Global sports fans demand always-on engagement from their favorite teams

New Infobip study reveals supporters feel 'disconnected' and 'priced out'

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new research commissioned by global cloud communications platform Infobip reveals a growing demand among sports fans for always-on, personalized engagement with their favorite teams. The global study shows that two-thirds (66%) of fans feel disconnected due to poor club communication, rising to 81% among those under 35. The research of 1,500 American football, baseball, soccer, and cricket fans across the US, Europe, and India, uncovers widespread frustration with generic, one-way communication and a strong appetite for deeper relationships with clubs beyond game days.

More than 70% of fans want ongoing communication during the off-season, including behind-the-scenes content and personal stories from players. Meanwhile, 82% currently use social media to follow their teams, though many expressed interest in richer, exclusive content through direct messaging and mobile apps.

Many described current engagement as transactional and impersonal, with nearly half feeling like "just a number." Affordability also emerged as a major barrier — 61% of fans overall said rising costs of subscriptions, tickets, and merchandise are pricing them out of the game.

Driven by a desire to better understand evolving fan needs and explore how technology can reshape sports engagement, the study highlights a significant opportunity for clubs to boost loyalty and fan satisfaction through digital innovation and personalized communication.

Ervin Jagatić, Product Director at Infobip, said: "Fans want a deeper, two-way relationship with their teams that keeps them engaged throughout the year, not just on match days. With AI and other new technology, such as Conversational AI Gamification, sports organizations can create personalized, real-time fan experiences that build loyalty and drive participation. Infobip's AI-driven chatbots on platforms like WhatsApp and Rich Communication Services (RCS) enable fans to instantly ask questions, access exclusive content, and receive updates 24/7."

Infobip's platform empowers teams to deliver this next-generation engagement — from real-time match alerts and early ticket sales to seamless personalized support. The result: stronger fan relationships, increased merchandise sales, higher viewership, and new revenue streams.

Infobip is already transforming fan engagement for major sports organizations worldwide. For the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, Infobip deploys AI-powered chatbots and messaging platforms like WhatsApp to offer real-time interaction, including the upcoming 'RaceMate' AI companion and an interactive AI version of F1 driver Oliver Bearman that bring fans closer to the team. In the US, Infobip partners with the Los Angeles Chargers to enhance fan communication through Apple Messages for Business, delivering exclusive content and instant updates.

Meanwhile, in Latin America, Infobip teamed up with Claro Sports to develop a sophisticated AI-powered chatbot using Google's Rich Communication Services (RCS), offering Mexican sports fans real-time scores, athlete notifications, and interactive experiences across multiple messaging channels.

Read the survey here: https://www.infobip.com/downloads/sports-fan-engagement-report 

About Infobip

Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected experiences across all stages of the customer journey. Accessed through a single platform, Infobip's omnichannel engagement, identity, user authentication and contact centre solutions help businesses and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications to grow business and increase loyalty. It offers natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and 'things' in 6 continents connected to over 9,700+ connections of which 800+ are direct operator connections. Infobip was established in 2006 and is led by its co-founders, CEO Silvio Kutić and Izabel Jelenić.

Recent award wins include:

• Infobip named a Leader in the Gartner^® Magic Quadrant™ for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) for the third consecutive year. In 2025, positioned furthest in Completeness of Vision (July 2025)
• Infobip named among Top 75 in Fortune's Europe's Most Innovative Companies 2025, placing it in the top 25% of all listed organizations (June 2025)
• Infobip ranked as a Leader in the Omdia CPaaS Universe Report for the third time (April 2025)
• Infobip ranked an Established Leader in the Juniper Research Conversational AI Leaderboard (Feb 2025)
• Infobip named a CPaaS Leader for the third time in the IDC MarketScape (Feb 2025)
• Infobip named one of the top CPaaS providers in Metrigy's CPaaS MetriRank Report (Dec 2024)
• Infobip named number one among Established Leaders in RCS Business Messaging in Juniper Research's RCS Business Messaging Competitor Leaderboard 2024 (Nov 2024)
• Infobip recognized as the number one provider in the AIT Fraud Prevention market by Juniper Research (Oct 2024)
• Infobip named to Fast Company's Annual List of the World's Most Innovative Companies (March 2024)

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Global sports fans demand always-on engagement from their favorite teams

ALULA, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marks the official opening of Desert X AlUla 2026, the landmark fourth edition of the international, open-air biennial exhibition. Arts AlUla, in collaboration with Desert X, welcomes visitors to experience a stellar line-up of Saudi and international multi-generational artists whose site-responsive earthworks, sculptures, and installations will engage in a powerful dialogue with the awe-inspiring landscapes and layered heritage of AlUla.

