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Business

opportunities in the
football industry
Research Proposal
TS1 – Group 3
OUR TEAM

BEATRIZ MARGARIDA PEDRO SOFIA TERESA


COSTA FONSECA PINHEIRO SÁ BRÁZIO
50397 48674 24246 47924 46050

2
Agenda
1 Executive Summary

2 Background

3 Problem Definition
1
4 Approach to the Problem

5 Research Design

6 Field work/Data Collection

7 Data Analysis

8 Reporting

9 Time & Cost

3
10 Appendices
01
Research Proposal | Executive Summary
Executive Summary
The following report intends to make a research proposal for the management problem “How can football clubs
identify and leverage business opportunities based on the behavioural segmentation of football fans”. This
challenge has been proposed by Federação Portuguesa de Futebol (FPF) and will be investigated by 5 students
finishing their MSc in Management at Nova School of Business and Economics.
Firstly, an analysis of the background has been conducted, in which challenges and opportunities were identified
in both the macro and micro environments. For the last couple of years, COVID-19 has been one of the biggest
challenges for the football industry and there are opportunities for growth, when it comes to the communication
done by the institution and the continuous advancements made in the technological field. Current monetization
strategies for FPF include selling merchandise and sponsorship deals.
Afterwards, the research problem was identified as “understanding the different segments of football fans
through the study of their behaviour and how it can be reflected on business opportunities for clubs” and the
main objective is to provide concrete recommendations to the FPF.
In the analysis of the state of the art studies, some previously identified segments of football fans were identified.
This will work as a benchmark for the implementation of this research. Then an analytical model was established
to fully analyse the impact of the different parameters in the type of football fans.
The methodology for the research was established with corresponding control mechanisms and data analysis
methods – interview followed by observation to obtain qualitative data and then distribution of questionnaires to
obtain further quantitative data.
Finally, the timeline for the report was determined with March 16th as the deadline and the cost of the research
was established to be €712,5.

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02
Research Proposal | Background
The Challenge
Identifying and revealing different types of
football fans and analyzing how/if the
existence of those different segments can
translate into different and better
monetization opportunities for clubs in
Portugal.

7
Environmental Analysis
The COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on the football
industry but there are a lot of opportunities available as the
world recovers, especially in terms of technological
advancements that can change the way football is seen.

For the FPF there are a lot of opportunities available when


it comes to improving communication with football fans. A
lot of what the federation does is still not well known by the
general public. Improving institutional communication is
key to avoid the threats that arise from this problem.

8
PESTEL Analysis

Political Economic Social

q COVID – 19 pandemic q €200 million GDP and €19 q Sustainability and healthier
thousand GDP per capita trend
q Political instability and early
elections q -8,44% growth rate q Aging population and increasing
longevity
q €3 million investment 2020, 1% q €128 million of private
less than in 2019 consumption and €38 million of q Social and Cultural aspects of
public consumption football in Portugal
q Access to a line of credit in 2021
q €74 055 million in exportations q Most fans support 1 of the 3
q Corruption in football and €78 134 million in biggest football clubs
importations.

q €366 481 million in social impact

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PESTEL Analysis

Technological Environmental Legal

q €3 232,21 million invested q Average temperature between q Legislation for sports activities
in R&D 7ºC and 18ºC available: goals and sport
equipment, international
q Relevance of Automation q Little rain throughout the year cooperation, high performance
and AI sports and so on
q Favorable climacteric conditions
q E-liga and VAR for sports practiced outside q Rules for advertisement and
sponsorships
q New technological
advancement in 2021

10
FPF SWOT Analysis

Strengths

- Seamless and intuitive online store


- Canal 11 and its YouTube channel allow transmission of
football games
- Website keeps all the information in one place
- Website as an entry way to other platforms: Complaint
Platform, Online Store, Canal 11, Portugal +, Online ticket
office & Press
- The latest YouTube videos have between 2 thousand and 30
thousand views
- Instagram, Twitter and Facebook updated regularly & have
good followers reach
- All platforms have the same visual identity
11
FPF SWOT Analysis

Weaknesses

- No membership option available for FPF


- Website not well organized nor very intuitive
- Online ticket office not working
- Blog feature in the online store seems misplaced
- In opposition to the YouTube channel of Canal 11, most videos
on the FPF’s YouTube channel have very little views
- FPF’s channel does not show engagement content
- FPF’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts do not have an
obvious name
- Poor LinkedIn performance in terms of followers, post likes and
post views
- FPF’s Instagram engagement rate (0,45%) is lower than the
engagement rate of the 3 biggest clubs in Portugal
12
FPF SWOT Analysis

