BEST FAN ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME
2024 Aramco Team Series presented by PIF – London CSR initiatives – 54
The Aramco Team Series presented by PIF – London has been shortlisted for Best Fan Engagement Programme at the 2025 Sports Business Awards in recognition of its groundbreaking, CSR-led approach to connecting with fans and communities across its global golf events.
In 2024, the event delivered a range of innovative initiatives designed to make golf more accessible, inclusive, and socially impactful. These included sustainability workshops and the certification of 392 individuals as “Certified Change Makers” in collaboration with Sustained Futures and the Muslim Golf Association, contributing to wider environmental awareness and community-led sustainability action.
The Careers in Golf programme welcomed 65 students for behind-the-scenes tours and industry talks, resulting in five internship applications. In addition, 173 members of the Muslim Golf Association participated in introductory clinics led by professional coaches, while 48 junior golfers from local clubs competed in a lively Golf Sixes tournament on the Championship Course, promoting youth development through sport.
These activations reflect the Aramco Team Series’ vision to engage fans beyond the fairways, using the platform of professional women’s golf to inspire environmental action, career exploration, and community participation. This shortlisting acknowledges the series’ success in turning fan engagement into a force for lasting, positive change.
AFL Gather Round 2025 – KOJO & AFL
KOJO’s fan engagement programme for the 2025 AFL Gather Round redefined how fans experience live sport, turning spectators into participants through tech-powered storytelling, club-led content, and holistic journey mapping.
Delivered across three venues, Adelaide Oval, Norwood, and Barossa Valley, the programme was developed and implemented using KOJO’s proprietary FanX Framework, which designs experiences across six key phases of the fan journey. This included a fully participatory laser and lighting pre-match show, bespoke club content packages, interactive digital touch-points, and on-ground brand activations that added genuine value to the experience.
The results: 265,011 attendees across four sold-out days. 45,847 visitors, with interstate fans making up 33%. Over 50,000 fans interacted with in-venue content. Club ownership of the experience was praised across the board. Sponsors saw higher engagement and relevance. And fans, from loyal members to first-time visitors, described it as “the most exciting footy experience of their life.”
The engagement programme didn’t just entertain, it connected, included, and built long-term value. Designed to be repeatable and scalable, it set a new benchmark for how major sporting events can engage fans in ways that are memorable, meaningful, and measurable.
Beyond Sports and the NHL HOCKEYVERSE
Beyond Sports, a data visualization company operating at the intersection of sports and technology, partnered with the NHL to launch NHL HOCKEYVERSE. The company created a first-of-its-kind animated data visualization series to reimagine how the NHL engaged new and existing young fans, delivering on-ice action in an innovative and authentic way. Through this concept, the NHL aimed to unlock more value from its NHL EDGE Puck and Player tracking data, blending it with partner IP and serialized content.
A fully immersive, virtual world, NHL HOCKEYVERSE hosted serialized short-form content, weekly broadcasts, and NHL Club activations. “NHL HOCKEYVERSE Matchup of the Week” teleported audiences into an animated environment, presenting 30-minute programs that recapped NHL regular-season matchups in an exciting youth-centric format. Additionally, regionally broadcast animated telecasts were distributed in real-time, tailored to each team’s fan base, creating growth opportunities for the League, teams, and their partners. Notably, this was the first time a major sports league had piloted multiple regional data visualization productions.
The significant social engagement and viewership figures confirmed the success of NHL HOCKEYVERSE in showcasing the value of serialized virtual content and effectively contributed to the growth of the NHL’s younger fanbase at local, national, and international levels.
Gen10 – Brentford Football Club
In December 2024, Brentford FC launched Gen10, a £10 junior ticket price cap to keep football affordable for the next generation of fans and their families. With rising prices and slashed concessions becoming commonplace, Gen10 is our commitment to ensuring the next generation grows up in love with the game, not priced out of it.
Brentford now subsidises the cost of a junior ticket to watch the Bees in the Premier League to £10, whether that’s Brentford fans supporting the club on the road or an away fan visiting the Gtech Community Stadium.