 

 

As a premier destination rich in ancient history and breathtaking nature, AlUla, located in Northwest Saudi Arabia, solidifies its position on the global stage as a dynamic, emerging land art destination with Desert X AlUla, the region's first public art biennale, and a key highlight of the AlUla Arts Festival.

The 2026 edition of Desert X AlUla brings together 11 acclaimed artists whose diverse works reflect a wide spectrum of ideas, materials, and traditions. From monumental kinetic sculpture to sound-based explorations above and below ground, each commission is deeply rooted in relationships to AlUla's distinctive environment, further cementing Desert X AlUla's reputation as a globally significant platform for site-responsive land art.

Desert X AlUla runs until February 28, 2026, as a cornerstone of the annual AlUla Arts Festival. Curated by Wejdan Reda, Zoé Whitley, with artistic direction by Neville Wakefield, and Raneem Farsi, its fourth edition explores 'Space Without Measure.' Inspired by Kahlil Gibran, the theme fosters contemplation of imagination within AlUla's natural settings. The exhibition, set in the desert canyons of AlUla, serves as a pre-opening programme for Wadi AlFann, offering a pivotal glimpse into AlUla's plans to create a permanent land art 'Valley of the Arts.'

Hamad Alhomiedan, Director of Arts & Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), said: "At Desert X AlUla 2026, audiences will engage with art that deeply converses with AlUla's unique landscapes and rich heritage. These compelling commissions highlight AlUla's dynamic transformation into a major global destination, where ancient and contemporary expressions converge. This exhibition is part of our broader revitalisation of AlUla as a culturally rich destination to live, work and visit and integral to positioning AlUla in the global dialogue of contemporary art and as a precursor to monumental projects like Wadi AlFann."

Participating artist/artworks are: 

• Sara Abdu, A Kingdom Where No One Dies: Contours of Resonance
• Mohammad Alfaraj, What was the Question Again?
• Mohammed AlSaleem, The Thorn, AlShuruf Unit, The Triangles, Flower Bud, and Al Ahilla (courtesy of Royal Commission for Riyadh City)
• Tarek Atoui, The Water Song
• Bahraini-Danish, Bloom 
• Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Imole Red 
• Agnes Denes, The Living Pyramid
• Ibrahim El-Salahi, Haraza Tree
• Basmah Felemban, Murmur of Pebbles
• Vibha Galhotra, Future Fables
• Héctor Zamora, Tar HyPar

For further information, please contact:
Sabrine.Shaw@bursonglobal.com
AlUlaArtsFestival@bursonglobal.com 

Multimedia gallery:
High-resolution photos of all 11 artists and their artworks can be found here.

About AlUla and Arts AlUla

Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in North-West Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.

The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula, and Jabal Ikmah, an open air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages. AlUla Old Town Village, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes was developed from at least the 12th century and has been revitalised as the vibrant hub for visitors and residents.

The creation of Arts AlUla within The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is a commitment to crafting the next chapters in a millennia of artistic creation – celebrating cultural inheritance and shaping a future inspired by artists built be artists. The work of Arts AlUla seeks to preserve this legacy: fuse the old with the new; the local with the international, keeping the arts central to the spirit of AlUla as a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage.

Wadi AlFann, meaning 'Valley of the Arts,' will be a global cultural destination for land art, unveiling from 2028 onwards, where era-defining works by artists from around the world will be permanently sited in the monumental landscape of AlUla, the extraordinary desert region of north-west Saudi Arabia.

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Desert X AlUla 2026: monumental land art exhibition opens in the ancient oasis of AlUla