Tottenham joined Reddit last summer. Arsenal launched their official account this February. Zero fanfare, no press releases announcing “exciting new channels.” They just showed up where their fans already were.
And that matters more than most clubs realise.
Reddit isn’t a broadcast channel, it’s a conversation you’re joining
What makes Reddit different from your X feed or Instagram carousel? The communities already exist. r/coys (Tottenham’s subreddit) has been running since 2010. Arsenal’s fan community wasn’t waiting for permission to discuss the club – they’ve been doing it for years.
When Spurs made their first post, they didn’t announce themselves with a statement. They spotted someone posting about their new kit and jumped into that conversation. That’s the move. You don’t own the space, so you lean into what’s already happening and pick your moments.
Arsenal’s taking the same approach: behind-the-scenes content, player AMAs with William Saliba, breaking news. They’re not treating it like another distribution channel for the same content that goes everywhere else. They’re building something specific to the platform.
The anonymous fan problem meets community platform shift
Most football clubs have no idea who 70-80% of their fans actually are. They’re consuming content, showing up in viewing figures, engaging on social media, but remaining completely anonymous to the organisation. That’s a £100,000 to £5 million problem depending on your size, and Reddit’s community structure offers something different.
It’s not about data capture in the traditional sense. It’s about participating in conversations where your most engaged supporters already spend hours debating team selection, transfer strategy, and match analysis. The clubs that understand this aren’t trying to extract data – they’re building genuine engagement through interactive content that turns anonymous audiences into known communities.
What other clubs should actually do
Stop treating every platform like it requires the same content strategy. Reddit works because it’s built around specific interest communities with their own rules, culture, and expectations. Your corporate announcement format won’t work there.
Start small. Find where your fans are already talking. Join the conversation before announcing yourself. Look for natural entry points: match threads, kit launches, transfer speculation. Contribute something valuable rather than broadcasting.
Most importantly, recognise this isn’t just about adding another social channel. Both North London clubs are experimenting with how they engage fans on platforms that prioritise community over broadcast reach. That’s the pattern clubs should watch, not the specific platform choice, but the willingness to meet supporters in the spaces they’ve already claimed as their own.
The clubs figuring this out early won’t just have better Reddit strategies. They’ll understand how fan engagement is shifting across every platform, and they’ll stop wondering why 76% of their audience remains anonymous.
