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To better understand the needs of the club's supporters and the place that the Maccabi Tel Aviv brand occupies within Israeli sports, the club have in recent months carried out an extensive study.  The study was conducted on two levels; quantitative, with an on-line questionnaire, and qualitative using focus groups.  The study was intended mainly to obtain feedback from supporters on the whole spectrum of the Maccabi Tel Aviv brand with a view to improving the bond between the two.  The results of the studies revealed a clear picture: Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club have a potential of over a half a million fans, the highest potential of any football club in Israel.

As regards fan loyalty to the club, the study revealed the following: About half of the subjects did not express support for any football club in Israel (51%), the other half is divided between supporters of Israel's four big clubs (Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem) which take up the majority share (38%) ,and other teams (11%).  Maccabi Tel Aviv are the team with the largest number of supporters in Israel.  Their share is slightly higher than that of Maccabi Haifa and Beitar Jerusalem, but the difference is not significant.  In fourth place, at a significant distance,are Hapoel Tel Aviv.

The next stage of the study divided Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters into four major categories:

4% "die hards", i.e. fans who even attend training sessions, the club being a significant part of their lives at all t.imes.

30% high level fans, i.e. fans who attend most of the home games and completely identify with the team.

50% mid-level fans who do not attend most of the games and mainly follow the team on TV and on-line.

16% low level fans, i.e. fans who at one point defined themselves as Maccabi fans, but who do not really care one way or another.

Among young people, preference for Maccabi Tel Aviv is slightly higher than that reported by adults.  A similar phenomenon was found for Hapoel Haifa but the opposite result was obtained for Beitar Jerusalem and other smaller teams.  Among adults, the ages in which there is a relatively high level of enthusiasm are 25-34 and 45-64, i.e. fans who grew up in the illustrious Maccabi Tel Aviv decades of the 1970's and 1990's.

The following emerges from an analysis of the average Maccabi Tel Aviv fan profile: Naturally, the highest share of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans resides in the Metropolitan Tel Aviv area (33%), but the share is also high in the south and the more rural areas just outside the Tel Aviv metropolis (28%).  Maccabi Tel Aviv fans earn an average income, most are secular and their education level averages at the undergraduate degree level.  It also emerged that the stronger the devotion to the game of  football in general, the higher the preference for Maccabi Tel Aviv as a club.

Pursuant to the study, Maccabi Tel Aviv have plans to make their club more transparent, so that the fans can have a better look inside and get better acquainted with the organisation.  Among other things, they have launched a new site that provides informative and entertaining content, a Facebook page that has over 30,000 "Likes" and the club are investing great efforts in finding ways to promote greater interaction between the fans and the team.

The objective is clear – attracting more families to attend matches and making every game a more pleasant experience for them.  At recent home games, fans have been invited to come early to enjoy activities, including mini-games held around the stadium gates and a team mascot has appeared at recent matches and been given the opportunity to interact with young fans.  And as a sign of increased supporter involvement at the club, the mascot's name "Maccabinio" was chosen by fans themselves on the club's official Facebook page.