Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment 9811970092, 9789811970092

Citation preview

Sports Economics, Management and Policy Series Editor: Dennis Coates

Bhaskar Basu Michel Desbordes Soumya Sarkar   Editors

Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment

Sports Economics, Management and Policy Volume 21

Series Editor Dennis Coates, Baltimore, MD, USA

The aim of this series is to provide academics, students, sports business executives, and policy makers with information and analysis on the cutting edge of sports economics, sport management, and public policy on sporting issues. Volumes in this series can focus on individual sports, issues that cut across sports, issues unique to professional sports, or topics in amateur sports. Each volume will provide rigorous analysis with the purpose of advancing understanding of the sport and the sport business, improving decision making within the sport business and regarding policy toward sports, or both. Volumes may include any or all of the following: theoretical modelling and analysis, empirical investigations, or description and interpretation of institutions, policies, regulations, and law.

Bhaskar Basu · Michel Desbordes · Soumya Sarkar Editors

Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment

Editors Bhaskar Basu Xavier Institute of Management XIM University Bhubaneswar, India

Michel Desbordes University Paris-Saclay Orsay, France

Soumya Sarkar Indian Institute of Management Ranchi Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

ISSN 2191-298X ISSN 2191-2998 (electronic) Sports Economics, Management and Policy ISBN 978-981-19-7009-2 ISBN 978-981-19-7010-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Foreword

Following a recent class that I gave to my postgraduate students in Paris, one member of the group approached me and exclaimed, “your classes really scare me.” Of course, I apologized for any such fears that I may have induced within her. Instead, I proposed to the student that she might want to think about what people in another hundred years time might say about the period in which we are currently living. Rather than fear and trepidation, I invited her to embrace our current age as one of unprecedented changes that will shape at least the remainder of the twenty-first century or probably longer than that. I am not sure she was convinced, so instead, I reissue the invite, this time to readers of this esteemed and timely book. Change is ever present in life, though we live in a period of incredibly far-reaching and profound changes, which I referred to in my Paris class as “giga changes”: globalization, digitalization, and environmentalism. Independently and in combination, these changes are shaping all aspects of contemporary sport, though nowhere is this perhaps more evident than in sport. During the first quarter of the twenty-first century, the world has seen a sharp eastward pivot in economic and political power, most notably toward China but also including India. This has stimulated strong growth, leading to rising exports, growing employment, and strengthening disposable incomes. In turn, a renewed focus on sport has been adopted by such countries, while the likes of European football clubs have rapidly turned their attention east in pursuit of lucrative new revenue streams. This quest for new revenues has, in part, been driven and sustained by the changes in digital technology that we have seen over the last thirty years. First, satellite broadcasting technology, followed by the Internet, then social media, and now ondemand content streaming, virtual worlds, and more generally the metaverse, are shaping everything from delivery to consumption in sport. Again, one witnesses the growing significance of India in this sphere; indeed, Abu Dhabi-owned City Football Group’s acquisition of a Mumbai franchise mirrors the small Gulf nation’s investment in Reliance Jio.

