when supporters connect with recognisable role models. Sporting heroes bring the club closer to its community, inspire children, activate campaigns and generate internal pride. But if the organisation exploits a player’s image too quickly, it can upset the balance between development, performance and brand.
An executive should establish a clear policy for players with growing media profiles. Which content is authorised? When are campaigns activated? How is the young player protected? What role does their environment play? What limits exist with sponsors? What message is being sent to the academy?
The sporting hero should not replace the project. They should represent it. If the club communicates only individual talent, it weakens the collective culture. If it shows how that player learns, decides, behaves, challenges themselves and belongs to the group, it reinforces the development model.
The difference between building a role model and manufacturing a product lies in institutional judgement.
Institutional basis: access, sustainability and social responsibility
FIFA describes the 2026 World Cup as the largest in history, with 48 teams and 104 matches across Canada, Mexico and the United States. That growth creates greater commercial opportunities, but also increases responsibility around mobility, access, the spectator experience and relationships with host communities. VIP-Tickets-Only.com
There are also examples of luxury World Cup packages, such as hotel experiences including helicopter travel, VIP tickets and exclusive services for the final. These cases show how major sporting events have also become platforms for premium tourism and high-end consumption. Travel Tomorrow
For a smaller organisation, the lesson is not to copy that model, but to learn from its tensions. The fan experience must balance financial sustainability and social responsibility. A club can sell hospitality without losing its soul. It can create premium products without symbolically excluding the ordinary supporter. It can generate income without turning the event into a showcase disconnected from the game.
Good governance appears precisely here: when the organisation does not allow the commercial department alone to decide what it means to attend, belong to and represent the club.
Expert quote
The fan experience should not be designed only around spending power. A club can grow commercially without losing belonging if it understands that its community is also a sporting asset. The “we” includes the stands as well.
— José Ignacio Marcet · Marcet Research Institute · 2026 World Cup Development Observatory · Code 202603182024
Frequently asked questions about the fan experience
How can a club balance high prices with affordable access?
By designing a segmented policy: premium products to generate revenue, alongside affordable tickets, academy benefits, family days and transparent pricing communication. The balance should be planned before sales begin.
Why is the fan experience a governance decision?
Because it affects identity, reputation, community, revenue and belonging. It is not only about ticketing: it defines the kind of club perceived by families, season-ticket holders, players, sponsors and the local community.
What is the risk of prioritising luxury too heavily at sporting events?
The risk is that the club appears disconnected from its real community. Exclusivity can generate income, but if it dominates the narrative, it can weaken the emotional connection with the average supporter.
How should club management handle diversity within a squad?
By creating opportunities for players to connect, involving families appropriately, training academy staff and defining a shared culture that respects different backgrounds without compromising collective standards.
When should an academy player become an institutional ambassador?
When their exposure is aligned with their maturity, sporting situation and the club’s wider project. Their image should represent the development model rather than turning the player into a product too early.
Practical conclusion
The fan experience reveals what an organisation truly understands by belonging. A club can grow commercially, sell better experiences and professionalise its offering, but it needs to do so without breaking the bond with the community that gives meaning to the project.
Day 8 of the 2026 World Cup reminds us that modern football is played in two spaces: on the pitch and in the environment surrounding it. Spain won 4–0 and progressed, but the governance debate lies in how a global event combines spectacle, luxury, accessibility, diversity and human stories.
For an executive, the task is not to choose between business and belonging. The task is to design a structure where both can coexist without allowing the market to empty the sporting identity of its meaning.
Marcet Knowledge will continue observing the World Cup as a laboratory for sporting management: not only through results, but through the decisions that show how an institution protects its culture while it grows.
