Brands have an opportunity to build authentic, multilayered connections with female sports fans

This evening, like dozens before, epitomises the passion and shared experience the sport of boxing ignites in families across the country, and indeed, across townships the length and breadth of the country. However, as you imagine this evening and the impassioned pleas to the television and intense debates following Bungu’s TKO loss to the arrogant but talented Brit, you’d be forgiven for imagining men, young and old, oozing testosterone-fuelled rage.

You couldn’t be more wrong. My grandmother was the sports matriarch, easing me into a deep and enriching sports culture that saw many a late night glued to the television. It is impossible to recall every occasion. Another, that ended in absolute bliss, was 8 October 1997, when The Rose of Soweto Dingaan Thobela beat Gary Murray by TKO in Hammanskraal. The elation!

It didn’t end with boxing. Soweto derbies cut to the core of who we were, so much more than just a game. Are you Pirates, or are you Chiefs? And yet, even today, sports such as boxing, soccer and rugby are often associated with the masculine, where women are relegated to a supporting role. This in no way downplays the phenomenal, inspiring and world-beating performances of Banyana Banyana, our national netball team or the South African national women’s cricket team. The truth is, outside of women’s sport which is enjoying a well-deserved surge in popularity and support – from both fans and brands – men’s sports are perceived largely as the preserve of male fans.

Many brands are fundamentally misunderstanding the economic and emotional power of women’s sports communities. These are not peripheral audiences, but primary economic drivers with complex, multilayered engagement networks.

Digital technology reveals women’s sports community ecosystems are complex and highly developed. A comprehensive exploration reveals that the digital fan experience fundamentally transcends any preconceived ideas about sports consumption. Smartphones are not just devices, but complex community enablers. WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter) and other social media platforms become real-time emotional forums where fans create meaning far beyond match statistics.

What does this mean? Let’s consider Siya Kolisi’s Springboks. I am the first to admit that I don’t understand the intricacies of the laws of the game, the difference between an openside and blindside flanker, why the runner can’t be in front of the kicker or why obstruction leads to tries being disallowed.

Yet, despite this, I know from personal experience, from experience within my family and friend networks, that we as women feel the immense pride and connection that has become synonymous with this Springbok team. We are part of an emotional national journey that supercedes a technical understanding of the game. We passionately engage on digital platforms which allow simultaneous, multilayered fan engagements. Peripheral digital moments are often more significant – certainly for many fan communities – than the direct sporting action.

Technology has revealed to us how fans connect through shared emotional experiences. This understanding represents a pivotal transformation of so-called passive viewership into active community participation.

Women have always been passionate sports consumers. My memory in a house enlivened by my grandmother is but one among millions of similar memories. Digital platforms are now making these long-existing communities visible, and, importantly, accessible. Detailed community engagement analyses put to bed once and for all the myth that women are peripheral sports fans.

Sports engagement goes beyond simply enjoying a sport. It is deeply woven into familial and cultural legacy, often with women as the primary community architects of this tapestry. There is, therefore, a very strong case to be made for brands reimagining their sponsorship models. In other words, brands would do well to fundamentally reconstruct their engagement strategies from “demographic targeting” to understanding and engaging with passion communities.

This takes sponsorship from transactional to conversational models, that authentically recognise women’s multidimensional community roles. It requires moving beyond identity-based narratives towards understanding digital community pathways, where brands can create meaningful interactions in peripheral moments. It’s about developing strategies that recognise emotional connection as the primary engagement driver.

Brands that would like to take the step into a future where they meaningfully interact with female audiences would do well to start with a few, important questions. How do I, as a brand, truly see and understand female audiences? What previously invisible (to me) networks exist where women passionately engage around sport? How can my sponsorship ignite genuine conversation and connection?

The brands that deeply understand these fan communities can build authentic, multilayered and digitally infused engagement strategies to tap into this rich tapestry of passion.