Opportunities

- Space to invest in a vaster community on LinkedIn


- Room for collaboration to create content with the different
Portuguese clubs exploring all themes related to football
- Websites are becoming more intuitive, user-friendly and
information organized
- Online stores should also communicate the possibility of
buying on a physical store
- Potential to use social media platforms to communicate about
the organization itself

13
FPF SWOT Analysis

Threats

- Big Portuguese football clubs have clear merchandise physical stores.


- Unlike FPF, Portuguese clubs offer a membership option to fans
- The federation is rarely talked about in the most viewed news,
focusing more on big clubs
- Poor communication of all the CSR efforts or the opportunities it
offers in terms of education and other areas
- FPF is mostly associated to the national team, leaving behind other
areas in which it operates
- Seasonality of big football championships difficult the ability of the
federation to engage with fans

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Previous Strategies

Merchandise
1 Sponsorship 2
Deals Store
The current FPF sponsors are from several different The FPF has an online store where it sells
industries: Banking, High-end Clothing, Sports merchandise of the national teams. The items sold in
Clothing, Car Rental, Alcoholic Beverages (Beer), the store include:
Health Institutions, Telecommunications.
• The national equipment
Looking into the sponsors for the different • T-shirts
competitions there are also other sponsors like
• Jackets
supermarket chains and tv channels.
• Jeans
The main sponsorship deals for the 3 most relevant • Sweaters
clubs in Portugal (Sporting CP, SL Benfica, FC Porto)
Clubs in Portugal sell similar products with the
are brands for airlines, beer, online sport bets, shoes,
opportunity to personalize some items.
and insurance.
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03
Research Proposal | Problem Definition and
Objectives of the Research
Problem Definition

Management problem Research problem


How can football clubs identify and Understand the different segments of
leverage business opportunities based football fans through the study of their
on the behavioural segmentation of behaviour and how it can be reflected
football fans. on business opportunities for clubs.

17
Objectives of the Research
Main objective
Provide concrete recommendations to the FPF on how they can
use potential segments to find business opportunities and
sponsorships for football clubs based on their fan's behaviors.

Objective Components
• How frequent they watch a football game;
• How many times they go to the stadium;
• With how many people they watch the games with;
• What kind of interactions they have during the match, both
online and offline;
• How much money do they spend and in what items;
• Witch platforms are used to watch the game.

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04
Research Proposal | Approach to the Problem
Approach to the problem

Football as a movement
Football’s popularity as a sport is undeniable. Its global consumption as a form of
entertainment has become generalised.

What underlies this process of commodification?

§ Increasing ties between § Advent of pay-per-view § Reduction of stadium


corporations and other television capacities to create
businesses high-priced seating

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Approach to the problem

Football as a movement
Football is dominated by transnational corporations, in particular by merchandise
companies such as Nike, Reebok or Adidas, the world’s governing bodies (notably the
Fédération Internationale de Football Association and UEFA), and the largest football
clubs.

A study by Mastercard (2020), sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, reveals that
the Portuguese begin to feel the passion for football much earlier than any other
country in Europe.

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Approach to the problem

Fan Profiles
Jaeger Model: fans were characterised according to 10 criteria, and 5 different profiles
emerged:

Consuming Corporate Passive


Active Fans Event Fans
Fans Fans Followers

Those with a Similar to Active They’re not Those that have a These have a low
strong moral, and Fans but have a registered corporate involvement with
an interest and a different consumer members, and have relationship with the club, their
legal stake in the behaviour, with a a more “episodic” the club, usually as following is more
club (members). much higher relationship with sponsor. online and press-
economic impact on the club. based.
the club.
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Approach to the problem

Fan Profiles
Giulianotti Model: based on 4 different ideal types of spectator identity:

Supporter Follower Fans Flâneur

The classic The traditional/cool The hot/consumer A postmodern spectator


supporter with a spectators are spectator who’s a identity based on a
long-term personal followers the club, and modern fan of a depersonalized set of
and emotional also of players, club or its specific market dominated virtual
investment in the managers, and other players, celebrities relationships, through
club. stakeholders. in particular. Internet and TV.

