How a 137-year-old rugby tradition continues to fuel global fan engagement, and what North American teams can learn from their playbook.

Here’s something that shouldn’t work in theory, but works beautifully in practice: 

Every four years, the British & Irish Lions take players from four countries who spend most of their time trying to demolish each other, put them on the same team, and send them halfway across the world to play rugby. No home stadium advantage. No season tickets. No embedded hometown crowd.

When we dug into the tour, we thought, “What a challenging legacy to maintain.” But, as of 2025, the tour has an estimated 14 million fans worldwide, and that number is steadily growing.  The British & Irish Lions (the Lions) have effectively turned their biggest disadvantage into their greatest strength.

As North American leagues increasingly look toward international expansion – from the NFL’s growing presence in Europe, to the NBA’s growing global roots – the Lions Tour is a masterclass in building authentic fan engagement across borders and cultures. So let’s dig into the approach they’ve been perfecting since 1888.

The counterintuitive strategy

If you haven’t heard of the Lions tour, here’s the TL;DR:

1. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are all fierce rivals when it comes to rugby.
2. And they’re not just sports rivals, they’re countries with centuries of complex history and cultural pride.
3. Well, every four years, the British and Irish Lions Tour arrives with a simple proposition: “Give me your best players from across those 4 countries, forget your rivalries, and play together as teammates for the next two months.”

And the fans absolutely love it.

This year’s tour took place in Australia, facing the Wallabies in a rivalry that dates back centuries. It’s a matchup that only happens once every 12 years, and it’s the kind of rare event that fans mark on their calendars years in advance. 

So, now that you know the gist of the tour, let’s look at what’s worth studying from the tour.

Four Strategies Worth Studying

The Lions Tour isn’t something that you can easily replicate. We’re not telling you to assemble an international all-star team and tour continents. The Lions, however, have figured out some principles about international fan engagement that are genuinely valuable - and that can be replicated somewhat, no matter where you’re starting from.

1. Build anticipation well before kickoff

Engagement starts months before the first game, and this is doubly true for international tours. The Lions understand that they have long (but also relatively short) runways every four years to build up hype among localized fans and among the fans following along from the UK and Ireland. They launch campaigns featuring merchandise drops, team prediction opportunities,  and huge giveaways, all before anyone even boards a plane.

The team selection reveal becomes one of their biggest marketing moments each cycle, and they do not let it go to waste; they turn it into a highly anticipated live event of its own. Think about the narrative potential: players who were fierce rivals just months earlier suddenly becoming teammates.

The application
Transform your international games from regular away matches (but in a different country) into marketing campaign-worthy events. Create opportunities for fans to participate in the story - voting on special editions, predicting rosters, even accessing some exclusive content. When fans are invited to help shape the narrative, they’re more invested in the outcome.

2. Integrate with local culture more meaningfully

Easier said than done, but when the Lions arrive in a host country, they don’t just play the national team and then leave. They engage deeply with the local rugby ecosystem by playing regional clubs and collaborating with community organizations and charities. 

They’re not just investing in surface-level PR. They’re genuinely building relationships with communities that have existed for generations, and building them for generations to come.

The application
When you visit international markets, find ways to participate in them. Partner with local organizations or feature regional creators in your content. Let the host community contribute and participate in the experience rather than simply observe it.

3. Recognize your most committed supporters

The Lions know their most valuable fans are the ones willing to travel across oceans. These supporters receive premium treatment through exclusive content, travel opportunities and behind-the-scenes access. It’s not just about premium pricing; it’s about acknowledging that these fans become your ambassadors in international markets. 

The application
Create dedicated experiences for your travelling fan base. Make the investment to follow your team internationally feel personal and meaningful. These supporters become your most authentic marketing channel and your most valuable micro-influencers.

4. Collaboration over competition 

While they’re rivals on the field, rather than treating Rugby Australia as competition for fan attention, the Lions actively partner with them on engagement initiatives.

Using Tradable Bits, they launched joint prediction games, cultural content collaborations, and chances to win a prize appealing to both fan bases. They discovered that co-branded activations expand rather than dilute fan identity, and they’ve worked out a way to ensure that first-party data capture is happening meaningfully for both teams.

The application
Consider partnerships with your international opponents instead of competing for the same attention. The insights and data you gather benefit everyone involved, and you might just uncover fan communities you never knew existed.

The Deeper Lesson

The Lions haven’t accidentally amassed 14 million fans, they’ve created something more substantial than a sports tour; they’ve built a sense of belonging and tradition that transcends geography.

Consider the elements: players from rival nations, fans from different cultures, no permanent home base. And yet, every four years, they unite millions of fans around a shared identity and common purpose.

What this means for your strategy

If you’re considering international expansion, the Lions as a case study demonstrates something valuable: you don’t need to choose between authenticity and growth. 

Plenty of leagues try to export their domestic culture directly to international markets. The Lions show a different approach, where they aim to embed themselves authentically within existing sports communities while bringing their own supporters along.

The opportunity internationally often isn’t to establish dominance in new territories right away. It’s to earn an invitation into conversations already happening there, and to build oneself into the sporting culture on the ground.

The practical takeaway

The British & Irish Lions have operated on this touring model for more than a century, surviving world wars, the professionalization of sports and the digital revolution.

For sports organizations exploring international opportunities, the core lesson is to find authentic ways to share what makes you special, what makes you distinctive, while experimenting with how you’re showing up.

The 2025 Lions tour offers real-time proof of these principles in action and is a great case study to dig into.