As the global sports calendar gathers momentum, 2026, is shaping up to be a defining year not just for competition, but for how sport connects with fans, communities and commercial partners.
With the FIFA World Cup dominating the international agenda, alongside landmark moments across cricket, football and rugby, in both men’s and women’s sport, the scale of opportunity is clear. But so too is the challenge. According to The Sport Industry Group Report 2026, while 71% of fans and 74% of industry professionals feel optimistic about the future of sport, there is a growing concern around affordability, access and the ability for sport to remain meaningful and influential in fans’ lives, as media consumption continues to fragment.
For rights holders, leagues, and brands, 2026 will not be won on reach alone. It will be defined by who can build deeper, more meaningful relationships with fans, before, during and long after the biggest moments take place.
Events to Ongoing Fan Relationships
Major tournaments have always delivered attention. What’s changing is what fans expect in return.
The Sport Industry Group Report highlights that, 67% of fans believe attending live sport could become a luxury within the next five years, driven by rising ticket prices, travel costs and subscription fatigue. That pressure means organisations must rethink value, not simply pricing, but experience, access and participation.
The shift is already influencing how domestic competitions and governing bodies approach growth. Threepipe partners with the England and Wales Cricket Board across flagship cricket properties such as The Hundred and The Vitality Blast and works closely with Surrey County Cricket Club. The focus for these clients is increasingly on building year-round engagement, using content, community initiatives and data-led communications, to turn matchday interest into long-term membership.
The Hundred’s evolution is particularly instructive. Launched as a bold attempt to broaden cricket’s appeal, it has demonstrated how format innovation, entertainment-led storytelling and a strong digital presence can attract new audiences without alienating traditional fans. In 2025, Threepipe Reply’s integrated full-funnel strategy helped deliver record women’s attendance of 349,000, the highest ever for a women’s cricket competition, and overall ticket sales of 580,000. With 4 venues setting a new attendance record. Viewership also climbed significantly for The Hundred last year, with Sky Sports up 38% year-on-year and BBC online streams rising from 1.6m to 2.2m.
These results aren’t just proof of concept. They highlight the opportunity and urgency for 2026: converting that mass reach into sustained loyalty.
Domestic Sport Under Global Scrutiny
While global events dominate headlines, domestic sport is increasingly judged against international benchmarks.
Fans now compare everything, from ticket journeys to content quality, against the best experiences they encounter anywhere. That expectation gap matters. The Sport Industry Group Report 2026 shows that 52% of fans would support new or breakaway competitions if they offered better access, transparency or entertainment, a clear signal that loyalty can no longer be taken for granted.
This is not just a challenge for cricket and football, but for sport as a whole. Heritage alone no longer guarantees relevance. Modern fandom is shaped online, sustained through community and reinforced by relevance.
Women’s Sport: From Momentum to Maturity
Women’s sport enters 2026 with undeniable momentum, but also clear expectations.
32% of fans say their interest in women’s sport has grown over the past year, and over half of industry professionals believe women’s sport now offers better value to brands than second-tier men’s competitions.
However, the research is equally clear that the next phase of growth will not happen by default. Investment, visibility and long-term storytelling remain critical barriers. During Threepipe’s work across the Women’s Super League and The Football Association, the focus has shifted from simply increasingly exposure to building recognisable narratives, rivalries and fan habits that persist across seasons.
That shift is already delivering tangible results. A more integrated, full-funnel approach to media and creative has helped support sell-outs at three consecutive Women’s FA Cup finals, whilst improving efficiency and reach across the wider football calendar, including Lionesses fixtures, Wembley Stadium tours and grassroots initiatives. Crucially, performance gains have come alongside stronger engagement, with year-on-year improvements on ad spend and meaningful growth in participation-focused activity, reinforcing that long-term fandom is built through consistency, relevance and connection, not peaks of attention alone.
Data, Technology and the Future Fan
Technology sits at the centre of sport’s next chapter, but with nuance.
While innovation is widely welcomed, there is a growing concern about balance. 80% of fans support restrictions on social media use for under-16s, while both fans and professionals agree that technology should enhance the sporting experience without eroding its humanity.
For rights holders and brands, this reinforces the need for smarter, more responsible use of data and platforms. Streaming, social and second-screen behaviours offer unprecedented insight into fan behaviour, but trust and relevance will increasingly define success.
Knowing fans better, not just reaching more of them, is becoming the core commercial advantage.
What 2026 will demand from Sport
Across all sports, several themes are already clear:
- Affordability and access will shape loyalty
- Women’s sport will define future best practice
- Domestic competitions will be judged globally
- Data will underpin creativity, not replace it
- Community will matter more than campaigns
Financial performance alone will no longer define success in sport. Fans expect more. Over 72% believe sport has a greater responsibility than other industries to drive positive social change, and more than a quarter say sport-led campaigns have influenced their behaviour.
In a year that sport will be defined by global attention and cultural significance, the brands that thrive will be those that see fans not as audiences, but as communities, and treat connection as a long-term strategy, not a moment in time.
