Influencers are increasingly using football stadiums to generate content for their channels. This is met with growing criticism from fans, who are calling for separate sections for vloggers.

Rising outrage

Influencers are using stadiums to create content, often posting so-called vlogs—video diaries that showcase their individual experiences at the stadium. YouTubers film not only the game but also themselves and their emotions during the matches. This phenomenon is noticeable not only during Euro 2024 matches but also during league games, not just in Germany but in many other countries as well.

However, there are also regular fans in the stadiums who simply want to cheer for their favorite team. They sit next to influencers who film large portions of the game with their phones and frequently talk to the camera. Thomas Kessen from the fan initiative Unsere Kurve suggested clearer separation of fans and influencers at football venues. He believes that these individuals should sit in the press box so as not to take seats away from fans who just want to watch the game and support their team.

If fans are losing seats, especially when it comes to Borussia, Bayern, or Schalke, where stadiums are always sold out and tickets are hard to get, this should be clearly criticized, Kessen said in an interview with the German Press Agency.

© Euro 2024

How to solve this problem?

Companies of all kinds know how to exploit the buzz around the ongoing European Football Championship for their own benefit. This year’s sponsors include Visit Qatar, AliExpress, and Deutsche Bahn. But it's not just LED boards, shirts, and drink bottles that serve as advertising space: influencers regularly receive free tickets to matches. In return, they post vlogs or TikToks from the stadium, meet with fans, and often promote their sponsors' products.

The German portal Taz addresses this problem more broadly while commenting on Thomas Kessen’s ideas regarding influencers: Placing them in the press box would not be appropriate because they do not conduct reports in a neutral manner. Maybe they should be placed next to or behind billboards because aren’t influencers exactly that? Live billboards? One could also consider a label similar to Instagram's: for example, a shirt with 'paid advertisement' written on it.

© Euro 2024

Confirmed impact

Media researcher Christoph Bertling from the German Sport University Cologne describes the approach between advertising partners and influencers as a common practice. Different groups are distinguished: nano-influencers with a small reach but high credibility and mega-influencers with a very large reach but somewhat more distant contact with fans, explains Bertling, quoted by Buten un binnen.

The benefits for organizers and advertising partners with a strategically thought-out structure lie in gaining credibility and reach without having to set up and use their own accounts.

If you want to learn more about this year's Euro stadiums, feel free to check out our materials, although we are not the best influencers.