Comment: How League of 72 Redefined EFL Content for Digital Fans

When we helped to re-launch the now-award-winning YouTube channel League of 72 with Sky Bet, our aim was straightforward – make the 72 EFL clubs feel accessible, entertaining, and culturally relevant to digitally native fans, giving a home to content that showcases football clubs, players and managers in a new light.

The project, a partnership between Sky Bet and the EFL, gave us the freedom to experiment with creator-led formats, short-form storytelling, and social-first distribution, producing content that is authentic, shareable, and highly engaging.

Two years since taking the reins, the results speak for themselves. Across Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube Shorts, we’ve amassed 66.8 million views and have nearly doubled the number of new followers across those platforms. We’ve also expanded the League of 72 universe with the launch of a dedicated TikTok channel, which garnered over 1 million views in less than a week and continues to grow at pace.

Engagement has gone beyond numbers. Icons like Usain Bolt and Virgil van Dijk have interacted with our content, while the series has been referenced on Chunkz’ podcast, Miniminter’s Twitch channel and amongst prominent creator football collective Filthy Fellas.

Moments like Emile Heskey hitting ‘The Bin’ in our Wembley Stadium special have cemented themselves in online culture, proving that short-form, social-first content can create enduring, viral moments for fans.

So far, we’ve worked with 38 clubs across the Championship, League One, and League Two, featuring established players, up-and-coming stars, and some of the league’s most notable managers. By giving fans behind-the-scenes access, unique stories, and moments that feel authentic, we’ve made clubs feel more relatable and human.

Returning to Wembley in December, we captured standout content that will roll out across March and April, continuing to engage audiences and maintain cultural relevance.

Not only that but League of 72 shows how rights-holder content can thrive beyond linear formats. For too long, premium content has been confined to scheduled broadcasts, heavily curated for TV audiences. But the digital landscape, particularly social platforms, allows rights holders to experiment, engage new demographics, and create multiple entry points for audiences with their own communities and eco-systems.

Short-form content encourages sharing, conversation, and interaction; creator-led storytelling ensures authenticity; and social-first distribution allows clubs, players, and brands to become part of wider cultural conversations rather than just passive spectators of broadcast schedules.

For sports broadcasters and rights holders, this signals a broader shift – linear remains vital, but it’s no longer the only way to reach audiences. By embracing multi-platform, audience-led approaches, properties can grow reach, drive engagement, and connect with a wider audience base, those who consume content differently and value participation, authenticity, and shareable moments.

At After Party Studios, our challenge now is to continue building on this momentum, pushing boundaries in format, distribution, and storytelling while maintaining the integrity of the sport and its culture.

League of 72 has shown that rights-holder content can be as compelling online as it is on the pitch, and that creative, agile approaches can redefine what success looks like for sports media in the digital era.

By focusing on creator-led formats, short-form storytelling, and social-first distribution, we’ve created a blueprint for the future, one where sports content isn’t ‘just’ consumed, it’s shared, celebrated, and integrated into fans’ everyday lives.

And for the EFL, SkyBet, and the clubs involved, they remain culturally relevant, engage new audiences, and ensure that a more digitally native generation sees these teams as part of their world, far beyond league tables alone.

League of 72 is on YouTube

Dave Horner is head of sport at After Party Studios