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Approach to the problem

Sponsorships perceptions
ü High levels of consumer commitment and involvement, providing the opportunity to
build brands and strong relationships with football fans.

Factors for a positive perception Opportunities for new sponsorships

1. Notion about the sponsoring firm 1. Brand persona can be built around
2. Identification with the sport team team’s manager brand
sponsored 2. Covid-19 helped foster the social
3. Emotionally-engaged fans media relationship with football fans,
4. Team performance posing new monetizing opportunities

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Approach to the problem

Previous strategies

Barcelona FC was the first football club in world to partner


with Facebook to offer a “Fan Subscription” service,
allowing fans to access exclusive content and experiences.

Many clubs have created Fan Tokens, digital assets


created on a blockchain that grant owners access to a
service provided by clubs through the app Socios.com.
Fans now have the opportunity to engage with their
favourite teams through polls to decide on names of new
facilities, kit design, shirt numbers of new signings,
celebration songs and more.

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Analytical Model
Y = b0 + b1a + b2b + b3c + b4d + b5e + b6f + e

Y Football fan type

a Average number of times the fan watches games


Variables

b Average number of times the fan watches games at the stadium

c Average number of people the fan watches the games with

d The fan uses platforms to interact during the game

e Average amount of money the fan spends during games days

f The fan watches the games on TV

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05
Research Proposal | Research Design
Research Design
Information to consider: most common behaviour of a football fan during a football match

Methodology Methodology
Observation Sample
Sample
Interview
● Qualitative research and analysis ● Interview & Observation: 5
● Qualitative research and ● Primary data: observation people both female and male
analysis ● Personal observation between the ages 18-61
● Primary data: interview
● Projective and word
association techniques
Methodology Scaling
● Semi-structured interview Questionnaire
● Qualitative research and analysis ● Nominal Scale
● Primary data: questionnaires ● Ordinal Scale
● Self administered questionnaires

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Research Design
Information to consider: most common behaviour of a football fan during a football match

Interview Observation Questionnaires


characteristics Characteristics characteristics
● Each group member will ● Each group member will ● Each group member will send
interview a football fan observe a football fan during a 10 questionnaires
● A semi-structured interview match ● Closed & open questions
will be conducted ● Online questionnaires
● Structured observation
● Occur physically ● Natural observation ● Personal info will be included
● Undisguised interview ● Undisguised observation

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06
Research Proposal | Field Work/Data
Collection
How? Who? When?

Presential with a 90
Interview followed Nova Management
min duration
by observation of a students who each
between the dates
football fan will interview and
28th February - 10th
behaviour observe one football
March
fan

Control Mechanisms
1. Make sure the observation and interview really took place
2. Record answers from the interviewed and register the
behavior observed from the fan
3. Interview - recording
4. Observation - recording
5. Questionnaires - phone call after

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07
Research Proposal | Data Analysis
Data Analysis

Interviews
The 5 interviews will be analysed using 1
content analysis. The subject of the
message will be used as unit of analysis.

Observations
For the 5 observations the data will be 2
analysed through quantitative
descriptive analysis.

Questionnaires
3
Inferential Analysis will be used for the
questionnaires, through ANOVA and
Regression methods.

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08
Research Proposal | Reporting
Reporting

Timeline Format

3 16/03/2022 The final report will be presented to the client


Final Report and delivered in slides in a pdf digital version.

Metrics
2 11/03/2022
Research Results and • Number of participants interviewed;
Questionnaire Proposal
• Number of behavioural segments founded;
• Number of recommendations made;

1 25/02/2022 • Number of brands recommended for


Research Proposal possible partnerships.
and Interview Guide
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09
Research Proposal | Time & Cost
Time

• Weekly meetings will occur until the last deadline of the proposal (16th of March). It is estimated to
take about 35h to be complete.

• Each member will take 90 minutes to observe their football fan - 7,5h in total. The interview will
take about 1 hour- 5 hours each.

• We therefore expect a total of 47,5 hours total spent with this research.

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL


INTERVIEW
OBSERVATION
QUESTIONNAIRES

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Cost
Total expenditure for the research: €712,5
• As the interviews and observations will be made by the team, only the time spent in these
activities must be accounted as a cost for the research. The team will use their own equipment
and it will not incur any more costs with the interviews and observation phases. At a rate of
€15/hour and 12,5 hours spent, this sums to a total of €187,5€.

• The questionnaires will be distributed online so no costs will be incurred at this stage.

