Factors Affecting Children’s Sense of Identity with a Football Team

Abstract

This study explores how children form emotional and social identification with football teams through branding and digital engagement. Drawing on Social Identity Theory, the research investigates how brand-related stimuli influence the attachment and loyalty of children to sports teams. The study uses a qualitative design and semi-structured interviews with 20 junior football players (ages 10–12) from a professional academy in North Cyprus. Thematic analysis was employed to examine the data. Findings reveal four major themes: (1) attending live matches with family as an entry point for fandom, (2) strong emotional bonds with team identity shaped by brand image and perceived relationship quality, (3) expressions of brand identification including emotional reactions to team criticism, and (4) digital engagement through social media as a reinforcing mechanism for loyalty and belonging. These results demonstrate that children construct meaningful brand relationships shaped by social environments, peer influence, and online content. Despite its contributions, the study is limited by its reliance on self-reported interview data and a single-team sample, which may restrict generalizability. Future research should consider mixed-methods approaches and explore developmental and cultural differences in brand identification processes among youth.

Introduction

Sports marketing has become an essential strategic practice for sports teams seeking to build strong, emotionally resonant brand identities and cultivate enduring relationships with fans. Football clubs, in particular, utilize branding effectively to foster deep fan loyalty and identification, transforming mere supporters into committed consumers (De Souza Dias & Monteiro, 2020). However, existing literature primarily focuses on adult fan behaviors, leaving a significant gap concerning how children develop brand identification with football teams, particularly within today’s increasingly digital media-driven environment.

Children, as emerging consumers, represent a critical demographic segment for sports marketers. Early brand identification formed during childhood can often translate into lifelong team loyalty. Children’s consumer behaviors are influenced by a complex interplay of cognitive factors, such as developmental capacities, and environmental factors, including familial influence, peer dynamics, and media interactions (Arnas & Deniz, 2020). Consequently, understanding how children form emotional attachments and brand identification with sports teams presents both significant theoretical and practical implications.

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1978) provides a robust theoretical foundation for examining the formation of team identification among children. This theory posits that individuals derive their self-concept and emotional fulfillment from membership in social groups. When applied to sports fandom, Social Identity Theory suggests that children integrate their favorite team’s attributes into their own identity, leading to increased emotional attachment and loyalty to the team (Prayag et al., 2020). Despite extensive application of this theory in adult sports fan research, its relevance to children’s team identification particularly within digital and peer-mediated contexts remains underexplored.

Today, digital and social media significantly alter how children interact with sports brands, reshaping traditional patterns of fan engagement. Despite this shift, few studies have addressed the intersection between children’s digital interactions, peer group influences, and their emotional connection to sports team brands. Addressing this gap is crucial to understanding contemporary fan identification processes and providing guidance for sports marketers aiming to engage younger audiences effectively.

This study aims to bridge this critical gap by examining how Social Identity Theory and branding principles jointly shape children’s identification with football teams. Specifically, it explores the role of emotional bonding, peer group dynamics, and digital media interactions in influencing children’s relationships with their favorite teams. Using qualitative data gathered from in-depth interviews with junior football players, this research addresses two central research questions:

• RQ1: Which specific digital media interactions and peer group dynamics facilitate children’s brand identification with football teams?

• RQ2: To what extent does children’s brand identification with football teams affect their emotional attachment and behavioral engagement towards these teams?

By investigating these questions, this study not only advances theoretical understanding of children’s brand identification but also offers actionable insights for sports marketers targeting the critical demographic of young, digitally engaged sports fans. The context of this study junior football players from a single football club in North Cyprus is deliberately chosen to provide detailed insights into the dynamics of children’s brand identification in a distinct regional setting. North Cyprus represents a unique cultural and socio-political environment characterized by its relative isolation, limited international recognition, and strong local community identities. Such conditions can notably shape identity formation processes, influencing how children interact with and form attachments to football brands. Thus, while this specific context enables an in-depth exploration of localized identity dynamics, it also inherently limits the generalizability of the findings. Consequently, the insights obtained should be understood as context-specific, providing valuable yet carefully bounded theoretical contributions and practical implications. Future studies are encouraged to explore similar dynamics in other regional or cultural contexts to build comparative insights.

Theoretical Framework

Understanding how children develop strong affiliations with football team brands requires a multidimensional theoretical foundation. This study draws upon three interrelated concepts Social Identity Theory, Brand Identification, and Online Brand Engagement to build an integrated model that explains how children progress from brand exposure to emotional and behavioral loyalty. The following sections outline each concept and synthesize them into a cohesive framework.