v

vi

Foreword

Environmental change is upon us, affecting everything from test-match cricket washouts to the creation of new sports and events. India’s Mahindra Racing is one example of the latter, having competed in Formula E since its inception back in 2014. More than anything, environmental issues pose an existential threat to both sport and humanity, the result of several centuries in which coal, oil, and gas consumption became dominant. We are seeing the likes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar rapidly seeking to diversify their economies away from dependence on revenues derived from carbon fuel deposits. This is resulting in huge, era-defining investments in sport, such as Qatar’s staging of the 2022 men’s FIFA World Cup. Compared to the Western hegemony that underpinned sport in the twentieth century, sport today is changed and will be changing. The way in which giga changes are shaping every aspect of sport is significant, although nations across the world are conceiving of these changes in very different ways. Some nations, including Russia, are being strongly driven by state-led policy and investment; for others, such as in the USA, the ultimate arbiter of motives and resource allocation is still the free market. Whatever the change and how it is managed, it is inevitable that some people may fear both what is happening and what is still to come. This text plays an important role in taking stock of what we are currently encountering and also in introducing us to the possibilities of what comes next. The book, therefore, plays an important role, especially from an Indian perspective, given that there appears to be a strengthening interest in the management, business, and political aspects of sport. There can never be consistently perfect predictions. Indeed, the Danish physicist Niels Bohr once observed that, “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future!”. Nevertheless, one hopes this book will prompt a wider and more informed debate about the significance of sport to India’s economic and industrial activities, as well as those of other nations elsewhere in the world where India has an interest or plays a role. Sport has always been very good at considering the next test match, upcoming mega-events and who will win the most medals. Yet in this dynamic, sometimes troubling, period of human history, books such as this perform a crucial role in taking us beyond on-field results. Crowdsourcing vision of the future is one way for us to contemplate what happens next for sport, utilizing Delphi technique, and scenario planning is another way. There is even likely to be a growing role for artificial intelligence in addressing sport’s future, minimizing uncertainty, and allaying fears about the future that some may have. Understanding the nature of giga change is crucial, though establishing then deciding what this means for sport is equally as significant. The book’s structure helps bring some discipline to our pursuit of understanding change and uncertainty. It first begins by examining strategy and governance, which is essential to the development of global multi-franchise sport clubs, such as in the Red Bull empire. The second section highlights issues of marketing and innovation, which the growing use of Roblox by the likes of Wimbledon and UEFA serves to illustrate. Thirdly, the book addresses issues of economics and the media; in this context, Indian Premier League cricket is surely the ultimate in helping observers to understand change and uncertainty.

Foreword

vii

As I was that day with my worried student, I encourage readers of this book not to fear the future or to dread the uncertainty. Rather, I implore you to embrace one of the most profound, dynamic, and vibrant periods in human history. In these exciting though challenging times, sport needs accomplished leaders, skillful managers, and observers (many of whom are likely to be fans) who understand this new world of sport and the part they might play in shaping its future. In this respect, perhaps the future is predictable: that a good book and an intelligent reader can, together, effect great changes. Prof. Simon Chadwick Skema Business School Paris, France

Preface

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the deadliest in the history of humanity and an eye-opener for governments worldwide to prepare for the disruption caused due to uncertainties of this nature. The pandemic triggered severe social and economic disruption worldwide, including the most significant global recession since the Great Depression. Sports events across the globe halted, with uncertainty staring sports administrators and, more importantly, sports fans. The biggest event of the year, the summer Olympics, which was scheduled to be held in Tokyo between July 24 to August 9, 2020, got postponed due to the pandemic. The Olympics was finally held from July 23, 2021, to August 8, 2021, in Tokyo, amidst much uncertainty and demands for cancelation or further postponement of the games. The cost of delaying the 2020 Olympics by one year was estimated to be 640.8 billion yen (US$5.8 billion), taking maintenance expenditures for the new facilities into account. Thankfully, the disruption caused by postponing the games was protected through the commercial insurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London. Furthermore, big-ticket events spread across various sports disciplines like UEFA Champions League, NBA playoffs, French Open, IPL, and MLB season were canceled due to the prevailing situation. As death reports mounted daily from all parts of the globe, sports aficionados empathized with the unprecedented situation, and sportspersons’ safety and security were deemed paramount. Most activities came to a standstill, with lockdowns, quarantines, and travel restrictions in place. Sports fans were left watching repeat telecasts of past sporting events or virtual sessions with sportspersons or franchisees as part of a fan engagement exercise. However, with the pandemic showing no signs of abating, sports administrators were forced to rethink their strategies similar to other sectors that were in business but had worked out alternative plans in place for the “new normal.” One of the first movers for the resumption of competitive sports was USA Basketball (USAB), the governing body for basketball in the USA, which approved a plan to restart the NBA season in late July 2020. The NBA Bubble was set up at Walt Disney World to protect teams from the virus, and the games were played in the Bubble behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida. Later, this formula was

