In recent years, many football clubs have significantly grown their social media presence. While great for fans, it brings added responsibility for players.
Being a football fan means more than just supporting a club – it means supporting its players as well. Whether you love or hate them, after any match played, the people really worth hearing from are the 11 men that were on the pitch, and their manager on the sidelines.
These days, fans don’t have to wait until Saturday nights to catch a 30-second interview with their favourite players on Match Of The Day – the age of social media means they have behind-the-scenes insights into their clubs and players at their fingertips.
In recent years, there has been an increase in football clubs making content with their players, whether for fan engagement or sponsorship deals, which they then share on their own club platforms.
These types of videos include everything from interviews and behind-the-scenes content to players taking part in challenges or online trends.
While fans can enjoy a range of bonus content from their favourite teams, it comes with extra responsibilities for the players. On top of their time spent training, they now have the added filming commitments – not to mention less privacy than other generations.
Yet it also provides an opportunity for them to show off their personalities and have a bit of fun off the pitch, all for the fans to see.
“Fans engage much more when we get to see the players as just normal people”
Antonia Apostoli
“It is such an amazing experience creating content with footballers,” says Antonia Apostoli, a digital content executive at Queens Park Rangers (QPR). “They are all so amazing to work with, and love getting involved with silly content videos.”
QPR, who currently play in the Championship, the second tier of English football, have more than 1.5 million followers across all their social media platforms.
They post lots of behind-the-scenes content with their players, including clips from training and asking the team fun, light-hearted questions.
Antonia believes that content filmed with players is crucial to building a sense of connection with the fans: “QPR is very much a community club,” she says, “We’re all close, and I believe we are close to our fans too, which is really nice.”
She thinks that by bringing out a player’s character and personality in videos and other social media posts, this allows fans to create a closer bond with them, leading to positives such as fan backing during their games.
“Fans engage much more when we get to see the players as just normal people,” says Antonia. “QPR have really aimed to do this from last season – bring out personalities – which I think we have executed really well on our TikTok page, where we are allowed to create fun content with them.
“Once fans see what the lads are like off the pitch, them just being normal people, it’s a way for them to relate and build a connection with them. They will start to back them in games, as they start to build a like for them.”
But it’s not all smooth sailing behind the scenes. The content that the team puts out on the socials is also heavily dependent on the team’s success on the pitch as well.
“Times when it’s hard to create content with players are when we might lose a few games in a row,” says Antonia. “This is when I would say my job becomes difficult,” she admits.
“I do find it challenging to adjust content when the team is going through a rough period. Sometimes we might not upload at all for a few days to allow fans to calm down after a loss,” she says. “Where, if we won, we would normally be pumping out content.”
“My approach was always, and still is really – everything we do needs to be for [the fans]”
Olly Groome
Olly Groome, a former content manager for Charlton Athletic, faced the same struggles when he was filming with his team: “You’ve got to get in the mindset of the supporters all the time, and second-guess what they’re going to think,” he told us.
“You can’t just throw out content when you’re bottom of the league, and it’s players having fun and mucking about. Fans don’t want to see it; it’s a really difficult balance. But when you’re winning, and you’re [looking at] promotion every week – brilliant! Players can do what they like,” Olly told us.
“My approach was always, and still is, really – everything we do needs to be for them. Because without the fans, you’ve not got any of this. You’ve not got a stadium to put people in, you’ve not got people paying your money to pay the wages, and all this sort of stuff.”
The next generation
For some players, being on camera comes as naturally as scoring goals, for others, not so much. Nonetheless, it’s becoming a much bigger part of the role for everyone.
“I think the players accept as part of their job, not just to turn up on a Saturday and kick a ball around and do their training,” says Olly.
He finds that creating content for the club is easier with the younger generation. “We’re having a period now where the younger players are coming through academies. They’re growing up with socials, they’ve got their own social media channels, so they don’t mind it as much. They’re asking, ‘Can I have that photo?'”