Social Identity Theory and Children’s Brand Identification

Social Identity Theory, first articulated by Tajfel and Turner (1978), emphasizes the significance of social contexts in shaping individuals’ group behaviors, identities, and interactions. The theory posits that individuals derive substantial aspects of their self-concept from their perceived membership in social groups, subsequently influencing their emotions, attitudes, and behaviors toward both in-group and out-group members (Hornsey, 2008). In marketing research, Social Identity Theory has been widely used to explain how consumers form relationships with brands through symbolic and emotional affiliations, regardless of formal group membership (Sato et al., 2013).

While Social Identity Theory has been widely applied to adult consumers, its application to children requires developmental consideration. Children’s identity formation is characterized by ongoing cognitive and psychosocial development, including evolving self-concepts, heightened sensitivity to peer influence, and reliance on external social cues. Unlike adults, children may adopt group identities more fluidly, particularly when exposed to emotionally engaging contexts such as sports fandom. Their group affiliations are often shaped by aspirational identification and symbolic modeling, whereby media figures, team narratives, and peer behavior become powerful sources of influence.

In this study, fandom is defined as the collective practices, emotional investment, and identity work through which individuals express loyalty and belonging to a sports team (Hills, 2002; Jenkins, 1992; Sandvoss, 2005). Fandom is not limited to passive spectatorship but involves active engagement, including attending matches, following media content, and defending the team’s image. For children, fandom further represents an early stage of identity formation, where team attachment becomes intertwined with social belonging and peer validation.

Furthermore, children are particularly susceptible to branding and media exposure due to their limited critical processing capacities. Research suggests that children between the ages of 7 and 12 begin to interpret brand symbolism and integrate it into their self-concept, especially when reinforced by peer validation and repeated media exposure (Confos & Davis, 2016; Lwin et al., 2012). In this regard, football teams function not only as entertainment sources but also as identity anchors, reinforcing a sense of group belonging. Applying Social Identity Theory to children therefore requires attention to these age-specific dynamics, particularly the interplay between developmental readiness, peer-mediated experiences, and digital brand environments.

In the context of sports, this theory explains fan identification as a blend of emotional and cognitive attachment fostered through behaviors such as attending matches, wearing team colors, and engaging in fan rituals (Winand et al., 2021). Fan identification significantly contributes to one’s self-concept, especially when fans perceive unity with their team and its broader community (Delia & James, 2018; Kural & Özbek, 2023). This identification often extends beyond the team itself to associated entities such as a city, university, or cultural group (Mudrick & Fink, 2022). While Social Identity Theory has been extensively applied to adult fandom, its use in exploring children’s identity development especially within digital peer-driven environments remains underdeveloped (Drew & Debbie, 2001; Reifurth et al., 2020).

Brand Identification

Brand Identification refers to the extent to which individuals perceive a brand’s identity as consistent with their own self-concept. In this study, it is operationally defined as the degree to which children incorporate perceived attributes of a football team brand into their identity, creating a sense of personal and social congruence (Ma, 2013). Brand Identification is particularly critical in the sports context, where fans’ loyalty is often emotional rather than transactional.

Children who identify with a football team brand are likely to perceive the team as an extension of themselves. This identification strengthens emotional bonds and fosters expressions of loyalty, such as wearing branded merchandise, defending the team against criticism, or following team news regularly. However, existing literature primarily explores brand identification in adult consumers, with limited attention to how children internalize brand values or align them with emerging aspects of self-concept.

Online Brand Engagement

Online Brand Engagement encompasses consumers’ interactive behaviors with brand content through digital platforms, including likes, shares, comments, and following official team pages. For children, digital media acts as both an entertainment and socialization tool, increasingly influencing their perceptions and relationships with brands(Dwivedi et al., 2019; Gong, 2017). In this study, Online Brand Engagement is defined as children’s active interaction with football team content on social media, which enhances their psychological investment and emotional connection to the brand.

Football clubs have recognized the significance of digital engagement, increasingly targeting young fans through multimedia campaigns, player-centric videos, and gamified content. Such digital exposure plays a critical role in building initial awareness and sustaining interest, which may eventually lead to deeper identification and loyalty. Despite this, there remains a scarcity of empirical work on how children’s social media engagement translates into meaningful brand relationships.

An Integrated Conceptual Model

This study proposes a conceptual model that synthesizes the above theories into a logical progression of brand affiliation. The model posits that children’s brand relationships with football teams evolve through the following sequence:

1. Digital exposure and peer interaction: Children encounter football brands via social media and peer networks, where team identity and popularity are frequently shared.

2. Online brand engagement: Exposure leads to interactive behaviors with brand content, such as watching videos or following teams online.

3. Brand identification: Through repeated and meaningful engagement, children begin to internalize team values and symbols, aligning them with their emerging identities.