ix

x

Preface

adopted by sports federations worldwide to successfully conduct pending events and minimize losses accrued. The trigger for this book occurred to me after I wrote a newspaper article in December 2020 entitled “Business of Sports in Empty Stadiums,” which referred to the successful completion of the IPL season in November 2020 outside India, despite severe constraints, including the pullout of the title sponsors days before the tournament. IPL 2020 was successful in whetting the appetite of cricket-starved fans worldwide and enabling players to be back on the field showcasing their skills which could have gradually rusted in the absence of competitive sports. It enabled franchisees and BCCI to garner revenues without paying spectators and on-ground vendors. In short, it was a win-win situation for the stakeholders-organizers, sponsors, media, cricketers, hosts, and ICC, as well as cricket fans across the continent. I discussed the idea with my ex-colleague and a sports lover in his own right, Prof. Soumya Sarkar, who was quite optimistic about the initiative and offered his valuable input. We considered positioning the book from the sports management perspective, considering both of us had more exposure to the business management world. However, we needed an academician with vast experience in the domain of sports to anchor the project. It was very kind of Prof. Michel Desbordes to accept my proposal to come on board for the project as a co-editor since the topic was very contemporary and would appeal to every reader across the globe. The next few months were spent in numerous communications between the Springer editor and us to shape the book’s contents from a global perspective. Economic activities worldwide were starting to limp back to normalcy by this time, and vaccination campaigns were in full swing. We tried to assimilate best practices in the business world to get to the core subject matter of the book. Formulating an innovative strategy by sports federations/franchisees that could be sustainable, novel marketing campaigns, digitalization initiatives for broadcasting and reaching out to fans, and alternative supply chain/logistics measures were some of the broad areas we identified. In this context, we would like to acknowledge the constructive comments of Prof. Dennis Coates from the Department of Economics, the University of Maryland, to our initial proposal for the book. After the COVID outbreak, we have witnessed other events like the Russia–Ukraine war, which affect the sporting equilibrium among world countries. Our book draws lessons from such unforeseen circumstances and examines the preparedness to confront such challenges in the future from a sports management perspective. Authors worldwide share their perspectives on diverse issues like sports governance, strategy, sustainability, marketing, technology, innovation, media, economics, and sports consumption in the backdrop of environmental uncertainties. Examples of sports played across geographies are highlighted in the chapters to make the book appealing to a broad section of sports lovers. Indeed, we have also witnessed the evolution of e-sports during this period, which is gaining popularity with younger sports fans. However, a school of thought does not consider it on par with outdoor or spectator sports.

Preface

xi

I would again like to thank all the chapter contributors, especially the co-editors, Prof. Desbordes and Prof. Sarkar, without whom this book would not have been possible. Last but not least, I think sports will go on and perhaps be more extensive and exciting in the future despite environmental uncertainties. How we deal with these uncertainties will determine the success of sports and its relationship with stakeholders. Bhubaneswar, India

Bhaskar Basu

Praise for Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment

“A really topical and relevant book which addresses various aspects of the sports ecosystem with great referencing on how the pandemic and the onset of technological inputs are re-defining the boundaries. Through articles on sports strategy, marketing and the broader economic model of various sports and sports related concepts this book is an invaluable asset to everyone interested in the science and management of sports—as a discipline.” —Rathindra Basu, Vice President and Head—India and South Asia, IMG Media “Our society is currently facing as yet unknown uncertainties caused, for example, by the COVID pandemic and the current wars. This is not just about the cancellation or postponement of league games or major events like the Olympics. No, the global sports industry and its ecosystem are affected in unprecedented ways. This book systematically identifies the new challenges facing global sports and refreshingly demonstrates new opportunities and the potential to re-evaluate the status quo of the sports business in terms of strategy, economics, operations and governance structures. A highly recommended read for any sports management enthusiast who wants to identify opportunities from uncertainties.” —Prof. Dr. Sascha L. Schmidt, Chair and Director-Center for Sports and Management, WHU—Otto Beisheim School of Management, Düsseldorf, Germany

xiii

Contents

Managing Sports in Turbulent Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bhaskar Basu, Michel Desbordes, and Soumya Sarkar

1

Strategy and Governance Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events like COVID-19? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Subhasis Ray Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment . . . . . . . . . Elizaveta Zhuk and Michel Desbordes

9 29

Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jimut Bahan Chakrabarty and Prashant Premkumar

59

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability Practices in International Sports Federations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. Moon, A. François, and E. Bayle

