Top 20 Premier League clubs on Instagram in the UK (H1 2026)

Arsenal lead the Premier League on Instagram. In the first half of 2026, the Gunners generated £37.7m in Earned Media Value (EMV), well ahead of Manchester United (£15.9m) and Manchester City (£11.8m). Together they set the pace through sheer content volume and a deep creator base that keeps fans engaged all season.

But the leaderboard tells a bigger story. Instagram is still one of the biggest visibility drivers for Premier League clubs, and H1 2026 shows just how competitive the picture has become. Title chasers, established names and newly promoted sides are all fighting for space in crowded feeds.

Scale clearly helps. The biggest clubs win on global reach and recognition. Smaller sides win on local relevance and strong engagement. Coventry is a good example, climbing seven places with £1.8m in EMV, while Manchester City posts a league-leading 9.5% engagement rate off a much smaller content base.

This report ranks the Top 20 Premier League clubs by EMV on Instagram in the UK, comparing January to June 2026 with the same period in 2025. It draws on close to 22,000 Instagram mentions, picked up by more than 7,900 Key Opinion Leader (KOL) profiles across 21 club accounts.

Inside, you get the full leaderboard plus the numbers behind it: content volume, creator base, engagement rates and the shifts shaping football marketing right now. The ranking gives access to Kolsquare data, so you can see exactly where every club lands and how the season has reshaped the table.

Download the full ranking to see the complete Top 20, and what these movements mean for your own influence strategy.

FAQ

Which Premier League club leads on Instagram in 2026?

‍Arsenal lead the Premier League on Instagram in H1 2026, with £37.7m in Earned Media Value (EMV) from 9,362 pieces of content shared by 3,167 KOLs.

Who are the top three Premier League clubs on Instagram?

‍Arsenal (£37.7m EMV), Manchester United (£15.9m) and Manchester City (£11.8m) make up the top three by Earned Media Value in the UK for H1 2026.

What is Earned Media Value (EMV)?

‍EMV measures the value of the exposure a brand earns through creator and fan content. Kolsquare calculates it using the Ayzenberg method, the industry-standard formula that weighs total engagement (likes, comments, shares) against the cost of those engagements.

Which club climbed the most this season?‍

Coventry rose seven places, the biggest climb in the Top 20, reaching £1.8m in EMV.

How was the ranking built?

‍It draws on Kolsquare data covering 21 Premier League club accounts and close to 22,000 Instagram mentions, picked up by more than 7,900 KOL profiles between January and June 2026, compared with the same period in 2025.