Last year, a <Morning Consult> research report concluded: “Reaching Gen Z should be a point of concern for every single senior sports executive across teams, leagues, media companies, federations, brands, you name it. If you're a key stakeholder in the industry, this is probably something that you should be focusing on1.” They were probably understating the case. For those involved in professional sports, a failure to change and meet the demands of “Zoomers” could present an existential threat.

Gen Z. They’re already here. With a different vocabulary, symbols, rituals and aesthetic choices. It’s a group like no other before it. Digital natives, they have grown up with the notion of being constantly perceived and evaluated – whether in cyberspace or on the street – and therefore the needs to express an identity are paramount, whether online or offline.

Crafting identity requires the right cultural expressions, and no sphere is as rich in them as sport—overflowing with recognizable icons, universally shared moments at scale, and a constant stream of emotionally charged stories that can be shared, reinterpreted, and re-told. These narratives help people articulate who they are, what they stand for, and how they want to be perceived. As Douglas Holt, former head of marketing at Oxford University, has observed, Gen Z approach life as a “Personal Identity Project,” relentlessly optimizing and curating every aspect of their lives for public presentation.

Born between 1997 and 2010, it’s a cohort that already represents 25% of the global population and will control US$12 trillion worth of consumer spending power by 2030. Gen Z is a juggernaut that is beginning to rip through the world of sport, changing the way sport is played, consumed and enjoyed.

Now, the impact is being felt daily by those who govern, participate and/or support sport. Clubs and federations are slowly stumbling to meet a new relationship dynamic. The media is frantically trying to calibrate to the generation’s new desires and consumption behaviours. Brands, to varying degrees of effectiveness, are making Gen Z the center of their marketing activations. Stakeholders in finance, infrastructure and community are scrambling to understand the implications of the new demands.

Before we go further, let's address the elephant in the room: the misconception that Gen Z doesn't engage with sport. They’re too busy taking selfies and listening to K-Pop. The fact is Gen Z is producing the most diverse, gender-balanced, engaged and invested sports community in history. They are watching more sport than any previous generation, according to research by US consultancy <Two Circles>. Their analysis revealed Gen Z sports fans follow more sports than older generations. On average, 4.7 sports compared to 2.3 for the average Boomer (born 1946-1964) sports fan. More than double.

World Cup in Qatar both attracted around 65% of the global Gen Z population, the Paris Olympics, an even higher share. In the UK, 73% of Gen Z work out at least twice a week. A third global running boom is being driven by Gen Z. Especially by young women. In the UK, over 1.1 million people entered the 2026 London Marathon ballot, nearly double two years prior, with participants aged 18–29 comprising more than one-third of entries. It's not just running that’s booming.

The Gen Z response to the constraints and mental health challenges of Covid has been to embrace the outdoors. Climbing, trail running, hiking and water sports have seen participation rates skyrocket, driven by a generation of young men and women who are finding serenity and spirituality in the great outdoors. In China, it is estimated the population that engages in outdoor sports is now close to 500 million.

New global powerhouse brands, built around expectations for Gen Z consumers are emerging from outside the traditional European homesteads for outdoor brands. Kailas from China, Kolon from Korea, On from Switzerland and Goldwin from Japan understand the storytelling, aesthetic and social needs of the Gen Z consumers and are challenging the legacy brands.

What distinguishes the winning brands is their connection to history, culture, society and, in particular, an understanding of the identity needs of the Generation. Horizon Media Research claims 91% of 18- 25-year-olds believe mainstream pop culture is a thing of the past. The internet means even those with the most niche interests can find a like-minded tribe.

Sport subcultures appeal to Gen Z as they provide differentiated identity from the mainstream and allow them to distinguish themselves from prevailing orthodoxies and stand out. Sports subcultures are the readiest and best tool for identity creation amongst the Gen Z audience.

It is brands with a visible and meaningful subcultural commitment that are kicking ass. The sportswear behemoths of Nike, Adidas and Under Armour are struggling to meet the audience demands of authenticity within subcultures, mainly due to their multi-sports profile. The winners are focused and vertical, presenting their brand as authentic sub-cultural expression. They have meaning. They help Gen Z communicate their values and their differentiation. They offer belonging, a sense of community built around shared purpose.

Gen Z is looking beyond product-centric functional or technical excellence you may possess; they want to know who you are, what you represent, what you stand for and whether you are, as a brand, authentically engaged - ethically, morally, spiritually and purposefully. In a nutshell, you need to tell your story. Let people in. Turn yourselves inside out. Expose your soul and invite people inside your brand with romance, mutual curiosity and a visceral love of your sport. Build allies in your purpose; a purpose that should entail enacting positive change within sport.

There is little doubt of the major global sports leagues, the NBA is far and away the leader in building relationships and affinity within Generation Z. The NBA's core brand strategy is to transcend the traditional role of a sports league and become a cultural force. That means the league is not just selling basketball games. They are presenting a set of values and creating a community. While other sports leagues focus predominantly on maximising media rights – essentially B-to-B activity - the NBA has gone direct to the consumer. Offering them community and access to take a powerful presence in their lives.

