Lessons for Engaging Millennials and Gen Z in Sport - from Yorkshire's Social Media Smash Hits
The success of UK-based Backyard Cricket is a lesson in engagement that all sports can learn from.
It was a little under a year ago that twin brothers, Mark and James Wood, set up a camera in their back garden to record footage of them playing cricket. Not even the most wild optimist could have predicted what would happen next.
Backyard Cricket (BYCUK) and its founders - the twins and Archie Atkinson, a man still basking in the afterglow Leeds United promotion back to the Premier League - now find themselves as unlikely poster boys for Gen Z in a sporting world that’s still desperately grappling for the best way of engaging the younger audiences that will make up the sports’ fans and consumers of tomorrow
In under 12 months, the 20-year-olds have become viral sensations. Their videos have been viewed millions of times, they boast over 500,000 followers on Instagram, they’ve sealed sponsorship deals with the likes of Gray-Nicolls and Kitlocker, and they’ve rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names on planet cricket.
Most importantly, though, they’ve introduced a shed load of people to the sport across the globe. Which is sort of the point, and also the reason why BYCUK are being hailed as cricket’s answer to a breakthrough act.
In short, there are probably few better qualified Gen Z’s (they were born in 2005, a fittingly seismic year for English cricket) to explain why they think they’ve been successful, and why sport should care.
“Sport needs to make everything as fun as possible,” says Mark. “Whether that be through social media, through any kind of marketing campaigns, everything needs to be engaging.
“Take cricket as an example. The Hundred is something very different but it’s also something that is very oriented to a much younger audience, the marketing is very kid-centric. Look at darts, that’s a sport getting great crowds, great coverage and they’re appealing to a really wide demographic.
“But if you’re a 20-year-old looking to get interested in cricket then everything seems to be geared towards children, rather than teenagers or people in their early 20s. The Hundred is targeting young families, which is great, but it also needs to make itself as appealing as possible to everyone.”
The not-so-secret, secret to BYCUK’s success is its authenticity. You have village cricketers - all three still play for their club sides on a Saturday - going at it at full pelt in a back garden that, in their eyes and those of their social media followers, has one sole purpose. Despite the protestation of the twin’s mum, who continually chastises them for ruining her plants.
Tapping into that authenticity in the wider cricket world, though, remains the key to not just engaging existing audiences, but also expanding the appeal of every sport in the future.
“A team that seems old-fashioned, you don’t get much behind the scenes, the social media seems dated - that’s not the sort of thing that creates a connection between a team and its supporters,” says James. “If there’s a bit more hype, an innovative kit launch, that’s the sort of thing that younger people can relate to. That kind of approach can spark imaginations.”
Modern sport operates in a generally contradictory marketplace. Restrictions on player availability to the press, and the increasing propensity for clubs to create their own content and control outputs, contrasts sharply with players being happy to post footage on social media that allows viewers almost unprecedented access into their private lives.
Consuming content that seems real and uncensored, therefore, takes on ever greater significance. Indeed, it’s a major reason behind BYCUK’s incredible growth.
“Seeing players’ personalities in any sport is huge, it does a lot to build trust and a connection between the supporter and the club, no matter what sport you’re talking about,” says Mark. “We might feel as though the gap between the average footballer and the supporter is as wide as it has ever been in monetary terms, but now, much more than when I was younger, I feel that I’ve got a greater connection to them as players.
“I see them on a YouTube video being authentic rather than giving standard robotic answers to a journalist. It gives me more of an insight into their personality and means I’ll follow them more closely and gain more of a connection with them and probably the team they play for too.”
In many ways, BYCUK’s growth is reflective of the modern sporting world, with the account coming to symbolise people’s thirst for sporting coverage that differs from the norm.
What they do in their garden in Knaresborough is nothing different to what hundreds of thousands of young cricket lovers do across the world. These boys just had the foresight to film it.
“We always filmed us playing,” says Archie. “We all love the sport and lived right next door to our school. We’d get half an hour at lunch and would go and play. Originally we put the camera up to use a DRS system - any LBW’s, we would look at the camera! Then one day, these boys said, ‘we’ll put it on Instagram and put it on TikTok and see what happens’. Turns out things went a bit mental.”
Within a week of starting, sponsorship offers started rolling in. Unlike those who take years of consistent posting to gain a social media following, these likely lads from Yorkshire did it overnight. Quite literally.
How big BYCUK gets only time will tell. But the lessons it teaches us about sport and the power of Gen Z and Millennials across the globe shouldn’t go unheeded.
Rob’s Takeaways
1. Authenticity Is the Currency of Connection
Young audiences can smell corporate spin a mile off. BYCUK's raw, unfiltered content works because it feels real. Sport organisations need to work out how they can prioritise genuine storytelling over polished PR. Authenticity is crucial.
2. If It’s Not Fun, It’s Forgotten
You’re not just competing with other sports, you’re competing with TikTok, Netflix, Instagram, and the entire internet. Content must be fun or it will be ignored. BYCUK nailed this by making cricket chaotic, joyful, and relatable. It captured hearts and minds. It was fun, and it was real.
3. Engagement Is a Two-Way Street
Forget top-down communication. Gen Z wants to feel part of the story. Behind-the-scenes content, relatable players, and community interaction are key. Engagement isn’t just broadcasting—it’s belonging. Why do you think the Amazon All or Nothing docuseries grabbed so many eyes on screens?!
4. Stop Talking to Kids. Start Talking to Young Adults.
The 18–25 market is often overlooked in favour of children or families. But these are tomorrow’s season ticket holders, fantasy league addicts, and content creators. Speak their language. Target their tribe.
5. Speed > Strategy in Social Media Success
BYCUK didn’t overthink it. They filmed, posted, and adapted on the fly. Sports organisations must become faster, more agile, and less afraid to test and fail. Momentum matters more than perfection. That’s going to be a big leap for many of the old guard, who are stuck in traditional content loops.