Portugal's leading sports media platform showcases an exemplary implementation of the Player of the Match (POTM) functionality, demonstrating how strategic content integration can maximize fan engagement around match experiences. Their approach of embedding POTM widgets directly within relevant sports articles has proven highly effective in transforming passive content consumption into active community participation, extending match interest well beyond the final whistle.
Platform Background
Founded in 1945, this renowned sports media brand is the most prominent in the Portuguese-speaking world. It has established itself as the #1 source for trustworthy, quick, and entertaining sports news for millions of Portuguese users, with sizable audiences in Brazil and Mozambique. With its digital, TV, and print channels, the platform continues to grow its reach both in Portugal and beyond.
Fans United Implementation Background
This prominent Portuguese sports platform's journey with Fans United features began in March 2024, starting with prediction-based gamification elements like Top X and Match Quiz. These features were enhanced by additional loyalty elements such as leaderboards with rewards.
After successfully establishing these core features and also implementing discussions and polls, they expanded their offering to include POTM in May 2025, further enriching their community engagement toolkit.
Platform Integration Approach
The sports media platform has adopted the same successful strategy used for their polls implementation, seamlessly integrating POTM widgets directly within relevant sports articles rather than creating a separate dedicated section. This contextual placement ensures maximum visibility and creates natural engagement opportunities that feel like a genuine extension of the reading experience.
By embedding POTM widgets within match reports and post-match analysis articles, they create perfect contextual relevance where readers who have just consumed match content can immediately participate in recognizing outstanding player performances. This strategic placement transforms traditional match reporting into an interactive experience that keeps fans engaged long after the match ends.
💡 💬 The platform further enhances engagement with the discussions functionality, allowing users to not only vote on Player of the Match but also comment and engage in conversations around extraordinary performances. This powerful combination creates a complete feedback loop where fans can both quickly express their opinion through voting and engage in deeper conversations through comments, significantly increasing overall engagement with the content.
POTM Widget Embedded Within a Dedicated Sports Article
POTM Design Integration
The platform made a strategic decision to utilize the pre-built POTM widgets rather than implementing a headless integration and creating custom designs from scratch. This approach allowed them to launch POTM functionality quickly with minimum development work required from their technical team, significantly reducing time-to-market and resource allocation.
While the widgets come with a pre-made design that ensures consistent functionality and user experience across all implementations, the platform still benefited from available customization options. The widgets seamlessly integrate within the article flow, appearing at natural break points where readers would expect to find interactive elements.
The clean, intuitive interface allows users to quickly identify players, cast their votes, and view real-time results without disrupting their reading experience. The visual design emphasizes player photos and clear voting percentages, making it easy for users to participate and understand the community's collective opinion. This ready-to-use approach enabled the platform to focus their development resources on content strategy and user engagement rather than widget development and maintenance.
🚀 You can Take a Look at Our Expanded Widgets Suite Here
Clean & intuitive design - quickly identifiable players & results once voting is closed
Sports Content Strategy
The platform particularly emphasizes on POTM widgets within articles covering significant matches in the Portuguese-speaking sports world. They chose to launch the feature live during one of the most anticipated matches in Portuguese football - a local derby between Benfica and Sporting, which was also the final of the Portuguese Cup (Taça de Portugal).
By ensuring strong thematic connections between articles and their associated POTM widgets, they drive higher engagement as readers are already invested in the match and players being discussed.
Further Reading