4. Social identity formation: Brand identification supports the development of group-based identity, consistent with Social Identity Theory, reinforcing a sense of belonging.

5. Emotional and behavioral loyalty: As identification deepens, emotional attachment grows and is reflected in behaviors such as support, advocacy, and long-term affiliation.

Collectively, this model offers a structured explanation of how children transition from passive brand exposure to active brand loyalty. It not only addresses gaps in existing literature but also provides a theoretically grounded framework for interpreting the findings of this study.

Theoretical Proposition and Contribution

While previous studies (e.g., Fournier, 1998; Gong, 2017; Jones & Glynn, 2019; Reifurth et al., 2020) have documented various aspects of brand relationships and digital engagement in children, they often treat these elements in isolation. The present study advances this literature by offering an integrated framework that connects digital brand exposure, peer influence, brand identification, and emotional loyalty in a single conceptual model. Unlike prior work, which frequently lacks developmental context or a unified structure, this framework synthesizes Social Identity Theory with media and branding perspectives tailored to child consumers. Based on this framework, the study proposes that children’s online brand engagement particularly when reinforced through peer approval and repeated exposure facilitates the internalization of brand values. This internalization strengthens brand identification, which subsequently leads to emotional bonding and behavioral loyalty. This proposition refines and extends Social Identity Theory by accounting for age-specific media consumption patterns and social learning processes in digital environments. In doing so, the study provides a theoretical foundation for future empirical work and offers practical insights for brand managers seeking to cultivate loyalty in younger audiences. This conceptual contribution marks a departure from prior studies by positioning children not merely as passive brand recipients but as active identity builders within mediated brand ecosystems.

Children and Brands

Children develop a relationship with brands from an early age, one which will continue beyond childhood. They have continuing exposure to brands through brand advertising and related logos. Despite the growing recognition of the role that children will play as future customers, little research has been done in this area because immediate family purchasing decisions have already been subjected to influence (Lopez & Rodriguez, 2018). However, understanding children’s roles are important for marketers because it will help them create enduring, lucrative relationships down the road. Scholars have documented the enduring advantages of marketing, one of which is that children represent a significant target market for marketers, who want to establish brand loyalty at an early age (Ross & Harradine, 2004). Previous literature has also demonstrated that establishing loyal relationships between brands and children is beneficial. Fournier (1998) conducted case studies of three women’s relationship with brands. Jean, an interviewer in her research, used the Estee Lauder brand that her mother used when Jean was a young girl. This finding confirms the concept that consumers can develop relationships with brands at a young age. Another study of children aged between 6 and 13 shows children are influenced by, and respond well to food branding (Confos & Davis, 2016). Football has an important role in children’s lives that is often facilitated through the consumption of merchandise, and is a significant area for marketers (Thomson & Williams, 2014). Some children develop sufficient cognitive abilities to decide which team they will support and become fans of teams between 5 and 9 years of age. Furthermore, team contact has often taken place at these ages, and relationships with the team have already begun to form (Reifurth et al., 2020). According to a study by Pitt et al. (2017) and Nyemcsok et al. (2018), on how advertising may influence children’s attitudes, product knowledge shows that children both remember the advertisements and are influenced by sports betting. Brands that come together with sports teams are more recognized and have an advantage over competing brands (Reifurth et al., 2020). It is evident in the literature that branding studies are important for football teams. From a supporter’s point of view, fans are more likely not to perceive themselves as customers, even if the most critical may think so, and regret that they are treated as such by the professional clubs they support. However, from the point of view of the professional club, branding seems to depend on the sport, the history of the club and the market. The most successful clubs now view their club as a brand, especially in the foreign market (Bodet & Chanavat, 2010).

Therefore, it is essential to understand the relationship between children and their brands more thoroughly, not least within the global domain of football.

Brand Identification

The concept of identification is rooted in social identity theory. Identification is defined as the perception of oneness with or belongingness to a social group, for instance, an organization or a consumer group. In the consumer-brand context, a consumer identifies with a brand when the consumer’s “self-concept has many of the same characteristics he or she believes define the brand” (Ma, 2013). Recent studies also suggest that brands can assist consumers in constructing and maintaining identification. There are abundant studies on the positive, brand-building influences of brand identification. Previous studies also propose that customer brand identification should be a significant strategic goal in branding strategies (Davvetas & Diamantopoulos, 2017). As the literature has demonstrated, the identification process has a significant impact on individual consumer behavior, including consumer buying decisions and brand preferences. Identification thus plays a critical role in the selection of brands (Tuškej et al., 2013).

