Socially led creative agency We Are Social has released a new report, “Winning Fans & Feeds in APAC”, to help sponsors, rights holders, marketers, and broadcasters understand the cultural trends shaping sport and fandom in the region.
With several major sporting events set to take place locally and globally in 2026, more than half a billion people across APAC are expected to engage with sports, generating around 10.8 billion online conversations.
The report identifies the key cultural trends influencing sport’s evolution, how these trends impact fandom, and how brands can connect with audiences in a new era of social-first sports entertainment.
”Across APAC, fans are no longer just spectators. They’re also collaborators in the culture of sport,” said Suzie Shaw, APAC CEO at We Are Social.
“Whether it’s turning matches into viral social moments or celebrating the women who are changing the game, fandom here is vibrant, fast-moving and deeply connected. Winning Fans & Feeds in APAC is rich with insight about how brands can meet fans where they live — online and in culture.”
Shifts in the Landscape
As the sports landscape continues to evolve, the report outlines four shifts brands should understand to capitalize on the moment. We Are Social provided the following highlights from the report:
Energy in the intersections
Sport is becoming a shared global resource for infinite cultural remixing, and the outputs spread like wildfire on social media. Deep subcultures and niches are fueling cultural products of their own in fashion, music and art by creating crossover moments and movements between sport and culture.
Entertainment in the algorithm
Sport is becoming equal parts entertainment and performance, with new distributors and platforms contributing to emerging fandom habits. As Netflix gets more involved in sports, fandom is being sparked not only from flagship reality and docu-style television, but even TikTok. Now, sports content and characters are spinning off from the anchor events of games themselves. This shift has elevated athletes as “main characters.”
Across APAC, fans are no longer just spectators. They’re also collaborators in the culture of sport.
Women in the driving seat
Women are taking center court in this next chapter of sports, driving new fandoms, models for engagement, and social storytelling. Female fandom is booming – carving out space in traditionally male-dominated sports, and sparking entire businesses and communities built around a new and underserved audience.
Identity in the divide
Sports fandom and experiences are bifurcating. At one end of the spectrum is luxury, prestige and signaling, and at the other, grassroots, fan-first belonging for “real fans.” As tentpole events become a hotter and hotter ticket, fans focused on the community are developing their own events without all the trappings of an increasingly affluent customer and “luxury” experiences.
In addition to outlining four key trends shaping sport across APAC, the report introduces We Are Social’s proprietary Fandom Fabric methodology — including sport-specific brand archetypes designed to help marketers refine their strategies and maximise fan engagement.
Winning Fans & Feeds in APAC was compiled by We Are Social’s Strategy and Research & Insights team in the region, with guest contributor Grace Gordon. You can download the full report here.
Featured image by Hong Son.