• The team will analyse the data transforming it into valuable information. The time spent
performing this analysis is assumed to be included in the weekly meetings (35 hours). At the
same rate of €15/hour, this stage sums to a total of €525.

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10
Research Proposal | Appendices
Appendix 1 - PESTEL Analysis
Politics have a lot of impact in the practice of professional football in Portugal. This was especially
noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic when the government was able to fully stop the practice of
the sport and prohibit public in the stadiums during the games. Political instability and anticipated
Political elections also had influence in the football industry the power to make the sport stop, as was seen in
the end of 2021. In 2020, the government invested €2 954 932 in football which represents a decrease
of 1% versus 2019. In 2021, the government gave clubs access to a line of credit of €30 million to
support the come back of sports activities.
Corruption in the football industry is also a big deal in Portugal. A lot of cases have been talked about in
the press. “Apito Dourado” is an example of corruption in the Portuguese football market.
In 2020, Portugal had a GDP of €200,087 million, the GDP per capita was €19 431,50 and the growth
rate was -8,44% in comparison with 2019. The pandemic COVID-19 can partially explain the negative
growth rate. The private consumption in 2020 represented €128 483,4 million and the public
consumption represented €38 309,3 million.
Economic The total of exportations for Portugal in 2020 was €74 055,8 million and the total of importations was
€78 134,1 million.
According to the UEFA Grow SROI study, football has a positive social impact of €366 481 million in
the areas of voluntary work, jobs and education. Furthermore, the study reveals that football reduces
crime by €200 thousand and creates almost 460 thousand projects and programs.

The sustainability and healthier trend is getting increasingly relevant in Portugal and in the world.
Furthermore, the population resident in the country is aging every year and longevity is increasing.
Social Football has a social and cultural aspect in Portugal as it has been in the country since the 19th century.
Nowadays, most football fans in Portugal support one of the next three football clubs: Sporting CP, SL
Benfica or FC Porto. 40
Appendix 1 - PESTEL Analysis cont.
In 2020, Portugal invested €3 236,21 million in research and development activities.
Automation and AI is increasingly becoming part of the day-to-day life of all sectors and
industries. At the start of the 2016-2017 football season, Liga Portuguesa introduced E-liga –
Technological a technological platform that manages the details of the championship. This was a huge
technological advancement for the football industry. In November 2021, Portugal started
testing a new technological advancement made by FIFA that allows to detect with more
precision if there is an action that needs to be further analysed by the VAR - another
technological advancement already introduced in Portugal.

Portugal’s average temperature is 7ºC in the higher locations in the north and center and 18ºC
Environmental in the south and seaside. Besides, Portugal is a country where there is typically little rain
throughout the year. These climacteric conditions are favorable to the practice of sports
outside, as it is the case of football.

In Portugal, all sports must oblige to the legislation available. The sport industry is legislated
in terms of accessibility to people with disabilities, accidents on the job for professionals in
sports, local public administration, sports promoting associations, associativism, goals and
Legal sport equipment, fiscal benefits, quality certification, classification of sports shows,
distinctions, international cooperation, high performance sports, and so on. There are many
other areas of sports that are legislated in Portugal, these are some of the most relevant for
the football case. Furthermore, in Portugal, all advertisement activities must be clearly stated
as so, this covers all sponsorship activities as well.
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Appendix 2: FPF SWOT Analysis

Strengths

- FPF’s website keeps all relevant information for the sport in one place (most recent news,
information about the last championship, sources to buy tickets for the national team and so
on).
- The official website for the federation works as a way into other media owned by the
federation: Complaint Platform, Online Store, Canal 11, Portugal + (the official fan club for
the national teams), Online ticket office, Press.
- The online store of the federation works seamlessly and is overall intuitive.
- Canal 11 and its YouTube channel allow for the frequent transmission of football games. The
latest YouTube videos have between 2 thousand and 30 thousand views.
- Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are updated regularly and have a good reach of followers.
- All platforms of FPF have the same visual identity, which enables brand recognition and
builds the brand image

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Appendix 2: FPF SWOT Analysis cont.

Weaknesses

- The federation’s website is not very intuitive or well organized.