The move is a result of comprehensive fan consultation on away attendances, concluding that more could be done to bring under-18s and their families back to Brentford away games. Alongside junior away tickets across the league costing as much as £25, the numbers of younger fans had dwindled due to perceptions that away ends were an intimidating, negative experience. Our response was to give fans more choice with family-friendly seating, with Gen10 making this choice affordable.
Early results were overwhelmingly positive with a 58% increase in junior attendance for the first three Gen10 away games, with national media coverage at launch.
2024 Abu Dhabi Spartan Beast World Championship – Abu Dhabi Sport Council
The 2024 Abu Dhabi Spartan Beast World Championship reimagined fan engagement in one of the most challenging environments on Earth—the Al Wathba desert. Hosted by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council in collaboration with Spartan Race, the event brought together elite athletes and adventure seekers from over 50 countries for a weekend of competition, culture, and community.
To enhance the fan experience, we transformed the traditional race setting into a fully immersive “Spartan Village,” featuring obstacle simulators, shaded lounges, family zones, and cultural showcases. RFID wristbands offered fans real-time tracking and personalized digital content, while the event microsite and social media integrations allowed global audiences to participate in live polls, behind-the-scenes content, and athlete interactions.
Emirati heritage played a central role in the fan journey, with traditional music, falconry, and local cuisine woven into the event experience. Sponsors were actively integrated through digital contests, hydration challenges, and interactive media booths.
This holistic approach created a vibrant, inclusive festival atmosphere that connected fans on-site and around the world to the grit and spirit of Spartan racing—while showcasing Abu Dhabi as a global hub for endurance sports innovation and cultural fusion.
Australian Open and Roland-Garros – Infosys
The AI Stadium and Generative AI Poster Challenge significantly elevated fan engagement at both Roland-Garros and the Australian Open. At the Infosys Fanzone, over 16k fans immersed themselves in the AI Stadium experience, designing personalized virtual tennis courts using intuitive prompts. This innovative feature appealed to fans across all age groups, offering a unique blend of creativity and technology.
At Roland-Garros, the Generative AI Poster Challenge engaged fans in creating over 50k still and animated AI-generated posters. These creations, inspired by French landmarks and tennis motifs, were showcased in an immersive LED cube, reflecting the tournament’s rich artistic heritage and enhancing cultural connection.
Outcomes were measured through footfall tracking, and direct fan feedback. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with fans praising the immersive, personalized experiences and the seamless integration of AI technology. Testimonials highlighted how these innovations made the events more accessible, memorable, and exciting for diverse audiences.
By combining cutting-edge generative AI with responsible design principles, the solution not only boosted fan interaction but also reinforced Roland-Garros and the Australian Open’s commitment to innovation, creativity, and cultural celebration in today’s evolving digital landscape.
Spartan World Championship 2024 – Abu Dhabi sport council
The Spartan World Championship 2024, hosted by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, delivered a world-class fan engagement experience that went far beyond the racecourse. Held in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, the event attracted thousands of spectators, families, and first-time fans from across the globe, transforming a desert venue into a dynamic hub of sport, culture, and community.The immersive Spartan Festival Village featured obstacle demos, Spartan Kids races, traditional Emirati food and crafts, fitness classes, and live entertainment — inviting everyone, from elite athletes to local families, to be part of the experience. Interactive fan passports, live leaderboards, and family challenges brought spectators into the action, while the Spartan Fan Tracker and behind-the-scenes digital content made it easy to follow and celebrate every athlete.Digital engagement soared, with over 40 million online impressions, 7.5 million video views, and thousands of fan-generated posts using #SpartanAbuDhabi. The event also prioritized inclusivity, with strong female engagement, school visits, and local cultural integration.By blending extreme sport with authentic storytelling and family-focused experiences, the Spartan World Championship 2024 set a new global standard for fan engagement — proving that endurance sport can be as powerful for spectators as it is for those crossing the finish line