Nowadays, football fans are significant consumers of football clubs within the broader huge football economy. Because of the strong and ongoing relationship between athletes and their favorite teams and fans, sports teams, and athletes can become highly effective advocates of brands and products (Phua et al., 2017), something which is certainly the case with football.

Burton et al. (2019) stated that the impact of identification on behavior and consumption levels is widely overlooked in the existing sports consumption literature. Yet fans’ identification with a team is one of the most important aspects of a sports team, and this identification is important to the sports team’s economy. Identification is provided by associations with, or in connection with other sports consumers (Cohen, 2017). Fan consumers can become especially loyal to their favorite teams, and even become fanatics (Dalakas & Phillips Melancon, 2012). Fans with strong identification are more willing to participate in games, buy tickets, buy sponsors’ products, and buy team products than fans whose identification is weaker. Therefore, the behavioral consequences of stronger identification include a higher level of consumption (Schultz & Sheffer, 2018). The context of this study takes football junior players as football consumers and investigate their brand team identification.

Clubs benefit greatly from acquiring the fan base’s brand identification. Enhancing allegiance to the team is crucial for marketing and promotion. The brand becomes stronger as a result, growing in recognition and power. Support for the team grows among fans, which benefits the club both monetarily and emotionally. The attitude of children or adults towards known brands has a strong relationship with a positive purchase request, purchase decision or both (O’Cass & Clarke, 2002). Identifying items is simpler for children when various factors align and emphasize the same type of brand or value. Parents and educators then play a diminishing role in this process, as children increasingly use brands to define their identification.

Online Brand Engagement

Gong (2017) stated that it is important to strengthen the client’s brand engagement, as engaged customers can serve as brand missionaries, are less likely to change brands, and provide feedback on brand management, creating sustainable competitive advantages. Social media brands have an opportunity to provide consumers with diverse content, from entertainment to interpersonal networks to self-expression, thus satisfying consumer psychological and social needs. Nowadays, social media brands generate favorable experiences for consumers. Social media and the environment generated by technology cannot be considered separately (Dwivedi et al., 2019). Brands are increasingly using influencers on social media to attract users who are looking for entertainment, inspiration, product reviews, and recommendations. Thus, the market value of influencer marketing in social media is expected to reach $24.1 billion by 2025. Social media provide opportunities to reach customers and many brands are looking for ways to improve consumer brand engagement on these platforms (Gupta et al., 2023).

Branding is also influenced by the media. The use of digital technologies by children is considered an essential element in the formation of meaningful relationships with brands(Thomas et al., 2021). The ongoing social relationships between children can be observed over time in interactions between peers, and such interactions are well known to include brand consumption and purchases. These interactions can teach children how to be consumers, and they are exposed to market-related content, such as brand communications on a daily basis (Jones & Glynn, 2019).

In summary, for football clubs and associations seeking to expand their fan base and to capitalize on the increased mobility and cultural diversity of twenty-first-century consumers, engaging with supporters in other countries and regions through new media may offer a valuable opportunity for extension and growth. Sporting organizations are in a great position to benefit from social media as a platform for involvement. The majority of sports enthusiasts are highly engaged, and for many, sports are an integral part of their everyday life. Sports teams are investing more time and money in online interaction due to the popularity of social media, leveraging their highly engaged fan base (Vale & Fernandes, 2018). Professional football clubs such as Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC have embraced the global reach of football and have sought to reach broad international audiences through diverse new media platforms and social media accounts across multiple languages and cultures.

Consequently, social network sites are becoming highly practical means for brands to reach sports fans, especially by connecting with specific teams and athletes, who are often brand supporters on social network site brand pages (Burton et al., 2019). Children, similar to adults, are subject to an excess of influences while utilizing social media platforms. The significance of social media lies in its ability to establish a distinct identity for various brands.

Consequently, again just as with adults, the engagement of children with media and their consumption of content about their respective teams may augment their affiliation with said teams. The use of online media was included in this study because it constitutes an important factor in research into brands, especially among children. According to a study by Núñez-Gómez (2020), children consume more of a brand’s social media content, their engagement with the brand increases, and this leads to a stronger preference for the brand and the establishment of long-lasting loyalty. Jones and Glynn’s (2019) study shows that some children are more active in social media, use several platforms, and interact more intimately. Data showed that this relationship could be positive, for example, by liking a brand or claiming that a brand is a favorite. However, little in-depth research has been conducted on how children form relationships with brands. Some studies have examined relationships Lopez and Rodriguez (2018) and the type and characteristics of relationships (Ji, 2002). This study contributes to the literature by more fully identifying the process of interaction between children and social media brands.