- The online store has a sort of blog for the federation incorporated which does not seem to be the
appropriate place for it.
- In opposition to the YouTube channel of Canal 11, most videos on the FPF’s YouTube channel have
very little views. In the FPF’s channel it is not possible to find engagement videos like the playlist of
the origins of the football players that exists in the Canal 11 channel. This may be one reason for the
low engagement in this platform.
- The online ticket office is not working.
- The federation’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts do not have an obvious name. They do
not have “Federação Portuguesa Futebol” incorporated somewhere in the name of the accounts.
- LinkedIn has a small scale in comparison to the other social media accounts. In particular, in terms of
followers, post likes and post views.
- The Instagram engagement rate of FPF (0,45%) is lower than the engagement rate of the 3 biggest
clubs (SL Benfica – 0,89%, Sporting CP – 1,21%, FC Porto – 1,08%).
- FPF does not have a membership option while clubs offer this option to their fans.
43
Appendix 2: FPF SWOT Analysis cont.

Opportunities

- There is space to invest in creating a vaster community on LinkedIn as the dimension of this
account is smaller than all other social media platforms. Content creation on LinkedIn increased
60% in 2020.
- An opportunity lies in developing a proper blog for the federation exploring all themes related to
football. There is potential to featuring some football players, telling their stories, for example, as
it was similarly done already in the Canal 11 YouTube channel.
- There is space for collaboration with the different clubs to create content that is inclusive of the
different clubs in Portugal for which the FPF is responsible.
- If the website comprises to much information, it can become overwhelming for a new visitant.
Furthermore, websites are becoming more intuitive and user-friendly.
- Online stores should also communicate the possibility of buying on a physical store. Physical
locations are important for promotion of the brand and when people are buying clothes.
- There is an opportunity to create a membership option to cultivate a bigger and more loyal fan
base as well as a stronger community.
- Social media platforms can also be used to communicate about the organization itself, besides
promoting the national teams.
44
Appendix 2: FPF SWOT Analysis cont.

Threats

- Football clubs like Sporting CP, SL Benfica and FC Porto have clear physical stores where
merchandise can be bought.
- FPF does not have a membership option while clubs offer this option to their fans. This
incentivizes the creation of stronger community and fan base.
- The federation is rarely talked about in the most viewed news. The communication in Portugal
is very focused on the bigger clubs - Sporting CP, SL Benfica and FC Porto.
- It is not well communicated all the CSR efforts the FPF does or the opportunities it offers in
terms of education and other areas.
- FPF is mostly associated to the national team and all other areas where it is not well known by
the population the other areas in which it operates.
- Seasonality of football championships like the European and World championships difficult
the ability of the federation to engage with fans.

45
Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles

Jaeger Model
Football fans can be characterised according to ten classification criteria:
-Impact: various positive and negative impacts fans have on their club.
-Legitimacy of relationship: besides their interest and moral stake in their club, fans in the German
club structure can also hold a legal and financial stake.
-Interest: their sports-related, economic, social or political interest in their clubs.
-Social Identity: their social identities, including age, gender, nationality, social status, educational
background, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
-Involvement: while some fans are “passive followers” (01–02) of their club (e.g. TV, print or online
consumption), others are actively involved through membership and corresponding voting rights,
match-day activities, choreographies or political initiatives.
-Organisational structures: while many fans are unorganised followers of their club, others are highly
organised in integrated or independent organisational structures.
-Social behaviour: fan groups are often characterised by a high level of collectivism, with common
rituals, similar habits and attitudes, and strong social relationships between members.
46
Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles

Jaeger Model (cont.)


-Emotional attachment: many fans have a strong relationship to their club and are characterised by
strong levels of identification and passion.
-Political attitudes: political attitudes of fans can include sports–political attitudes towards issues
such as ticket prices, commercialisation of sports, fan-friendly kick-off times or preservation of fan
culture and fan-friendly ownership structures. Socio-political attitudes of football fans can reach
from left- to right-wing positions and may affect in acts of or against racism, anti-Semitism,
homophobia or discrimination.
-Consumer behaviour: consumption can include purchase of official club membership or official fan
club membership, leading to continuous subscription fees. Furthermore, consumption of fans can
include purchase of season tickets or day tickets for home and away games in different pricing
segments, such as seating tickets, standing tickets or very important persons (VIP) and hospitality
tickets. Moreover, many fans regularly consume merchandise items of their favourite club, including
clothes or accessories. Other supporters may consume TV, print, website and social media content.
47
Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles

Jaeger Model (cont.)


Football fans can be segmented into 5 fan typologies, according to the previous characteristics.