77

Marketing, Technology and Innovation Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons in an Uncertain World? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Michel Desbordes Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology . . . . . . . 143 Bhaskar Basu The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Ekaterina Glebova, Anna Gerke, and Robert Book Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain Environment: A Critical Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Arun Kumar Paul xv

xvi

Contents

Consumption, Media and Economics Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries in a Locked-Down World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Soumya Sarkar and Mayank Jyotsna Soni ‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess for the Sport Post the Pandemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Siddharth Gaurav Majhi Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived Needs and Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 Mayank Jyotsna Soni and Soumya Sarkar The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown on the English Premier League . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Rahul De and Aaromal DCruz Adapting to a VUCA World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313 Bhaskar Basu, Michel Desbordes, and Soumya Sarkar

Editors and Contributors

About the Editors Bhaskar Basu is Professor of Information Systems at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIM University), India, and a Resource Faculty for Sports Management program under XEBS (Xavier Emlyon Business School) supported by Govt. of Odisha (India). He is a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (India), and a gold medalist from Jadavpur University (India). In addition, he completed his PGDBM (equivalent to MBA) from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (India), and is an avid follower of sports. He has a rich combined experience of around 30 years in industry and academics and has publications in international journals predominantly in the realm of business and technology, besides writing regular sports articles in newspapers. He has also edited a book on “Organizational Learning”. Michel Desbordes is currently Professor of Sports Marketing at Université Paris Saclay, France. In his academic career, he has been Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, Canada, and the Shanghai University of Sports, China. He has published 34 reference books in the field of sports marketing, as well as numerous academic articles. As Media Consultant, he is regularly consulted by BFM, France Télévisions, Europe 1, Le Monde, and L’Équipe to discuss matters of sports business. From 2009 to 2019, he has also been Chief Editor of the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship. Soumya Sarkar is presently associated as a Faculty Member of Marketing in Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi (India). Prof. Sarkar did his B.E. Metallurgical from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, post which he pursued a PGDBM and was a Fellow (Marketing) at IIM Calcutta. In the past, Prof. Sarkar has worked as a Faculty at XIMB and IIM Udaipur and 14 years of industry experience at ESAB India Ltd. Among numerous book chapters, case studies, and publications Prof. Sarkar has

xvii

xviii

Editors and Contributors

written, he also published a book titled Business-to-Business Marketing: Relationships, Networks, and Strategies with Nick Ellis. His primary research interest is in Sports and Entertainment Marketing.

Contributors Bhaskar Basu Xavier Institute of Management, XIM University, Bhubaneswar, India E. Bayle Institute of Sport Sciences, University of Lausanne, UNIL-Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland Robert Book Department of Sports, Physical Education and Outdoor Studies, University of South-Eastern Norway, Notodden, Norway Jimut Bahan Chakrabarty Operations Management, Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur, Sambalpur, India Aaromal DCruz Ambedkar University, Bangalore, India Rahul De Azim Premji University, Bangalore, India Michel Desbordes Research center CIAMS, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University Paris Saclay, Orsay, France A. François Laboratoire Cetaps, University of Rouen, Mont Saint Aignan, France Anna Gerke Audencia Business School, Nantes, France Ekaterina Glebova University Paris Saclay, CIAMS, Orsay, France Siddharth Gaurav Majhi Indian Institute of Management, Amritsar, India P. Moon Department of Sports Business, Namseoul University, Seonghwan-eup, South Korea Arun Kumar Paul Operations Management and Decision Sciences Area, Xavier Institute of Management, XIM University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India Prashant Premkumar Decision Sciences, Indian Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam, India Subhasis Ray Business Analytics and Systems Management, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Kolkata, West Bengal, India Soumya Sarkar Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi, India Mayank Jyotsna Soni Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi, India Elizaveta Zhuk Research center CIAMS, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University Paris Saclay, Orsay, France

Managing Sports in Turbulent Times Bhaskar Basu, Michel Desbordes, and Soumya Sarkar

