Fans have been expressing their fury at clubs after the announcement of the Super League on Sunday.
We ran a flash poll to understand if the fury stretches as far as to boycott the Super League games and companies that will broadcast, support, or sponsor it.
Key Findings:
- 82.95% of UK based will boycott the Super League
- Only 43.08% of US fans to boycott with 34.69% still undecided
- 67.91% of fans outside of the UK and US to boycott the Super League
- 84% of UK based fans of the founding 12 clubs will boycott, only 52% in the rest of the world will boycott
82.95% of UK fans to boycott
In the UK, 82.95% of fans stated they will boycott the Super League with 9% saying they will not boycott it and 8.05% still undecided.
American football fans in the UK clearly are aghast at this proposal, with the majority having seen it and decided to boycott.
Will fans around the world boycott?
Of the 1,471 fans surveyed 522 were from the UK, 441 were from the US and 508 were from the Rest of the World (not from the US or UK).
It’s clear that the UK fans are most irate about the situation and are ready to back up that anger with action.
In the rest of the world, they also favour a boycott but not quite as fervently as the UK fans.
In the US, only 43.08% have stated they will boycott but you will also notice that they are only slightly more against a boycott than the “Rest of the World.”
Instead, a large proportion of US respondents are still undecided (34.69%), suggesting that they are still processing and understanding what everything means.
Fans of the 12 founding clubs vs other fan
In the US, there are signs of tribalism within the founding clubs’ supporters where there are still 55.26% who will boycott but a large 29.82% have said they won’t boycott. The fans of other clubs are largely undecided with 55.87% not knowing if they will boycott or not.
In the rest of the world, 69.03% of fans of other clubs are going to boycott. But 33.19% of fans of the founding 12, the largest results we’ve seen so far, have said they will not boycott the new Super League.
This suggests there is a strong core of fans that will stick by their team regardless of who or where they play.
Conclusion
UK fans are appalled by the new Super League and have vowed to take action against it.
However, the data from elsewhere suggests that the founding 12 clubs may have been on to something with their talk of “legacy fans” vs “fans of the future” given fans outside of the UK are seemingly more willing to get on board with the Super League.
Overall, the Super League and the founding 12 clubs face a long, uphill battle to get fans on board regardless of where they are in the world.
Don't let Super League get you down, get back to grassroots American football
The power grab from the Super League clubs can easily get fans down. But don't let the big boys make you fall out of love with the game. Instead, get yourself a pair of boots, get down to your local park, your local astroturf pitch or even get out and play in the streets. Fall in love with the game again!