Methodology

This study adopts a qualitative approach as it involves the collection of people’s experiences, views, and opinions in their own words. This study utilizes in-depth interviews with 20 junior players at a local football club of whom agreed to participate in the research after gaining parent and coach consent. Interviews provide a unique opportunity for an investigator to gain insight into how people think and what they believe, through extended conversations (Knott et al., 2022). Thirteen open-ended questions were asked to participants to explore their experiences with their favorite football team.

Participants

The study involved all 20 players (all male, aged 11) from a single junior football academy in North Cyprus. The team was purposefully selected due to its long-standing structure, consistent training environment, and early exposure of players to competitive football. North Cyprus, as a region with a unique socio-political identity and strong community orientation, provides a meaningful context for exploring social identity and brand affiliation among youth. The club represents a typical grassroots football environment in the region, where team culture, peer dynamics, and local pride intersect, making it a suitable case for studying early brand attachment. While the sample may not be statistically representative, it allows for an in-depth exploration of shared identity-building experiences within a cohesive group. Socio-economic diversity among the players was moderate, with participants coming from working- to middle-class families, as reported by the club and parents. All participants had regular access to digital devices and used social media platforms, enabling interaction with football-related content.

Data Collection

Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved for the study. The interviews were conducted after receiving the approval of the university’s research and publication ethics committee, the junior football players’ parents, and the football club. The study design minimized potential risks to participants by ensuring that interviews were short (12–15 min), age-appropriate, and conducted in a familiar environment at the football club during routine training sessions. Questions were carefully simplified and piloted with junior players to ensure cognitive and linguistic suitability. All responses were anonymized, and participants’ names were replaced with numerical codes (e.g., P1, P2). The potential benefits of the study providing insights into children’s identity development and contributing to sports marketing knowledge were deemed to outweigh any minimal risks. “Since participants were minors, informed consent was obtained from their parents/guardians in addition to the assent of the children themselves.” Ethical approval was also secured from the university’s research and publication ethics committee, along with the approval of the football club. Each interview was audio recorded and field notes kept noting important details in participant responses for an easier transcription. To gain a deeper understanding of the participant perspectives, semi-structured interviews were the preferred method of data collection. By using a semi-structured interview, investigators can focus on the interview schedule while still maintaining the autonomy to explore pertinent ideas that may arise (Adeoye-Olatunde & Olenik, 2021). The participants were met at the football club where they were engaged in pre-training activities. The subjects were provided with background information, and following a comprehensive explanation of the topic, individual interviews were conducted with each participant. Junior football players were asked thirteen questions in total: two general questions about their favorite team and how they watched their favorite football matches during the season. Four questions explored brand identification and five questions explored perceived consumer brand identification with their football team. The questions were taken from Papista and Dimitriadis (2012), with two further items used for exploring online brand media engagement taken from Syrdal and Briggs (2018). The interview guide was developed by adapting these items for a youth population. All questions were simplified and linguistically adjusted to suit the cognitive and linguistic capacities of 11-year-old participants. Technical or abstract terms were replaced with concrete and relatable expressions (e.g., “brand connection” was framed as “feeling close to the team”), and clarifying examples were provided when necessary. To ensure clarity and age appropriateness, a pilot test was conducted with three junior football players from another team. Feedback from the pilot led to minor adjustments in wording and sequencing. Despite the relatively short interview duration (12–15 min), trained interviewers used follow-up prompts and probing strategies (e.g., “Can you give an example?”“How did that make you feel?”) to elicit richer responses within the participants’ attention span. The interview consisted of structured questions aiming to shed light on the research questions. However, where a participant gave a response that was not in the original set question, the interview became iterative in order to get a clearer understanding of what was mentioned. The total number of questions asked was solely dependent on the responses received. Interviews lasted for an average of 12 to 15 min. Thematic saturation was used as the criterion for concluding data collection. Saturation was defined as the point at which no new codes, categories, or insights were emerging from additional interviews. This was assessed through ongoing iterative coding and researcher discussions throughout the transcription process. By the 17th interview, recurring patterns and themes had stabilized; the remaining three interviews confirmed these findings without producing new information. Therefore, the study was concluded after the planned 20 interviews. Due to privacy and ethical concerns, participants’ names have been replaced with “P,” and identification of each participant is through numbering (e.g., “P1”). To ensure validity, a pilot study with three players was conducted to refine the interview guide and simplify questions for age appropriateness. Credibility of findings was further enhanced through inter-coder reliability checks (87% agreement), member checking with participants, and peer debriefing among the research team. Data collection was concluded once thematic saturation was reached.”