-Active fans: characterised by a strong moral and interest stake and a legal stake in case that they are
official members of their club. They have a strong emotional, social and sports-related impact on
their club. Their economic impact is low, since they often boycott licensed merchandise of their club
and combat every kind of commercialisation. Still, they are generally season ticket holders and follow
their club to home and away games, paying a degree of monetary contribution. Active fans are
characterised by a high level of match-day and non-match-day involvement and feel responsible for
fan choreographies, political initiatives or social engagement. They are organised in independent
groups (generally not registered as official fan clubs) and are characterised by a strong degree of
collectivism and solidarity, practicing similar rituals and promoting similar political attitudes.

48
Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles

Jaeger Model (cont.)


-Consuming fans: have many similarities to active fans but differ strongly in their consumer
behaviour. Besides visiting their clubs' home and away games regularly, they wear official
merchandise and consume media services (match-day magazine, website, social media and TV
content) and other services, such as catering during match days. Hence, their economic impact on
the club is much stronger than that of the active fans. Consuming fans are characterised by strong
levels of identification, passion and loyalty. Demographics are very heterogeneous, although they
often have a local background.
-Event fans: not registered members or fan club members. Hence, they generally do not have a legal
stake to the club. They have a low emotional and sports-related impact on the club. Still, when
visiting games, they have a high economic and social impact, interacting about the event and
consuming match-day merchandise. They visit selected home games (e.g. against local rivals) and are
characterised by a high level of match-related involvement and participation.

49
Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles

Jaeger Model (cont.)


-Corporate fans: have a corporate relationship to the club and therefore generally have a high
economic and social impact. As part of the corporate relationship, they can have a legal stake to the
club, e.g. through an official sponsorship between their company and the football club. Their social
behaviour is characterised by business etiquette and corporate representation on match days.
Corporate fans only visit selected home games and predominantly consume match-day hospitality
services and VIP offers.
-Passive followers: Passive followers have a low emotional, economic, sports-related and social
impact on the club and are characterised by low identification, passion and loyalty, as well as a low
level of involvement. Their expectations towards the club are grounded in the desire for insights and
information. They consume press, TV and online content and have loose relationships to other fans.

50
Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles

Giulianotti Model
Four ideal types of spectator identity: supporters, followers, fans, and flâneurs.

-Supporter: The classic supporter has a long-term personal and emotional investment in the club.
This may be supplemented (but never supplanted) by a market-centered investment, such as buying
shares in the club or expensive club merchandise, but the rationale for that outlay is still
underpinned by a conscious commitment to show thick personal solidarity and offer monetary
support toward the club.
-Follower: The traditional/cool spectators are followers of clubs, but they are also followers of
players, managers, and other football people. The follower is so defined not by an itinerant journey
alongside the club but, instead, by keeping abreast of developments among clubs and football people
in which he or she has a favourable interest.

51
Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles

Giulianotti Model (cont.)


-Fans: The hot/consumer spectator is a modern fan of a football club or its specific players,
particularly its celebrities. The fan develops a form of intimacy or love for the club or its specific
players, but this kind of relationship is inordinately unidirectional in its affections. The fans’
strength of identification with the club and its players is thus authenticated most readily through the
consumption of related products. Such consumption might take the direct form of purchasing
merchandise, buying shares, or contributing to fundraising initiatives.

-Flâneur: Acquires a postmodern spectator identity through a depersonalized set of market


dominated virtual relationships, particularly interactions with the cool media of television and the
Internet.

52
Appendix 4 - Interview Guide

Warm-up
Good morning / afternoon / evening. My name is __________ and I’m currently a student of
Management at the NOVA School of Business and Economics. For the Methods in Applied
Business Problems course we are conducting a research related to football clubs.
For this purpose, I would like to interview you for approximately 45 to 60 minutes, by means of
a depth-interview, which means that, for the most part, I will not ask you questions, but
instead let you talk freely after the first initial question. This also means there are not right or
wrong answers and you are free to say whatever comes to your mind on the subject.

For the purpose of analysing our interviews later, I would like to record our conversation –
would that be ok? It will remain anonymous and you will not be contacted further past this
interview.

53
Appendix 4 - Interview Guide

Initial Question
• How would you describe your relationship with football?

Relationship with the club


• What is your favourite football club?
• Why are you a fan of [name of football club]?
• Do you pay for oficial membership of [name of football club]?
• Have you ever changed football clubs? Why/Why not?

