Is the world of sport boycotting influencers? What recent measures introduced by clubs and major events tell us

Borussia Dortmund launched its new Fan Mode during last week’s home match against Eintracht Frankfurt. It is a section of the club’s app designed to reward supporters who limit their smartphone use at the Signal Iduna Park: an awareness-raising initiative against hyperconnectivity, a form of digital excess that also thrives inside football stadiums, even though the match should be the main attraction.

A survey conducted by the club in 2023 among 1,000 supporters found that 63% regularly used their phones during matches. The initiative aims to reverse this trend: users who voluntarily register can earn points based on how few times they unlock their phones, with the chance to win signed shirts and gift cards to spend in the Fanshop.

Dortmund’s decision is a bold and seemingly contradictory one, considering that the feature was launched in partnership with Vodafone, the club’s main sponsor and a leading mobile telecommunications company. Vodafone itself is encouraging supporters to enjoy the sporting experience without being controlled by their screens, following the motto here and now. This is precisely the direction being taken by part of the sporting world, and beyond.

The first ban on creators: the Dynamo Dresden case

Dynamo Dresden, a club competing in Germany’s second division, made headlines over the summer after becoming the first team to ban influencers, vloggers and streamers not authorised by the club from its home stadium. Without permission, they are therefore prohibited from producing commercial and monetisable content, such as videos, vlogs and photographs, in the stands of the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion.

The decision, introduced at the beginning of the season, has attracted international attention and already drawn a clear line in the sand, having been officially included in the stadium regulations. The measure allows stewards to escort anyone caught carrying out one of the prohibited activities out of the stadium, although supporters will still be allowed to take photographs and record videos for private, non-commercial use. But how did it come to this?

The turning point was an unpleasant incident that took place last March during the match against Preußen Münster, when German YouTuber NHG Benji, who documents his stadium visits on his social media profiles, was verbally and physically attacked by a group of Dynamo Dresden ultras unhappy with his filming, before being thrown out. The club subsequently banned the YouTuber, stressing that the stadium is a place where the authenticity of the experience should be protected. The incident became the catalyst for a campaign of opposition led by ultras and supporters’ associations against the presence of these figures in stadium stands, with clubs siding with them in this case.

Ultras against smartphones and the Hertha model

The fact that ultras do not like cameras is certainly nothing new. In fact, they could be considered the pioneers of the backlash against phone use inside stadiums. In most cases, particularly in the central areas of terraces and stands, not using a phone is an unwritten rule. There are two main reasons for this: firstly, ultras do not want to be filmed and risk having their faces published on social media without their knowledge, preferring to remain as discreet as possible; secondly, they want to promote an authentic sense of community and preserve the atmosphere that makes a stadium unique.

After listening to its supporters’ concerns, an almost identical measure to the one adopted in Dresden was introduced by Hertha BSC, another major club currently competing in the 2. Bundesliga. The Berlin side, which plays its home matches at the Olympiastadion, announced the decision at the beginning of October with the same intentions.

Initiatives of this kind could only have emerged in a country where protecting football in its healthiest possible form, in every respect, is a constant objective for supporters’ associations, which often receive the backing and support of the clubs themselves.

Wimbledon stops accrediting creators

While these new rules were being introduced in German football, another significant development arrived from the world of tennis and the United Kingdom: from 2027, Wimbledon will no longer grant accreditation to content creators and influencers. Anyone wishing to attend as a spectator will have to purchase a ticket and avoid bringing equipment intended for producing social media content, which would be confiscated. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which hosts the world’s most important tennis tournament, chose this approach following numerous complaints from players. During the most recent edition of the US Open, Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff said they had been distracted and disturbed by flashes, ring lights and excessive noise coming from the stands and caused by influencers.

In New York, players who were repeatedly interrupted during matches explicitly called for greater education and respect for the sport. Yet the commercialisation drive had been encouraged by the United States Tennis Association itself, with the tournament organiser granting around one hundred accreditations to influencers, twice as many as the previous year. The more or less explicit goal was to create a “Coachella effect”, recalling the music festival that attracts armies of content creators throughout its run. The situation, however, appears to have spiralled out of control. This is why Wimbledon has introduced preventive measures aimed at keeping out figures who appear unaware of where they are and of the sense of reverence surrounding tennis, particularly its most traditional tournament.

Banning phones at concerts

In the music world, several artists, taking the opposite approach to Coachella, have introduced a ban on smartphone use during concerts. The logic is always the same: to experience the event fully without constantly having a phone raised towards the stage, obstructing the view of other people who, paradoxically, end up watching the show through a screen.

Alicia Keys, for example, has been asking audiences not to use their phones for the past ten years. At the entrance, smartphones are placed inside special soft-neoprene security pouches, where they remain for the duration of the concert. At the end of the event, in a designated area outside the venue, staff use a magnetic device to unlock the pouches and return the electronic devices to their owners.

The same applies to concerts by Bob Dylan, partly to prevent unreleased songs performed live from circulating, and by Phoebe Bridgers, who wants to avoid dystopian scenes during the performance of particularly emotional songs. Meta glasses, cameras, smartwatches and other devices are also banned at shows by Jack White, Dave Chappelle and Childish Gambino, while in Italy Emis Killa organised a concert called “No Phone Party”. This is how artists, supporters, football clubs and tennis organisers are attempting to reinforce the concept of the here and now, encouraging people attending their events to behave more responsibly.