#Bringbackthelove#: A Study of Audience Response to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Social Media Campaign

Abstract

Social media has created a real-time platform for sports teams and management to interact with fans. Social media has significantly transformed the manner in which fans engage with sports teams, players, and other supporters. In 2019, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) initiated the "Bring Back the Love" campaign in order to address the waning enthusiasm and support for the national football team. This study was guided by the Uses and Gratification (U&G) theory to assess the audience response to the GFA’s social media campaign. Data was gathered from a sample of 400 social media users and individuals who engaged with the campaign on Twitter in addition to 12 participants through interviews. Through the quantitative content analysis as well as qualitative thematic analysis, the findings revealed that the audience generally had positive sentiments towards the #bringbackthelove campaign. Furthermore, the study revealed that the campaign engendered positive attitudes towards football in Ghana. Nevertheless, the findings also revealed a disconnect between initial enthusiasm and sustained engagement. They alsorevelaed a growing discontent among fans regarding the perceived lack of effort and performance from players, showing thatfan activation campaigns do not work in isolation; they must be accompanied by value delivery.