54
Appendix 4 - Interview Guide

Relationship with the club


• How frequently do you watch football matches?
[If very frequently] Do you make a lot of efforts to watch every game?
• What is a reason that would make you miss a match?
• Do you watch only the games of your favourite club, or do you also watch matches of other clubs?
• What makes you watch/not watch other team’s games?
• Where do you usually watch the game?
[In case stadium] How many times a month do you watch a football game in a stadium?
[If not always stadium] When you don’t go to the stadium, what do you use to watch the game? i.e. Tv,
Phone, or other platform?

55
Appendix 4 - Interview Guide

Relationship with the club


• Do you usually go to your team’s rivals stadium to watch a game of your club? Why/ Why not?
• Have you ever traveled far lengths to watch your team play, i.e to another city or even another
country?
[If yes] What is your criteria to go or not go to a match away from home?
[If no] Why? Is there anything that would make you go?
• Do you follow your favorite club on Social Media?
[If yes] Do you usually interact with them? If so, when/in which occasions?
• Do you own any merchandise of your club?
[If yes] What and when do you use/wear it?
[If not] Would you like to have some? Why don’t you have it?

56
Appendix 4 - Interview Guide

Social Behaviour
• What is the ideal environment for you to watch a game?
• Do you usually watch the game alone?
[If not] With whom do you watch the game?
• When you are watching a game, do you check any Social Media?
• Do you have any group chat used specifically to discuss matches?
• If you do, do you check it/ communicate during and after the game?
• Do you eat and drink during a match?
[If yes] What type of food do you eat?
[If yes] And what type of beverage do you drink?
• Do you get anxious/nervous whilst watching a game
[If yes] What is the one thing that gets you more anxious/nervous during the game?
[If yes] And what do you do when that happens?
57
Appendix 4 - Interview Guide

Susceptability to sponsorhips
• Do you know your team’s/FPF’s main sponsors?
[If yes] Do you own anything by them?
[If yes] If it is a service, do you use their services?
• Did you own/use the product/service before they sponsored your team?
[If not] Do you think the fact they became a sponsor influenced your choice?
• If you use a competitor's product/service, what do you think your club’s sponsor could do to
get you to switch over?
• Do you think every sponsorship is fair game? Is there a limit?
• Should the sponsors identity be aligned with that of the club?
• Are you more skeptical of products that are promoted when they are from club sponsors?

58
Appendix 4 - Interview Guide

Brand Image
• Can you say the first five words that comes to your mind when you think about your club? And
FPF?
• Do you try to influence other people to like your club? Or FPF? How?
• If your club was a person, how would you describe him/her? And FPF?
• How would you differentiate the persona of your club from the other 2 main competitors?

59
Appendix 4 - Interview Guide

Interviewee’s Profile
Gender School Degree Ocupational Group
Female High School G01 – Senior/top management
Male Bachelor’s Degree G02 – Specialized technicians
Prefer not to say Masters Degree G03 – Services/Commerce/Administrative
Doctoral Degree G04 – Specialized workers
Age: ________
G05 – Non-specialized workers

City of Living: ________ G06 – Non-active


G07 - Students
G08 – Domestic

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Appendix 5 - Observation Grid
Date:
Location:
Start/Stop time:

Observed Behaviour
Area of observation Comments

How does his/her state of mind seems to be Calm, Relaxed, Nervous, Excited, Why/ How do they react
before the game Frustrated, Other
Location watching the game Home, Cafe, Restaurant, Friend´s
House, Other
With who is he/she watching the game Friend / Family member, Other Are they from the same team

Interactions with others during the game Yes/No With whom / About what

Type of platform used to watch the game Tablet, Tv, Smartphone, Other

Feelings expressed during the game Nervous, Anxious, Excited, Happy, Sad, Why / How do they react
Mad, Other
61
Appendix 5 - Observation Grid

Observed Behaviour
Area of observation Comments

Eating/Drinking during the game Yes/No What/ What brand

Online engagement during the game Yes/No Which apps/ What was done inside the
apps
What do they do during the interval Discuss the game with others, eats a
snack, checks social media, bathroom
break
How does his/her state of mind seems to Calm, Relaxed, Nervous, Excited, Why/ How do they react
be after the game Frustrated, Other

What do they do at the end of the game Do they watch the game comments,
Do they switch channel, Do they turn
off their device, Other

62
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THANK YOU!
Research Proposal

TS1 – Group 3

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