Fans’ reaction to environmental sustainability initiatives by sports organizations

This study explores football fans’ suggestions for improving the pro-environmental sustainability initiatives of a professional sport team and examines how these suggestions evolved over time during and after the COVID-19 period. Professional sport teams increasingly use sustainability initiatives to engage fans and encourage environmentally friendly behaviors, but little is known about how supporters perceive these efforts or how their expectations change over time. This work uses a longitudinal qualitative design to analyze thousands of fan-generated suggestions, providing insight into the evolving priorities of sport consumers regarding environmental sustainability.

The researchers conducted two waves of data collection in 2020 and 2021 with supporters of FC Porto, a Portuguese professional football club strongly engaged in sustainability initiatives. Using open-ended questionnaires, the study collected 2,390 valid suggestions from 1,687 club members, and the responses were analyzed through a multistep content analysis to identify recurring themes and changes over time.

Five major themes emerged from fans’ suggestions: sustainable venue design, eco-friendly matchday operations, green sponsorship activation, pro-environmental communication, and improving the overall matchday experience. Over time, supporters showed increasing concern for renewable energy, recycling, and waste reduction, while the findings also highlighted the growing importance of sustainability communication and fan engagement in shaping environmentally responsible behaviors.

The findings suggest that sport organizations should continuously monitor fans’ sustainability expectations, improve communication about environmental initiatives, and develop concrete matchday actions that encourage sustainable behaviors. More broadly, the study demonstrates how sport teams can use emotional connections with supporters to promote environmental awareness, strengthen fan loyalty, and support wider societal sustainability goals.

CITE: Cayolla, R., Kellison, T., McCullough, B. P., Biscaia, R., Escadas, M., & Santos, T. (2024). Exploring the evolution of suggested improvements to pro-environmental sustainability initiatives: empirical evidence from a professional sport team. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1–15. DOI: 10.1080/0965254X.2024.2434752

#Sustainability #Fans #Loyalty #Behavior #Attitudes