Much of the genius of the NBA brand lies in its ability to consistently reduce the barriers between the fan and the player. To allow the Gen Z fan frictionless access, with behind- -the-scenes coverage and taking the shackles off their star athletes to them to build their own presence and personalities, free of restrictive or prescriptive league “branding”. Fans are told of the importance of their own voice, with extensive opportunities to be heard. The Gen Z fan feels they have “skin in the game”.

NBA’s approach begins with the understanding that loyalties are formed early. Research shows that 50% of sports fandom is set by the age of 14. The NBA has adopted a number of strategies to be present in the lives of consumers as they form these loyalties including a major investment in the kid’s social media platform Zigazoo. It’s part of an overarching objective to meet the audience "Where They Are".

The NBA understands brand meaning. They have successfully contextualised the NBA as a cultural force with a history and an important role in our social existence. Understanding that icons from the sport both in the past – such as Kareem Abdul Jabaar and Bill Russell - and the present – such as LeBron James and Steph Curry - have transcended the sport and are meaningful in a social context. The organisations support of civil rights causes – such as Black Lives Matter – continues an authentic position as an agent of change in sport and society.

They have embraced basketball’s intersections with other subcultures of music, fashion, film and technology to present cultural expressions that Gen Z use in more intensive identity building. In this way, the NBA serves as a platform—a macro-brand—that validates and amplifies numerous micro-subcultures. For instance, gaming and esports. The NBA 2K league and the massive following of NBA 2K streamers and content creators on platforms like Twitch and YouTube are a phenomenon for Gen Z gamers and serve to add scale, dimension, cohesion and excitement to the community.

And it works. According to an AdAge-Harris poll, the NBA has surpassed the NFL in fan preference among Gen Z, with "53% of Generation Z... NBA fans, compared to 49% who prefer the NFL." This is particularly significant given the NFL's long-standing dominance in the U.S.

There’s a cautionary tale for those brands that remain immersed in behavioural data as the basis of their marketing strategy. The world’s most successful sports brand Nike was built on brand meaning. The resistance ideology at the heart of the brand offered consumers the opportunity to communicate their own rebellious attitude by wearing the product on or off field. Years of brilliant, athlete-focused storytelling positioned in tension points in society built a cultural force. Race relations, gender discrimination and disability issues were embraced as the brand stood by its principles to break down the social barriers and build not just a consumer-base but a community of like-minded people.

Perhaps one of the greatest ironies comes from the fact that as a generation emerged that craves meaning from their consumer choices more than any other previously, Nike abandoned storytelling in pursuit of a pseudo-scientific, behavioural data marketing model.

CEO John Donahoe appointed in 2019 had earned his stripes leading online marketplace e-bay and an executive had determined during Covid that online transactional relationships was the future. Moving the consumer from consideration to conversion to transaction all based on behavioural data became the all-consuming strategy. Consumers became data points. Dystopian constructs and methodologies such as performance marketing, programmatic marketing, digital funnels and consumer journeys became the strategic tools. The brand lost touch with sport. Nike marketers became managers of tech stacks as opposed to architects of meaning.

Donahoe turned Nike into a digital transaction engine, but in doing so, severed its connection to sport as culture causing the brand to lose meaning, margin and momentum. The prevailing ideology was undermined; Nike’s commitment to resistance eroded as its principles reconstituted around consumerism. A strategy antithetical to Gen Z’s key values of sustainability and authenticity. Nike lost US$40 million in market capitalisation under the ex-ebay executive.

Meaningful storytelling wins Gen Z. And so Nike returned to its embedded position in culture as Donahoe was dismissed in October 2024 and replaced by Nike veteran Elliott Hill. On his appointment Hill was quoted: “We haven't been maximising our strengths. Moving forward, we will lead with sport and put the athlete at the centre of every. decision. We will get back to leveraging deep athlete insights to accelerate innovation, design, product creation and storytelling.”

Hill is beginning to have an impact as Nike marked a stunning return to form with the launch of a signature shoe for WNBA star A’Ja Wilson in May 2025. All product was sold out in a dizzying five minutes and serves as the ultimate proof of concept for Nike’s return to its roots. This wasn't a product launch driven by behavioral data or digital funnels; it was a masterclass in athlete-centric storytelling and cultural resonance.

Athlete-centric storytelling is not only Nike’s heritage but a strategy built for Gen Z. To this new generation, athletes are the magnets. Take the world’s favourite game, football. Global fans are far more invested in players than they are in teams – whether at a local, regional or local level. For instance, Cristiano Ronaldo has more Instagram followers than the 20 English Premier League teams combined. Followers of Al Nassr, his Saudi club, rose from 800,000 to 7m on his signing. But in Japan, Brighton winger Karou Mitoma has more followers than Ronaldo and Messi combined.

