We keep talking about the same thing every time that we describe our vision for UKFL. You can read basically any blog post we’ve put out and at some point you will hear us talk about having an unparalleled ‘player and fan experience, both on and off the field.’ A good fan experience is absolutely essential to us and that’s why we keep talking about it.
However, that is somewhat vague. Today we are going to try and give a bit more insight into what we are trying to achieve. So, let’s break it down.
What makes a good fan experience?
A good product on the field
Here is the most important part, without a doubt. The catalyst to a good fan experience is that the product they are fans of is good! Our on-field product will be the highest standard of the sport in the UK outside of the annual NFL London games.
Our professional league will host homegrown talent as well as imported players from North America, Europe and beyond. There will be high-quality stadiums and facilities, as well as coaches and officials worthy of a high-quality, professional game. The football on the field will be the first element of us assuring a good fan experience, but that one was obvious!
An authentic American Football gameday experience
Watching great football is the main objective on gameday, but there is so much more than that to look forward to!
We are going to have tailgating to allow for our fan community to make a real day of it. There will be food, drinks, music and likeminded American Football fans, all to expand the gameday hype and start the fun hours before kickoff. If you like burgers, hot dogs and beer, then our pre-game festivities will be perfect for you.
Our goal is to create a recognisable British alternative for those who envy the epic American gameday experience, so grab a couple of chairs, throw them in the car, and we’ll see you outside.
Digital Content and Fantasy Football
You would expect those first two things we’ve spoken about today if you’ve been reading our previous posts, but now we’re going to start diving deeper. When the league launches in 2023, one of the things that we want to really champion is the ability to engage with the league from afar. Of course, we’ll encourage everybody to get down to as many games as they can, but when you aren’t in the stadium experiencing all of the action in person, we still want to provide a good fan experience for you too. That starts with being able to watch the games at home, which we will allow you to do. However, it also goes further than that.
Our digital platform will include highlights and exciting plays from games and we will also have stats and information available online. This all feeds into the fact that we will be supporting UKFL Fantasy Football. You will be able to make leagues, either with your friends or create new friends in our community. This fantasy product will have accurate stats collected from every game and all of the central features you would expect from fantasy football.
Accurate Statistics and Meaningful Data
We have said before that we at UKFL want to create the league that we want to see. Yes, obviously a higher standard of football appeals to any fan at every level of the sport. However, there are definitely some more specific parts of the league we have put our stamp on.
One example of this is our determination to have accurate stats and data that provides some insight for fans, ourselves and analysts alike. There are a few of us in the UKFL team who really love the stats and data of football, and we want to offer that for our league, too. Writing about UKFL will be more meaningful, fantasy football becomes viable, the coverage of the game in real-time will be much more entertaining.
We believe that one of the most important things in making the league have a professional feel is to allow people to follow it and break it down as much as they want. Accurate statistics and data from every game will facilitate fans who are like us to dig into the numbers and their insights will be more interesting and in-depth. That is the type of coverage we would want, so it’s a priority for us to make it possible in our league.
Merchandise
What’s the point in being a fan if you can’t represent!? We will be releasing merchandise for all of the teams before the league launches so that you can show support to your favourite team, whether it is your local side or just the one with the coolest logo or jersey.
Transparency
This is less of a physical offering than the other things we’ve spoken about, but honestly it might be the second or third most important entry on this list… We want to be transparent with our fans. UKFL is a professional league and we want to hold ourselves to professional standards.
The league is set to launch in May 2023, which might sound like a long time, but it isn’t that far away. In the period of time between now and then, those who are here supporting the league early, reading blog posts and watching our social media, will see all the information that we can offer. We will tell you what we’re doing, when we’re doing it and how you can help and get involved as we bring this league to life.
And, of course, there are even more awesome things to look forward to that we haven’t announced just yet. Stay tuned, and we’ll see you in 2023.
