Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TS1 Group3
TS1 Group3
opportunities in the
football industry
Research Proposal
TS1 – Group 3
OUR TEAM
2
Agenda
1 Executive Summary
2 Background
3 Problem Definition
1
4 Approach to the Problem
5 Research Design
7 Data Analysis
8 Reporting
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.
5
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.
8
PESTEL Analysis
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.
9
PESTEL Analysis
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
Weaknesses
Opportunities
13
FPF SWOT Analysis
Threats
14
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.
15
03
Research Proposal | Problem Definition and
Objectives of the Research
Problem Definition
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.
20
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.
21
Approach to the problem
Fan Profiles
Jaeger Model: fans were characterised according to 10 criteria, and 5 different profiles
emerged:
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.
22
Approach to the problem
Fan Profiles
Giulianotti Model: based on 4 different ideal types of spectator identity:
23
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.
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
24
Approach to the problem
Previous strategies
25
Analytical Model
Y = b0 + b1a + b2b + b3c + b4d + b5e + b6f + e
26
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
29
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.
33
08
Research Proposal | Reporting
Reporting
Timeline Format
Metrics
2 11/03/2022
Research Results and • Number of participants interviewed;
Questionnaire Proposal
• Number of behavioural segments founded;
• Number of recommendations made;
• 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.
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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.
38
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
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.
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Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles
-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.
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Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles
49
Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles
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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.
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Appendix 3 – Detailed Fan Profiles
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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?
54
Appendix 4 - Interview Guide
55
Appendix 4 - Interview Guide
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?
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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
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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
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Appendix 5 - Observation Grid
Observed Behaviour
Area of observation Comments
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