The COVID-19 outbreak has been unprecedented on all counts—the world has not seen anything even remotely similar to this pandemic, and sport was no exception. Sports bodies and organizations grappled with several crises during the pandemic and had to cancel or reschedule major events like Olympics associated with their respective sports disciplines. Furthermore, spectators had to be nonexistent or restricted, causing undue strain on the revenue stream. The global sports market reached nearly $388.3 billion in 2020, having increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4% since 2015. However, the market declined from $458.8 billion in 2019 to $388.3 billion in 2020 at a rate of –15.4%, mainly due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the slowing down of the economy. Lately, the war between Russia and Ukraine has had its fallouts in the world of sport. Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred from the Winter Paralympics in Beijing on the eve of the Games by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Prominent F1 drivers like Vettel are boycotting the F1 Russian Grand Prix scheduled in Sochi, Russia, and multiple international federations have acted to exclude Russia from major sporting events. There is increasing uncertainty about finding willing hosts for mega-events due to sudden war or geopolitical conflicts. The India–Pakistan bilateral cricket series is a major casualty, and no Pakistan cricket player features in IPL. Although technology is increasingly used in sports (VAR, Hawk-eye), it is still not completely error-free. There have been the odd occasions where a decision based on technology had a significant impact on the outcome. There are cycles of economic recession that limit the budgets or grants of international sporting bodies and derail their plans, be it sporting infrastructure or athlete welfare. All in all, B. Basu (B) Xavier Institute of Management, XIM University, Bhubaneswar, India M. Desbordes University Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France S. Sarkar Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_1

1

2

B. Basu et al.

sports management has become increasingly complex in today’s turbulent times and requires a rethink on the aspects of strategy, governance, marketing, operations, and economics. There is a need to re-examine current revenue models in sports and suggest innovative measures for sporting bodies to entice fans to the stadium or reach out to them via digital media, keeping athletes at the forefront. This book attempts to capture the effects of uncertainties and disruptions like the pandemic or geopolitical uncertainties on the sports industry and management. The uncertain and volatile environment has revealed short-term, medium-term, and long-term threats to the global sports industry. The book is an effort to explore the opportunities and mitigate threats from the sports management perspective. The book has been subdivided into three parts: Strategy and Governance (Part One), Marketing, Technology and Innovation (Part Two), and Consumption, Media and Economics (Part Three). However, sports kinesiology, psychology, and science are not within the book’s scope. Part One of the book comprises four chapters in the realm of sports strategy and governance and is edited by Prof. Bhaskar Basu. The sports market is expected to reach $599.9 billion by 2025 and $826.0 billion by 2030. Given the magnitude of the sports economy and the livelihood of various stakeholders associated with it, directly or indirectly, environmental uncertainties are likely to have a significant bearing on the sports ecosystem. Such unforeseen situations require a relook at existing strategies and a collaborative governance structure to tide over the crisis. At the same time, sustainability is a critical issue in sports development and practice in any region. This section, therefore, deals with the challenges faced by sports administrators on increasing uncertainties of holding major sports events due to pandemic or geopolitical situations and associated problems of adapting to the “new normal.” Chapter “Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events like COVID-19?” examines the supply line of popular sports in general and identifies high-impact areas at the grassroots level which have been hit hard due to the pandemic and the way forward. The post-COVID-19 effect has profound, long-term implications on the sports ecosystem, and Ray reiterates the need for sports federations to chalk out a “business continuity plan” to mitigate the risks and uncertainties associated with the talent pool. Chapter “Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast– Paced Environment” discusses the challenges of hosting major sporting events due to environmental uncertainties. Hosting an event is very expensive today. An increasing number of countries do not want to host events any longer due to the possibility of the financial crisis, abandoned sports infrastructure, and public opposition within the country. Zhuk and Desbordes analyze the phenomenon of co-hosting and scrutinize the challenges related to co-hosting from the perspectives of various stakeholders (sponsors, media, athletes). Chapter “Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions” presents a framework to understand the central aspects of Sports Logistics Management, evaluating its characteristics, scope, and functions. The logistics challenges post disruptions at selected popular sports events are contextualized, illustrated, and assessed using the proposed framework by Chakrabarty