As the advisory ‘Nielsen’ pointed out. “The point of entry to immersive sports experiences and for the transition from passive to avid fan is the elite competitor.” And Gen Z wants to know everything about them. Where they shop, what they eat, how they socialise… and of course their love lives. The tsunami of streaming platform athlete-centric storytelling documentaries take us inside the living room of David Beckham, out for a drink with Conor McGregor or a visit to the beautician with Emma Radacanu. Gen Z wants to know the real person, authentic stories of the fallible human behind the superhuman.

<Formula 1, Drive to Survive>, now in its 6th season on Netflix, is a global phenomenon that has replaced the traditional “petrol-head’ audience with a newly, enthusiastically engaged Gen Z crowd. In the US, the 18–24-year-old audience increased by 34% after Series 1. They are drawn by the presentation and, occasionally, deconstruction of archetypal heroes such as Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Zhou Guanyu. Gen Z is devouring this content, and demanding more, with an Ampere analysis uncovering 78% of Indian sports fans are regular watchers of sport documentaries. In China, the figure was 75%.

The NBA has embraced athlete-centric storytelling by making the player the subcultural and relationship hub. The NBA understands that its athletes are the portals into the sport and provide authentic link to various other subcultures of interest. James Harden and Russell Westbrook aren't just basketball players; they are fashion icons. Damian Lillard (Dame D.O.L.L.A.) is a bona fide music artist. The league allows and even encourages this, knowing that the players' personal brands are a direct line into adjacent sub-cultures and thereby offer access to other identity building tools.

Any strategy for sports brands must also recognise the changing consumption habits of Gen Z. They engage everywhere. They watch, follow or participate in sport through a wide variety of touchpoints. A hybrid media approach is required. And short form content will be consumed across multiple platforms. Of course, live broadcast is critical. Of course, social is unavoidable. But increasingly, marketers need to pay attention to a raising demand for engagement in the real world.

In the digital era, Gen Z are increasingly prioritising ‘non-screen experiences’. Experiential marketing, built around memorable storytelling, not only satisfies a rising desire for more person-to-person engagement but also become a platform for content creation. Gen Z likes nothing more than access, intimacy and the opportunity to share their exclusive experience across their own social media channels. What better way to demonstrate status, knowledge and purpose as they curate and share their life?

Few have executed experiential marketing for Gen Z better than Adidas and their global re-launch the iconic adidas Originals sneaker line including the Samba and Gazelle. The campaign cantered on pop-up, multi-sensory "Originals experiences” in key global cities of London, New York and Tokyo. These were not just stores, but curated environments designed to be highly shareable and participatory, including a “Creator’s Studio” where visitors could generate high quality UGC(User Generated Content). Data from social listening tools showed a 300% increase in positive sentiment and brand mentions for "Adidas Originals" during the campaign period. A massive shift in affinity. Plus, a 15% lift in Originals year-on-year sales.

It’s time to challenge the transactional, behavioural data-driven marketing technologies that has become endemic across the sports industry. Marketing is not science. It’s the art of storytelling. In the case of Gen Z, stories that help in the construction of their own “Personal Identity Project”. Focus needs to be on the creation and augmentation of brand meaning. Understanding the social and cultural conditions of your consumer, not just their buying behaviours. Brands must be authentic in their actions and be seen to be committed to making sport better.

To connect authentically with Gen Z all brands must embrace a deeper connection with the cultural and social circumstances surrounding their audiences to create meaning and relevance. They must embrace the needs for identity, authenticity and meaning of Gen Z.

For professional sports organizations, in the end, the challenge is to stop thinking like a traditional B2B service provider, with media rights as the dominating product, and embrace a full-throated, fan-first B2C mentality.

For too long, leagues have treated their most important stakeholders—the fans—as a secondary concern, a mere data point to be sold to advertisers. A transactional relationship, not a romantic one. Now, the new mandate is clear: the sports themselves are just a portal; the real business is building direct, meaningful relationships that help a new generation articulate their own identity.

This requires professional sports to surgically dismantle the barriers to intimacy they have spent a century building. The old-school mantra of "protecting the brand" by shielding athletes and controlling every message is now the very thing that makes a brand irrelevant.

The new client for the leagues isn't a broadcaster or a corporate sponsor; it's the Gen Z consumer themselves. Your job is to provide them with the raw materials for their "Personal Identity Project." And success will be measured not just in viewership numbers, but in the number of times your brand is woven into the personal narratives of a generation.

All sports leagues should remember, their most valuable assets aren't media rights, but the fallible, imperfect, and incredibly human athletes who play the game. They are not just your stakeholders; they are the chief storytellers of your subculture. They are the conduits of meaning, the cultural hubs that Gen Z wants to connect with.

And while you are getting comfortable with this new dynamic, remember that the clock is already ticking. The next frontier, Generation Alpha, is already in the game, and their expectations will again require further calibration and an even deeper focus on meaning. The time for change is now, not just to survive, but to stay ahead of the game.