Can football teams gain the world without losing their soul?
Or how I accidentally became a Catalan purist
Previously on The Good Football:
Why I’m sick of seeing people make the business case for women’s football
Guaraná Antarctica aces impactful sponsorships
Hello to The Good Football OG crew and welcome to everyone who’s new! I’m assuming most of you arrived here through RISERVE, and I take this opportunity to thank
again for featuring me there. In case you haven’t read it, you can find my Q&A here.Before we begin, I feel the need to address the fact that I am, in fact, a die-hard Club Athletico Paranaense supporter, even though this didn’t really come up in that interview. I guess they really hurt me last year, haha. But behold, my heart is broken but still belongs to my Furacão.
Ok, let’s get into it.
This week, I came across a discussion on LinkedIn that made me stop and think, which is rare in these doom-scrolling days, especially in the sea of ego trips and corporate clichés that LinkedIn can be. It was about using English instead of Catalan in Barça Femení’s communication channels, like they do on the men’s platforms, and defending the importance of equally promoting them to the international audience.
You see, I tend to get fiery about the different treatment that the men’s and women’s teams get in some aspects, but for some reason, this post hit a nerve and made me feel very protective toward the team and... Catalan???
Suddenly I found myself staring at my computer screen, holding my coffee cup in shock after passionately writing a comment making my case for why I think they should actually continue writing in Catalan.
Am I... becoming one of them? 😳
My point was ultimately about branding, so I’m still me. Phew. But the fact of the matter is that, after all these years living in Barcelona, Catalan culture has quietly made its way into my heart. Surely, part of it is because I’ve been more intentional about finding ways to be more integrated into the local community lately. But I have no doubt that Barça Femení played a big role in my Catalanization process, if you will.
I’ve written here before about how I found the experience of FC Barcelona’s women’s team very different from the men’s, which ultimately made me a fan. The fact that it feels more authentic rather than touristy, with more local families at the stadium and mostly Catalan being spoken around you, is part of the magic. And this is brand experience, too.
Through Barça Femení—one of the world’s most recognized and successful women’s teams, with incredible international players—I connected with Catalan culture and became more integrated into the local community.
At its best, football builds community, forms a sense of belonging, and positively influences culture.
It’s not that switching from Catalan to English on social media will kill the Barça Femení magic. Or that I don’t want it to grow and take over the world. That was just a door to a bigger reflection. It’s about how football teams, or any football brands really, can encapsulate what makes them unique as the foundation of their brand and let that captivate the world.
Why local identity matters in branding
In the ultra-connected and globalized planet we have been living it for the past decades, there seems to be a rising interest and draw to what feels comfortable, familiar, and nostalgic. It’s in fashion, the ads, the old TV show re-runs and reunions we consume, in the retro football kits taking over the streets and screens, and more.
One of the most recent and potent cultural manifestations of this was Bad Bunny’s new album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. An ode to his culture and the Puerto Rico he knew as a child, but also a stand against gentrification. The short movie he released with the album portrays that beautifully.
And football naturally reflects society.
What does this mean for football?
The more a football team embraces its origins and community as part of its brand’s unique value proposition, the stronger its potential to thrive internationally. There are a few clubs out there already leveraging their local “sauce” as brand and communication power.
Bohemian FC keeps its fan-owned origin legacy alive by positioning itself as universally inclusive. They collaborate with local artists and grassroots movements and recently released a jersey in partnership with Guinness, which promotes their Irish identity, with ten percent (10%) of the profits going to their social inclusion projects.
Since being taken over by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham AFC has embraced storytelling that revolves around the town, its people, and the club’s underdog journey. Their content often highlights local history, fan voices, and the broader community impact, which can also be seen in their docu-series.
FC St. Pauli has built a brand around social activism, anti-fascism, and its countercultural identity. Their comms consistently reinforce values of inclusivity and community engagement. The club’s punk and leftist aesthetics also gives them a distinct brand identity, easily recognizable in the international football scene.
Como FC’s Instagram showcases its community of local, and international, fans and their connection to the team.
Athletic Club (Bilbao) is deeply tied to Basque identity, with a unique player policy of only signing Basque-born or trained players. Their branding and communications reinforce this commitment to their community and culture, making them a symbol of Basque pride. They also invest in youth development through Lezama, which is a core part of their identity, similar to what Barça FC does with La Masia.
Maybe we should be taking more photos
When it comes to local, grassroots, small-medium, or even women’s football teams, as fans, we usually find ourselves torn between wanting them to thrive and protecting the good things that usually can’t stand the test of growth.
Maybe, as Benito sang in DtMF, we should be taking more photos and savoring the time we have now before all the things we like become mainstream. But maybe there is also a way of finding the perfect balance and building strong football brands that gain the world without losing their soul. And maybe current global trends that point to comfort culture, nostalgia, fandom, community, in-person experiences, and niche communication might help us get there.
(And this might be a little spoiler for the 2025 Trend Report that is currently under construction. 👀)
THE GOOD LINKS
👨🏻 The only news that matters right now.
👀 This paid partnership between Nike and
.💪🏿 This awesome mom.
💡 This read on greenwashing and more from
.🟰 This article by
on what Lewes FC’s mission statement represents.💫 This piece about YLA, a women’s team that was created to be different. A great read about brand authenticity found on last week’s
.♻️ This video explaining how Brentford FC educated their staff on sustainability and the impact of climate change in football.
🌊 Betis doing it again.
📼 The Nike Superbowl ad generated a lot of buzz, but this Adidas one was it for me.
COMPLETELY OFFSIDE
I thought I’d add this section here to share one or more links that are not football-related but still worth sharing.
😮💨 This Quincy Jones NTS show is incredible.
A very good read!
Loved it!