Managing Sports in Turbulent Times

3

and Premkumar, thereby setting a template for further refinement and contemplation. Chapter “Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability Practices in International Sports Federations” examines how CSR and sustainability practices are implemented by governing international sports bodies through multiple case studies. Moon, Francois, and Bayle throw light on how the international sports governing bodies have embedded sustainability into their main sports events and propose possible solutions to the challenges encountered. A supplementary outcome of this qualitative study is the difficulties of integrating sustainability principles into their core activity of organizing international sporting events. Part Two of the book is titled “Marketing, Technology and Innovation” and edited by Prof. Michel Desbordes. In sports, the digital explosion has significant consequences: online ticketing, sponsorship and its activations on social networks, the consumption experience in the stadium with QR code activations, the broadcasting of events on YouTube, Amazon, or Facebook, virtual reality, etc. These transformations lead to significant marketing and financial implications, which modify the balance of power between the stakeholders involved, especially the sharing of the added value created. Technology has always been an essential element in sports because it increases performance in sports equipment or products (new materials, design, aerodynamics, rigidity or lightness, ergonomics) as also in training techniques (use of GPS, specific software, improved nutrition, coaching with specialists in exercise physiology). This part examines a vital facet of how the digital revolution has changed the relationship between performance, pleasure, and social ties, which can be leveraged during turbulent times. Chapter “Analysis of the Sport Eecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons in an Uncertain World?” sets the tone by taking the readers through a journey of financing of professional sports, initially by spectators (ticketing), then by media and sponsorships, and lately through merchandising (jersey sales, in particular). As sports popularity increases globally, the role of social networks becomes increasingly important in disseminating information, leading to new markets where fans will be far away from the stadium and only consume the competitions via their smartphone, tablet, or computer. According to Desbordes, the complexity of the value chain has been further accentuated by several exogenous events: political instability, health crises, the ecological dimension, risks of terrorism, geopolitical stakes, and even war situations. Chapter “Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology” describes how environmental uncertainties create opportunities for new sports products or technologies to emerge catering to specific needs. Basu provides perspectives on the intersection between Sports and Technology through a secondary study by reviewing contemporary sports literature and published secondary data, focusing on sports management. The objective is to leverage emerging technologies to create value for stakeholders in the sports ecosystem. Basu attempts to explore areas where the technology may play a vital role in the future, like enhancing player or team performance, fan engagement, and alternative sports consumption. Chapter “The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events” discusses the process of technological transformation in sports for different stakeholders and the role of

4

B. Basu et al.

particular innovations in this ongoing phenomenon. It extends the literature on sports management and technology intersection, followed by vivid cutting-edge examples from the field. Glebova et al. claim that sport management professionals have to understand the nature, trajectory, and impact of the current technology-centered transformation in the industry and the sports ecosystem, in general, to significantly impact stakeholders and extract competitive advantage. Chapter “Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain Environment: A Critical Review” examines the existing body of knowledge to assess the challenges and impact of the pandemic on sports operation and sports event management and attempts to develop a risk management framework to deal with uncertainties through descriptive research. Paul also outlines the potential future directions the sports industry should take to manage the pandemic-related risks better. Sports, as a multi-billion-dollar global industry, is entirely dependent on the fan’s or viewers’ consumption behavior. The viewers are dependent on the media for staying abreast with sports—live-action, news, highlights packages, etc. Thus, one can see an evident interdependence between sports, media, and consumers for the ecosystem to thrive. Part three of the book looks into the pandemic’s impact in sports economics and media. The three chapters delve into very different aspects of sports consumption ranging from chess to co-viewing of sports. The last chapter talks about the political economy of global football through the microcosm of EPL. Although the central strand passing through the chapters in this section is sports consumption, the spotlight, however, goes to the internet and digital technology, which has permanently transformed how people will consume sports in the future. Be it chess or sports documentaries, the ubiquitous presence of digital media is the driving force for the sea change that has been witnessed in the past couple of years. In Chapter “Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries in a Locked-Down World”, Sarkar and Soni trace the genre of sports documentaries and the surge in the prestige of this genre, primarily due to the craving generated by the absence of live sports during the first phases of the lockdown. The chapter incorporates the perspectives of the sports channels, OTT platforms, and the documentary makers on the supply side. It explicates the rationale for commissioning such a large number of documentaries across several sports. In line with the theme of Part Three, the chapter brings in the views of sports fans who have been watching documentaries and the reasons for doing so. The only sport that has not only come out unscathed from the uncertainties of the pandemic but also seen a growth in its fan base is chess. In Chapter “‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess for the Sport Post the Pandemic”, Majhi details the explosion in interest, support base, number of fans, and number of players that the sport has witnessed in the last three years. The author focuses on the fact that the democratic force of the Internet has driven this entire sequence of events. The spurt in online chess, compelled by social distancing protocols mandated by governments worldwide, democratized the sport and ironically paved the way for the entry of sponsorship money. The chapter draws upon the concept of brand extension to highlight the issue of managing tradition and