Data Analysis

Data were analyzed using deductive thematic analysis, guided by the predefined constructs of brand identification, emotional attachment, and online brand engagement. A coding framework was developed prior to data analysis, based on the theoretical foundations discussed earlier. Initial codes were derived from recurring patterns linked to these constructs, such as “team pride,”“peer encouragement,” and “digital following.” Transcripts were reviewed independently by two researchers to identify and refine codes. Discrepancies in coding were resolved through discussion and consensus, establishing inter-coder reliability. Approximately 87% initial agreement was reached across coded segments. The analysis was conducted manually without software, but detailed audit trails were maintained through analytical memos and coding matrices. To enhance the credibility of interpretations, informal member checking was conducted: key themes were discussed with several participants after data collection to ensure resonance with their intended meanings. Peer debriefing sessions among the research team further ensured critical scrutiny of emerging interpretations. These methodological strategies collectively contributed to the analytical rigor and trustworthiness of the study.

Results

Based on the analysis of participant interviews, four key themes emerged: (1) Attending Club Matches, (2) Perceived Brand Image and Relationship Quality, (3) Brand Identification, and (4) Social Media Engagement. These themes reflect the multi-dimensional ways in which junior football players interact with and internalize their favorite teams’ brand identity. A critical review of the data highlights both shared patterns and individual variations, and links these to the theoretical framework of Social Identity Theory (SIT) and brand identification.

Attending Club Matches

Most participants reported attending their favorite teams’ matches 2 to 3 times per season. This limited frequency was primarily due to their dependence on family for transportation and access, indicating that parental involvement plays a significant role in facilitating live engagement with the team. Children expressed a clear enthusiasm for attending matches and described the emotional and social impact of those experiences:

I went to 2 matches this season with my family. (P7)

Yes, I went 2 times to our team game. (P11)

I went to 5 to 6 matches this season. (P18)

According to Social Identity Theory, shared live experiences like match attendance foster group belonging by enabling in-group enactment. These embodied rituals reinforce identification through emotional arousal and symbolic participation (Tajfel & Turner, 1978). The excitement of watching games in person functions as a tangible entry point into the team’s identity system.

Perceived Brand Image and Relationship Quality

Participants generally described their emotional connection with their favorite team in positive and relational terms. However, responses revealed subtle variations in how deeply the children internalized team values. For instance, while some viewed the team as a role model, others were unsure of its guiding principles:

My relationship with my favorite team is very good and the team means being a football player in the future. I know what my team stands for. Also the team is very close, like my family and my team is helpful and a good friend. (P5)

I have a good relationship with my team and my team means love for me. My team helps me have a good heart. However, I do not know really what my club stands for. (P2)

My relationship with my favorite team is very good and for me my team means “be united.” I feel close like a best friend and I know my team is the champion for me. If my favorite team was a person, it would be a kind and ambitious person. (P7)

These relational interpretations reflect the early development of brand-mediated social belonging. The team serves as a moral compass or surrogate social agent, similar to in-group prototypes described in SIT. While most participants expressed closeness, the variation in conceptual understanding suggests differing levels of self-concept integration.

Brand Identification

Participants strongly identified with their teams, often demonstrating protective or emotional responses when the team was criticized. These responses provide concrete evidence of in-group loyalty and identity salience:

My favorite team is about not going backwards but always going forward and not giving up. Yes, I care about what people think about my team but I respect them also. If someone criticizes my team, I care about it. (P3)

My team says being a good football player and person, helps me to be an honest person. If someone criticizes my team first I close my ears, but if they continue I will fight. I am interested in what others think about my team. (P8)

My favorite team means being a good person and respectful person. When someone criticizes my team, I do not care so much. (P17)

These quotes illustrate varying degrees of identity attachment and emotional regulation. The defensive reactions are consistent with SIT’s notion of intergroup sensitivity, where perceived threats to the in-group provoke emotional arousal. Statements like “I will fight” indicate identity-threat coping mechanisms, while others reflect greater emotional distance. Furthermore, when children say the team “means being a good person,” they align their self-concept with the brand’s moral identity supporting the theoretical link between brand identification and personal development.

Social Media Engagement

Participants frequently engaged with their teams through social media, watching videos, following players, and reacting to visual content. While all participants reported using social media in some way, the depth and emotion associated with that use varied:

I like my favorite team’s social media content and when I get bored I love to watch my favorite team’s content, I love to watch players and goals. (P9)

When I see my team on social media I feel good and I enjoy it I like to see pictures and videos with players. (P20)

If it’s good things, I feel happy—if not I feel sad; and I love to watch the goals of my team. (P10)

These examples show how digital platforms serve as ongoing mechanisms of group maintenance and symbolic reinforcement. Children use social media not just to consume but to emotionally validate their in-group membership. This aligns with extended SIT models that recognize online spaces as virtual arenas for social identity expression and reinforcement. Emotional fluctuations in response to content (“happy” or “sad”) further demonstrate how brand affiliation is internalized and experienced in real time.