“You always find the younger boys are more engaged with creating TikTok’s,” says Antonia, “compared to the older footballers who still enjoy it, but I would say they aren’t as enthusiastic.
“But all the players know the benefits of participating in media content. It does benefit them in numerous ways. They’re all so amazing to work with and love getting involved with silly content videos, which makes my life easier.”
“Over time, I don’t think there’s going to be any issues whatsoever with this stuff,” says Olly, who started working with Charlton in 2013.
While he admits that some of the older players “aren’t into it as much” when it comes to filming content for social media, he thinks this will phase out as younger players come through the ranks.
“As the generations go on, we’re getting there, to a point of acceptability for the players that actually, ‘yeah, we’re happy to do this, because that’s just what we’re used to now’,” Olly tells us.
“We used to heavily publicise Youth Cup games and stuff like that, because we saw that as an opportunity to put spotlights on young players when they’re 16, 17 years old.
“If you want to achieve what you want to achieve, you’ve got to get used to this,” Olly would tell younger players, “because you’re a brand.”
Premier League Media Rules
On top of all the external media responsibilities players now have, they still have to take part in interviews and media for external outlets too, including Sky and TNT, where this year’s Premier League matches are broadcast.
For the 2025/26 season, the Premier League announced a series of additional media regulations. These new rules mean that clubs will now be expected to allow video access to dressing rooms at half-time in certain games (although there are exceptions to this if the team is losing).
On top of this, players will now, on occasion, take part in half-time interviews, and players who have been subbed off will be interviewed during the match.
The half-time interviews were first trialled at the end of last season, when Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard spoke to Sky News while the club were leading Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Fans on social media had mixed responses to the new introduction, with one X user commenting, “Let players play and do the talking afterwards. No one wanted this or needed this.” Another added: “With only 15 minutes available, how is a half-time interview a good idea?”
But others seemed to welcome the new interviews, with talkSPORT journalist Anil Kandola commenting on X, “Say what you want, but these [half-time] interviews are genius. Such an insight into the mindset of the players during the game. A great addition for the new season.”
The new rules have been criticised by some prominent figures in the sport, including former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney. In an episode of his podcast in August, he described mid-game interviews as “crazy” and claimed that his former manager Alex Ferguson would never have allowed it: “I know how he would have reacted and it wouldn’t have been in a nice way, that’s for sure!”
“Managers and players leave themselves exposed to getting themselves in trouble.”
Olly Groome
One of the big concerns with the new regulations is how the added media responsibilities could impact the players’ mindsets, particularly if they have to go out and play another 45 minutes of the game.
“I’m not comfortable with managers and players being interviewed at half-time, that’s being introduced. I don’t like that,” says Olly. “If you’re 3-0 down in a derby game, the last thing you want is to have to explain yourself on Sky when emotions are high. Managers and players leave themselves exposed to getting themselves in trouble.”
Rooney’s former club Manchester United commented on the new regulations, saying they were “supportive of the Enhanced Access Measures as a way to provide additional value for broadcast rightsholders from their investment in the Premier League — and ultimately to improve the viewing experience for fans.
They added that the new in-match interviews and dressing room access “can provide fresh insight and entertainment for viewers,” and importantly, that they were “satisfied that the amended Section K rules achieved this without causing excessive intrusion on players and staff.”
The club also vowed to “continue to work constructively with the Premier League to maintain a healthy balance between facilitating media access for the benefit of fans and protecting the elite sporting environment to produce outstanding football.”
“Working at a football club, you see both sides of it. You know the dedication that the manager and the players have on a match day, and that they’re in a zone, and they don’t want any outside interference. But also, we know that certain things are going to do well on social media” says Olly.
“From a content point of view, I like the idea of some of this stuff, I just think the clubs should have the final say and have jurisdiction over it, rather than the third party like Sky.”
Featured image by Victoria Prymak via Unsplash