<aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_gray.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_gray.svg" width="40px" /> TL;DR Through the Afterdark League, we successfully built a 150+ member football community using gamification. By infusing game-like elements into regular matches, the league not only increased participation and skills but also positively impacted the physical and mental well-being of the players. Applying my product hat and using the league as a prototype, I tried to understand how to scale this to more people, thus spurring the inception of “Topcorner”.
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In the world of sports, community building is often as crucial as the game itself. With community, its members can find a space and resource to grow with. The “Afterdark League” is an interesting case where I got to experience what community building feels like for something that is very personal to me.
In a country like India, where sports hold immense cultural significance (CentreForSports.in, 2023), there is a vast opportunity to leverage this passion for community development. However, the structures in place do not promote holistic development of its citizens nor does it focus on strengthening at the grassroots level.
I played football in school. It was the way I made friends and had a sense of belonging at a time when I was developing. I played through school, picking up everything I knew about the sport through my friends, youtube and a little bit from my coach (a 75 year old footballing legend). However, after my heyday in high school, I saw no opportunity to continue at my sport. It seemed as though this was as good as its going to get.
Post university, I was lucky enough to have my high school football team play once a week at pay-to-play venues across Bangalore city. However, after a year of regular games, most of my friends couldn’t join these games anymore owing to work and other commitments.
“I really want to make it for the games but my work takes up my time”, a friend said.
“I want to play but I’m not fit anymore and I’m not sure I can keep up”, said another friend.
What followed was a slow decay of everyones physical and mental well-being, not to mention the decreased frequency of meeting up and socialising.
Gamification injected an element of excitement into regular football games, making them more engaging and enjoyable. By incorporating game-like elements, such as point systems, challenges, and rewards, the Afterdark League transformed ordinary matches into engaging experiences that keep participants coming back for more.
Gamification through ratings and accolades with each game
Each player had stats intuitively presented to them via an instagram post.
The implementation of gamification in the Afterdark League had yielded tangible results. Participation has surged, skills have improved, and a vibrant community emerged. We went from 10 players to over 150 over 3 years.