Managing Sports in Turbulent Times

5

entertainment and look into the future of the sport. Chapter “Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived Needs and Benefits” is an empirical study of another pandemic-driven internet-assisted consumer phenomenon—coviewing of live sports. Soni and Sarkar dive deep into the consumer psyche, aided by a survey questionnaire as to the internal needs and benefits that lead sports fans to form small groups and watch live games—temporally together and spatially apart. The authors take the help of the Uses and Gratifications Theory to understand the motivations and attitudes of the consumers toward joining online co-viewing communities. Finally, in Chapter “The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown on the English Premier League”, De and DCruz examine the maneuvers of the English Premier League through the lens of Marxian political economy and highlight the tensions created between three divergent forces—speculative finance, consumerism, and digital media. The authors highlight the process of commodification of football primarily through the democratization of media consumption by dint of an ever-burgeoning global fan base and the almost infinite scalability of the digital and social media. The shock created by COVID-19 jolted the carnival for a while, but the strong brands created by the major clubs (the Big 6) helped them weather the massive yet temporary storm on their revenues. The authors also look into the future with anxiety when the footballing ecosystem may get split into the haves and the have-nots.

Strategy and Governance

Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events like COVID-19? Subhasis Ray

1 Introduction The 9/11 incident taught the whole corporate world the need for a ‘Business Continuity Plan’. However, pandemics largely remained as known unknowns in the corporate roster. While pandemics have featured as a possibility in any risk profiling and disaster-scenario planning, the probability of its happening is assumed to be too low to find a mention in a manager’s mitigation plan. However, with uncertainty induced by COVID-19, the pandemic has underscored the need for planning to remain ‘ahead in the game’ and for learning to survive with minimum resources. This may be nature’s decree on mankind to ‘go low and slow’ for building a better and sustainable working world! In early January 2020, when the coronavirus outbreak was starting in the city of Wuhan in China, nobody had an inkling that this is going to evolve into a worldwide pandemic that would lead to unprecedented human, social and economic suffering, leaving no part of life unaffected. However, in the next five months, the virus spread to almost 200 countries gradually shifting its epicentre from China to Europe and then to the USA, Australia and the rest of Asia. The only known method until then to curb the spread of this disease was to break the chain of viral infection by ‘social distancing’. Consequently, countries one after the other went into lockdown to curtail physical contact between human beings as much as possible. Unfortunately, such confinement measures led to unemployment, demand–supply disruptions and persistently changing ways of doing business. Globally, economic depression became palpable with the policymakers to the ordinary people fighting between the choices of ‘life and livelihood’. During the second half of 2020, all the countries endeavoured for discovering vaccines because S. Ray (B) Business Analytics and Systems Management, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, College Square West, Kolkata 700073, West Bengal, India e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_2

