Sports fans turn Twitter into the world’s stadium

The resumption of the EPL season, as well as Asia Pacific fan favourite Liverpool’s path to the EPL championship, saw Liverpool fans across Asia Pacific quickly returning to gameday shape, driving a peak of 207K Tweets in Asia Pacific on Liverpool’s match days.

Passionate in their love of the beautiful game, football fans were not deterred by the lack of sporting activity during COVID-19. With Thai and international leagues re-started, Thai football fans are again in full swing joining lively and passionate conversations on Twitter.

Right now, Twitter is the only place that fans can watch and talk about sports, and sports conversations have reached new heights accordingly. Sports are a powerful topic on Twitter. In Thailand, there were 10.8 million Tweets about sports between Q1-Q3 2020, with 3 million of those coming during Q3 alone.

“Twitter and sports have brought out the best of each other for years,” said Maurizio Barbieri, Head of Sports and Gaming Partnerships for SEA and Greater China at Twitter. “During this time, when sports fans can’t go to the events in person, they’ve turned Twitter into the largest sports venue in the world. The passion of sports fans on Twitter has never been higher, and the experience has never been better - any fans that are not yet on Twitter may not be getting the full experience.”

From tactics and score lines to performance, analysis, transfer window action and more, these conversations are taking place daily on Twitter in Thailand. Here, we take a look at 5 ways Thai football fans are leveraging Twitter’s power of conversation.

1) Live action and real-time conversations

Whether streaming or watching matches on TV, the live football experience is the pinnacle of sports viewing for many-a-football-fan, and a weekend tradition for millions around the world. The pre-match build up and game vibe plays out on Twitter as Thai fans Tweet moment-by-moment, pass-by-pass, providing real-time commentary of the on-pitch action.

2) Talk tactics and analysis
Fans on Twitter discuss team tactics and strategy before and after games. They Tweet about team selection, set-up and game-day tactics, while between matches they talk about what strategy and game plan would be best to beat the next team.

3) Results and league standings
It's not just about the final whistle. Throughout matches football fans Tweet about the goals and update the score line. At half-time, conversations centre around the current score and tactics for the second-half, while at full-time people Tweet in celebration (or frustration) at their team's performance.

Fans soon turn their attention to the next game, however, and also Tweet about the current league position of their team and that of their rivals.

4) Performance review
The post game excitement can be short-lived as passionate fans quickly turn to analyse their team's performance and that of key players and the coach. While attention is often focussed on those who score, or didn't, key moments – both positive and negative – are discussed in detail amongst friends and fellow supporters.

More and more broadcasters, leagues and teams are sharing game highlights on Twitter. Short video clips of specific moments such as goals, skillful displays, near misses and more are Tweeted out speedily to sate fans' appetite and stimulate further conversation.

5) Transfer news
Transfer windows are a time when football fans turn Twitter into a frenzy of sporting activity with lively discussions about which players fans think their team should be buying. Conversations around players' suitability, skillset, age and price are some of the topics hotly debated, and intensity peaks as transfer windows near close.

For avid football fans around Thailand, here are some must-follow Twitter accounts and ways to ensure you're in-the-know, all the time:

1) Thai football
In addition to the many Thai team-specific accounts, check out the official account for Thai League 1 (@thaileague) where you can keep up-to-date with happenings, results, schedules and rankings. Also don’t forget to cheer #Thailand and follow the men's national team (@Changsuek_TH) for the latest team and training updates as well as results and rankings.

2) Thai football stars
Many of Thailand's leading football stars, past and present, are active on Twitter and regularly share insight into happenings in the sport, as well as their personal lives. Representing the national team and currently playing in Japan's J-League, “Jay” Chanathip Songkrasin (@Chanathipjay) Tweets about not only his footballing career but also about his non-football lifestyle and happenings in Japan. Thai pro Charyl Chappuis (@CharylChappuis) Tweets about not only football but also shares his opinions about other sports, while Mika Chunuonse (@Chunuonsee16), who previously played in the Welsh Premier League and currently plies his trade with True Bangkok United Football Club, Tweets about his matches as well as international football leagues.

3) Thai commenters and news sources
Fans looking for in-depth analysis, opinions and match talk from knowledgeable and independent sources can follow footballing gurus such as Jackie Adisorn (@jackie14AP), Bubble Yingrak (@BubbleYingrak) and Kiang Nantakwang (@nantakwang). Media outlets such as @Goal_TH and Siam Sport's @TL_online also provide a wealth of Thai language content about everything football in Thailand and overseas.

4) International football leagues
Thais are passionate not only for their local leagues and teams, most are also huge supporters of players and teams overseas. Teams in the English Premier League are some of the most popular and Thai fans can follow the league's activities at @premierleague. Other popular leagues to follow are Spain's LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) - who also have a Thai language account, @LaLigaTH – Italy's Serie A (@SerieA_EN) and Germany's Bundesliga (@Bundesliga_EN).

5) Twitter Topics
By following a Topic on Twitter you are able to see all the conversations relating to that topic, without having to follow hundreds of individual accounts. And for football, Twitter has you covered; try following Topics for English Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A and Bundesliga. There are also many Topics for international footballers, just search the football star by name on Twitter and the Topic will appear at the top of the search.