On Jan 23, Chelsea FC showed interest in the Egyptian player Mohamed Salah, who gained incredible popularity during his career with FC Basel. Since then, Chelsea’s Facebook Page has been suffering sarcastic comments in Arabic, with thousands of likes on each comment.
So, we decided to showcase what’s happening, from fans’ behavior and social media statistics to the impact on Chelsea’s digital presence and how the club can turn this into a commercial and branding advantage.
Mo Salah is now a trending topic on social media
It all started when Chelsea sent the below tweet, announcing Salah’s official transfer to the blues from Basel.
First time in history, an Egyptian player joins one of the big four clubs in the most-watched league on earth, the EPL, English Premier League. That was a shocking yet great surprise to all Egyptians and Arabs.
Agreement reached with FC Basel for the transfer of Mohamed Salah. http://t.co/PwpJRF3agP #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 23, 2014
270K tweets in the first five days
The spike comes in line with the London club’s announcement.
* Trend is based on Mohamed Salah keywords in Arabic & English on Twitter in the last 30 days.
What Is Happening On Chelsea’s Facebook Page?
- Starting Jan 23, Massive comments from Egyptians on Chelsea’s Facebook posts
- The type of comments is all sarcastic, showing support for Mohamed Salah, and threatening Chelsea if Salah didn’t play.
- Chelsea’s fans worldwide started to notice the Arabic comments and ask the Egyptians to comment in English instead.
- Chelsea’s fans got annoyed by the massive comments and started asking the Egyptians to stop spamming the page.
Egyptians invaded Chelsea’s Facebook Page
In conclusion, Chelsea fans from Egypt are growing fast – here are some questions that should be addressed to benefit from this diamond opportunity:
- Why don’t Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Man hire digital agencies from Egypt to manage their social media accounts in the MENA region and keep their growing base in the Arab world positively engaged?
- Does Chelsea’s digital team have plans for their Egyptian fans after Mohamed Salah’s contract ends?
- Will other clubs from the English Premier League and European leagues target Egyptian players for branding and expansion in the MENA region?
Please share your thoughts with us in the comments box below or on Facebook or Twitter @adigitalboom.
