Soccer Twitter can be a lot of fun. While you do find trolls and a lot of #banter, you also meet a lot of great people who share your love for the game and your team(s). Passion and excitement are what matters; geography, not so much. This is especially true for the Premier League, which has a massive global presence and whose clubs’ fanbases touch every continent on the planet.
Twitter’s new interactive map shows just how far the reach of the Premier League extends. According to the social network’s official blog, the map looks at who follows the official accounts for each Premier League club and where they’re located in order to determine the relative strength and distribution of each club’s fanbase.
The map allows users to see what parts of the UK and the world their club has the strongest levels of support, how they match up with other clubs, and the fan allegiance makeup of specific countries. In the UK, the map lets you drill down to see club loyalty at a hyperlocal level.
Some of the high-level trends and observations seen in the map are fascinating. In the UK, Liverpool has fairly strong support throughout the country, with Arsenal holding down the fort in London and the southwest. In Europe, Arsenal seems to be more popular in Northern Europe while Chelsea dominates the south. Manchester United is huge in India, Chelsea and Liverpool seem to share the spoils in southwest Asia, and Japan is overrun with Gunners. And in the US, Arsenal appear to have a slight edge, followed by Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool, with Everton bringing up the rear (presumably due to Tim Howard and his mighty beard).
Take a look at the map, play around with it, and see how you fit in with your club’s global fan community.