The Truth About Digital Roles in Sport: 4 things you should know

✨ Digital roles have quietly absorbed everything around them
The old idea of a “social media manager” doesn’t exist. That title now covers what looks more like a hybrid head of brand/creative lead/marketing generalist, often without the team, title, or resourcing. Most clubs rely on 1-3 people covering men’s and women’s programmes, pathways, commercial, activations, pressers, design, photography, videography, editing, publishing, live coverage, plus the traditional marketing tasks and internal tasks no one sees. It’s multiple specialist roles squeezed into one, still publicly framed as “doing socials"

✨ Internal stakeholders shape more of the strategy than fans ever see
Digital strategy is only as strong as the access, alignment and trust inside the building. The clubs fans praise as “authentic” or “human” are usually the ones where digital is backed to experiment, players lean in, and departments aren’t fighting for control. Behind the scenes, digital staff spend huge energy advocating for what they know will work, pushing for access, protecting creative ideas, and doing it without becoming “the grumpy one.” The job is a constant negotiation between the internal world they navigate and the external consistency fans expect.

✨ Sponsored content is the hardest content to make work
Everyone wants sponsored content that feels natural: fans, partners, internal teams. But digital staff work within tight constraints: pre-set deliverables, fixed messaging, talent availability, compliance, approvals, brand rules and timelines they don’t control. They’re still judged on performance, even when they didn’t shape the brief, choose the idea, or have the freedom (or budget) to make it truly creative. The work is a balancing act between protecting the audience, adding value for the partner, and keeping the feed alive, all at the same time.

✨ The emotional labour behind digital roles is bigger than anyone realises
People see the fun reels, the human moments, not the emotional load. Digital staff work nights, weekends, away trips - all inside an online environment that never switches off: moderating comments, hiding abuse, tracking sentiment, and protecting players after tough weeks. Your phone becomes everyone’s access point, 10pm “inspo”, late deliverables, urgent approvals during family time, and the expectation you’re across every storyline in real time. The off-season no longer exists, there’s always a signing, a launch, a leak, a crisis, a campaign. Many quietly mute club channels on their personal accounts just to get some headspace.

Layered over all of it is an unspoken belief that digital roles are “passion jobs", that loving the team is enough compensation for the workload, emotional pressure, and constant visibility. But passion isn’t a resourcing strategy, and the emotional labour behind these roles deserves proper recognition, salary, boundaries, and support.