Cross-Theme Synthesis and Theoretical Integration

Together, these four themes illustrate a progressive identification process in which live exposure (match attendance) and relational bonding (relationship quality) are reinforced by digital interaction and internalized brand values. The findings support our theoretical framework: children’s identification with football teams involves in-group bonding, brand-mediated identity formation, and digital socialization. Variation in responses such as differing emotional intensity or partial conceptual understanding demonstrates that identification is not monolithic but exists on a continuum.

This layered evidence base strengthens the manuscript’s internal coherence by clearly connecting qualitative data to the constructs of Social Identity Theory and brand identification. It also underscores the nuanced, developmental nature of children’s consumer identities within sports fandom.

Discussion

This study explored many different brand identification impact factors for football teams among children football players. The research shows that social media, emotional bonds, and group dynamics can influence children’s team identification processes. These findings provide significant insights for future sports marketing and branding research.

The study found that social media has a significant impact on children’s brand identification with their favorite team. The participants emphasized social media during the interviews, and stressed that they liked the content they saw about their teams on social media. It is clear that the media is vital in helping them follow their teams and feel like they belong. For example, participant P16 stated: “I love to see my favorite team content on social media, especially goals,” and P1 stated: “I like to watch my favorite team matches.” Thus, brand managers and football teams must produce attractive content. The majority of children begin to select their favorite team at a very young age. Once they have chosen their favorite team, it is very unlikely that they will change their preference.

There is another finding that supports the conclusion that when children follow their teams on social media, and like the relevant content, they do not physically attend their teams’ matches but instead follow their activities through social media. The power of social media and the internet has increased so much that it has become one of the tools that children spend the most time with, especially at young ages. These findings are consistent with recent studies indicating that children’s emotional attachment to brands is often shaped and reinforced by repeated exposure to engaging social media content (Pentina et al., 2021). Moreover, research has shown that digital environments play an increasingly dominant role in children’s brand perception, making social media a primary context where brand-related identity formation begins (Nairn & Hang, 2020).

As a result of the influence of the virtual world, the participants are notably active on social media, which significantly enhances their sense of identification with their team. Social media serves as a platform where junior football players can engage with their team in ways that feel meaningful, often substituting for physical attendance at matches. The responses indicate a limited frequency of physical attendance, suggesting that their engagement with the team is increasingly mediated through digital platforms rather than in-person experiences. This highlights the growing role of social media in fostering a sense of belonging and loyalty among young athletes in today’s digital age. This aligns with the work of García and Murillo (2022), who argue that digital fandom has become a powerful emotional conduit for young fans, allowing them to develop strong attachments to teams through online engagement rather than live attendance.

However, while some participants expressed a preference for engaging with their favorite teams through digital platforms such as watching highlight videos or following social media posts, this behavior should not be generalized as a replacement for stadium attendance. Rather, digital engagement may act as a complementary or compensatory mechanism for children who face practical barriers to accessing stadiums, such as parental availability or geographic distance. Given the limited scope of this single-case study involving junior players in one club, broader claims suggesting that stadium experiences are being “superseded” by digital media should be treated cautiously. Further empirical research is needed to assess whether such trends hold across larger and more diverse youth populations.

For instance, when asked about their attendance at matches, participants shared responses like, “I went to two matches this season with my family” (P7) and “Yes, I went two times to our team’s game” (P11). According to the findings, the relationship between team and children are very strong. Participants expressed a strong desire to be united, to form a cohesive network, and to feel a sense of belonging within a group. These sentiments, which are commonly shared among football fans with strong identification, embody the concept of unity. Illustrative statements made by the participants included P7: “My team means ‘be united’ to me,” and P3: “Being one as a team and fans.”

In order to be successful in branding, it is essential for a brand to have a presence in the minds of its customers and convey a specific meaning. The children were queried as to how they conceptualized their sports teams, and the responses they provided were similar to those given by customers discussing brands in other areas. This illustrates that sports teams have a brand identification that is recognized by their followers. For instance, P12 describes his team as “a strong and good friend” and P1 stated that: “If Dumlupinar were a team, he would look like an honest person.” The results show that children’s emotional connections to football teams play a critical role in shaping brand affiliation. In this context, brand managers can develop interactive marketing strategies that will strengthen brand identification by focusing on children’s emotional experiences.

Individuals with a high sense of identification internalize criticism directed at their team as though it were directed at them. This is one of the elements that shows a sense of belonging to the team. Furthermore, the findings show that participants give good or bad reactions to the comments their teams receive. Most of the children feel anger and sadness if someone criticizes their team. For instance: P6: “I feel angry and want to fight them,” P9: “I want to fight them.”

