The emergence of social media and digital channels have expanded communication practices and also created new, virtual spaces where sports fans can interact and communicate directly with each other and with clubs. This article examines the potential for social media brand communities to develop a sense of both community and place amongst sports fans. It explores their influence in placemaking initiatives through the bonding and bridging social capital of a football club’s supporters. A netnographic study of a football club’s supporter networks (five channels) and their interactions with social media brand communities was performed. Data gathered from online sources was underpinned by interviews with 25 members of the community. Findings were analysed via NVivo using bridging and bonding social capital as a theoretical lens. The paper makes two primary contributions to knowledge. It enhances our understanding of the impact of SMBCs and their use in a sporting context—an area that has become increasingly significant during the COVID-19 pandemic enforced lockdowns that have kept fans out of venues. It also contributes to our understanding of the influence of placemaking strategies upon the social capital of supporter communities.

社交媒体和数字渠道的出现扩大了交流实践，也创造了新的虚拟空间，体育迷们可以在此相互之间以及与俱乐部直接进行交互和交流。本文探讨了社交媒体品牌社区在体育迷之间发展社区意识和地位的潜力。它通过结合和桥接足球俱乐部支持者的社会资本，探索其在场所营造计划中的影响。对足球俱乐部的支持者网络（五个渠道）及其与社交媒体品牌社区的互动进行的网络志研究。从在线来源收集的数据得到了25位社区成员的采访的支持。通过NVivo使用桥接和绑定社会资本作为理论视角对发现进行了分析。本文对知识做出了两个主要贡献。它增强了我们对SMBC的影响及其在体育环境中的使用的理解-在COVID-19大流行强制封锁期间，这一领域变得越来越重要，这使球迷无法进入比赛场地。它还有助于我们了解场所制定策略对支持者社区的社会资本的影响。