January, 2022 – Sports returned to the fields and stadiums in 2021 and with the matches, competitions, teams and players were widely discussed on Twitter. From breaking news to real time conversations, post match analysis, insights and athlete movements; Twitter is #WhatsHappening. Throughout 2021, Twitter has witnessed first-hand the multitude of conversations fans have participated in – 3.7 billion Tweets about sports worldwide, surpassing 2020’s total of almost 2.7 billion Tweets as people talked about sports1, a 40% increase from the year before. Filled with high-profile 1 sporting events; including the delayed #EURO2020, #Tokyo2020, and #Paralympics2020; it’s clear that fans were energetically cheering on their favourite leagues and #GOATs of the team, whether from the stands or their sofas.
In Southeast Asia, football fans have also been excitedly discussing match details and their favourite players’ performances on Twitter, which saw 41.7 million Tweets in the region around the much-loved sport2, an increase of 32% from the previous year. Formula 1 fans in the region have been actively talking about it since the season started, with Tweet volume already exceeding 2020’s total before 2021 ends. The intense rivalries and exhilarating races have no doubt contributed to the 56% year-on-year growth in F1-relatedconversations for the first three quarters of 2021.
In 2021, Malaysians flocked to Twitter to share their excitement over sports. More than 18 millions sports-related Tweets were recorded in 2021, surpassing the previous year by 27.21%3. Malaysians actively conversed on sports topics around football, the Olympics, the Premier League, badminton, and
Manchester United4 and delving into the chatter from sports fans in the region, we’ve uncovered the events that created the loudest cheers on Twitter. From sensational player contracts being signed, to scintillating match finals; here is what Malaysians fans talked about the most on Twitter in Malaysia.
1 Source: Twitter internal data, 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2021. Tweets from Malaysia.
2 Source: Twitter internal data, 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2021. Tweets from Malaysia.
3 Source: Twitter internal data, 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2021. Tweets from Malaysia.
4 Source: Twitter internal data, 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2021. Tweets from Malaysia.