This explains how relationships within the team and group bonds play a role in team identification. As suggested by social identity theory, individuals associate themselves with groups for identification. Individuals create personal and social identities, become part of a particular social group, and gain a sense of belonging. Football fans can connect with similar members of the football community by participating in games, wearing club colors, and singing with other fans, so the theory of social identity can be applied to them (Winand et al., 2021).

This is consistent with more recent research on youth group identification, which emphasizes how peer interactions and collective behaviors shape identity construction in pre-teens and adolescents (Postmes & Jetten, 2021). The results of this study have shown that children who play on the same team can influence each other with regard to developing a strong sense of identification with the team. It is clear that members of the same group have a substantial impact on one another’s conduct, views, and inclinations. This effect is especially noticeable in team environments, where shared experiences and a collective identity strengthen interpersonal connections. In this study, the interactions and shared excitement among the young football players seem to enhance their feeling of team membership.

This observation is consistent with the principle of social influence, where group dynamics contribute to a stronger connection with the group’s shared identity. The children’s mutual engagement and encouragement intensify their connection and dedication to their team. The observation also highlights the significant impact of peer interactions in developing team identification, particularly in close-knit groups such as sports teams (Appendix A and B).

Conclusion

This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of how children form emotional attachment and brand identification with football teams by synthesizing Social Identity Theory with branding and media engagement frameworks. While prior research has predominantly explored adult fan behaviors, our findings highlight how these psychological and social processes begin in childhood and are deeply influenced by peer dynamics, symbolic interactions, and media exposure.

The results demonstrate that brand affiliation among junior football players is not merely a reflection of parental influence but emerges through active and emotionally charged interactions. Children internalize team values, symbols, and community rituals illustrated by their reactions to criticism, loyalty to visual identity markers, and affective responses to social media content. These behaviors align closely with Social Identity Theory, particularly the notions of in-group loyalty, identity salience, and intergroup comparison. When participants defended their team against criticism or expressed a sense of unity, they enacted the psychological mechanisms of self-categorization and group based self-esteem.

Additionally, the study supports the application of brand identification theory in youth contexts. Participants used their favorite team as a symbolic vehicle for expressing moral values, personal aspirations, and social alignment core aspects of identity formation. Engagement with the team through digital content, such as highlight videos and player imagery, further reinforced their emotional connection and identification. This reveals how brand-mediated social belonging begins early in development, shaped not only by direct experience but also by mediated and symbolic interactions.

From a theoretical standpoint, the research extends the utility of Social Identity Theory by contextualizing its principles within childhood fandom and digital consumer cultures. It also highlights the importance of branding psychology in understanding how teams function as identity anchors for young audiences. Practically, these insights suggest that sports marketers aiming to cultivate brand loyalty among younger fans must recognize the multi-layered and evolving nature of identity development. Interventions should leverage both in-person rituals and digital platforms to nurture brand affiliation from early ages.

Future research should further investigate demographic factors such as gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic background to understand how they intersect with identity development in sports contexts. Longitudinal approaches could also shed light on the durability of early brand attachments and their transformation into adult loyalty behaviors. Ultimately, this study reaffirms that children are not passive recipients of sports branding but active agents in constructing identity, meaning, and emotional connection through their team affiliations. This study extends Social Identity Theory to a youth sports context, demonstrating how digital engagement and peer interactions shape children’s brand identification with football teams. By situating the analysis in North Cyprus, it provides context-specific insights into fandom development in politically isolated regions an underexplored area in the literature. In doing so, it highlights that children are not merely passive consumers but active agents in constructing their social and brand identities.

Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research

This study is subject to several methodological limitations. First, as the interviews were conducted with children aged around 11, the possibility of social desirability bias is a concern. Participants may have provided answers they believed the adult interviewer wanted to hear, especially when discussing their loyalty to their team or feelings toward criticism. Additionally, while efforts were made to simplify concepts such as brand identification, thematic ambiguity may still have occurred due to developmental differences in comprehension. The relatively short interview duration (12–15 min) may also have limited the depth of responses on abstract constructs. Furthermore, interviewer influence could not be entirely mitigated, particularly given the hierarchical relationship between adult researchers and child participants. These limitations highlight the need for future research to incorporate triangulation strategies, such as observational data, parent interviews, or child-friendly participatory tools (e.g., drawings, projective techniques). Based on the current study’s findings, future research should focus on how digital literacy and peer group positioning affect the development of brand identification. Expanding the demographic scope to include gender comparisons, family influence mapping, or cross-cultural validation could enrich understanding. Moreover, a mixed-methods approach could provide a more holistic view by quantifying emotional attachment and brand engagement patterns alongside in-depth qualitative exploration.