The Griezmann Effect: Orlando City’s Viral Announcement Strategy

In an international break that saw the last six tickets punched to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Orlando City stole the headlines announcing the signing of 35-year-old French World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid, joining the central Florida side after the World Cup. 

With over 70 million followers on social media, “Grizi” is one of the biggest names in world football. The move was always going to make a splash, but a brilliant content strategy around the announcement saw Orlando City’s social numbers reach new heights. Let’s dive in!

A Generational Pull

A player known for his passion around American sports, Griezmann can be caught courtside across the NBA and he also has a well-known passion for sports card collecting. His “Grizi Cards” Instagram account has more than 50,000 followers, so Orlando City leaned into for the announcement video. 

“A generational pull” indeed, the creative announcement video showed a simulated opening of Topps Chrome MLS cards ending on the Frenchman before zooming into his signature celebration soon to come to Inter & Co Stadium. 

This video posted across social media has nearly six million views combined with special kudos for the co-authored post with Topps, exposing the trading card-themed post to new fans sure to gain an extra affinity for Griezmann. The video is the third-most engaged reel posted by an MLS team this season outside of Inter Miami posts (and still rising). 

Collaboration Leads to Top-Performing Post

While the sizzle video hit the bullseye, you still have to get the basics right. By co-posting the official announcement with 433 and Fabrizio Romano, Orlando City ensured massive distribution of the biggest post. 

With over one million likes, the Griezmann announcement image is the most-liked single image post of any MLS team on Instagram in over a year and the first Instagram image by an MLS team other than Inter Miami to EVER go over 1 million likes.

Trending: Orlando City

With some amazing behind the scenes content sprinkled in and, of course, the customary selfie video, Orlando City posted massive numbers from the week of March 24th to 30th with over 40 million video views, 4 million engagements and 100,000 new followers added in just a week’s time. This saw Orlando City’s name among the top teams in the entire world over that seven-day time span.

Over that week’s time, Orlando City had more combined engagements across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube than any other North American pro sports team besides the LA Dodgers. 

Additionally, Orlando City ranked among the top soccer clubs in the world, finishing 10th in Instagram engagements among pro soccer teams globally during that seven-day time frame.

Lions fans will have to be patient for their new star to arrive after a big FIFA World Cup summer, but they know it will be well worth the wait.

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