9

10

S. Ray

(a) only ‘social distancing’ became untenable, (b) the death toll was too high and (c) the survivors had to deal with severe after effects. Working on a war-footing basis, quite a several vaccines were rocketed into the system and immunization began in early 2021. Despite cutting down the usual development cycle of a vaccine by almost 75%, most of them were fortunately found to be effective in preventing the spread of the disease and also in reducing the after effect. Meanwhile, the virus itself was mutating itself to escape the vaccines. This led to second and third waves of COVID-19 in many countries caused by a more virulent and more infectious form of the virus respectively during the latter half of 2021. As of 22 November 2021, the official worldwide figures for the number of (a) COVID-19 cases are 258 million and (b) COVID-19-induced deaths are 5.16 million—USA, India, Brazil, Russia and UK accounted for almost 50% of such cases. The vaccination figure includes 7.74 billion doses being administered with 3.31 billion people being fully vaccinated; the count is led by China, India, USA and Brazil (Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic, 2021). Being in the first half of 2022, the saga of mutation of the coronavirus and more efficient remedial measures (vaccines, nasal drops, anti-viral drugs, etc.) are continuing more in a ‘business usual’ manner. However, as per the Global Survey by McKinsey, supply-chain disruption now poses the biggest risk for domestic and corporate growth followed by inflation, labour shortage and weak customer demand overshadowing COVID-19 concerns (McKinsey & Company, 2021). Sports and games being an integral part of the entertainment industry are no less vulnerable to these factors, elaborated in the subsequent sections.

2 The Sports Context The contribution of sport and physical activity in the areas like education, health, peace, cooperation, harmony, equality, social inclusion and sustainable development is well documented. However, one must admit that with the virus rampaging ‘life and livelihood’, sports do not feature as a top priority, especially with an embargo on physical contact. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) formally decided to postpone the top-tier UEFA Champions League final and other games on 23 March 2020, until further notice, as news of professional footballers being tested positive broke out thick and fast. Various soccer leagues in Europe (e.g. England, Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands and Italy) followed suit around the same time. USA reacted much the same way by suspending Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS) and National Hockey League (NHL) in the middle of the season. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), along with the Japanese government, announced on 30 March 2020 that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be held in July 2021, under the name of ‘2020 Tokyo Olympics’ (Sport and physical activity should be part of post-COVID-19 recovery plans, say governments, 2020).

Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events …

11

As the world started enforcing a lockdown, the IOC launched the digital campaign ‘#StayStrong, #StayActive, #StayHealthy’ for promoting the importance of physical activity in March 2020. In May 2020, the IOC, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) teamed up to launch the campaign ‘Healthy Together’ endorsing better health through sport and physical activity and stressing global collaboration. After absorbing the initial shock, it is heartening to see 118 member states under the aegis of the UN publish a statement in July 2020 saying ‘In this time of hardship, despite our many urgent priorities, sport and physical activity remain essential for our well-being. They benefit both our physical and mental health and help mitigate stress and anxiety’. Appreciating the therapeutic value of sports even under severe distress, the joint statement vouched for ‘Sport and physical activity should be part of post-COVID-19 recovery plans’. IOC President Thomas Bach said: ‘Sport is contributing to the recovery from the crisis and to creating a better world on the health, the social and the economic side… Sport creates jobs, generates business activity and plays a significant economic role in many countries, all of which are vital elements as countries look to reopen their economies… Sport also gives hope and the postponed Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be even more a symbol of universality, solidarity and resilience’. Despite such whole-hearted support, the active sport was few and far between in the second quarter of 2020. Germany resumed Bundesliga on 16 May 2020, one of the earliest starters in empty stadiums with major restrictions on spectators’ attendance. UEFA, governments, League committees and the players have all sacrificed to deal with the financial consequences of matches being cancelled or played without spectators. One of the learnings from COVID-19 is that clubs may have to consider the inclusion of a force majeure clause in players’ contracts in future for a possible percentage of reduction in wages (Davies & Dunbar, 2022). Gradually, in the second half of 2020, elite sporting events (e.g. Major leagues in the USA, Soccer leagues in Europe, Cricket leagues and international matches in England, India and Australia) came back in a bio-secured environment. However, players in their formative stage were not that lucky; the creation of a bio-secure environment was too costly to start the game at the preparatory stages. The absence of live sport presented an opportunity for virtual technologies to grow. Since most individuals including budding players are restricted to their homes, sports leagues across the world were evolving e-sports to maintain the interest and competition during the shutdowns. There was a surge in Gaming and OTT platforms—the new go-to platform for entertainment and social engagement through video/voice chat for the millennial (Ernst & Young LLP, 2020). Sports broadcasters such as ESPN, Fox Sports, Star Sports and Sony were showing classic games, archived content, documentaries and e-sports in a bid to keep the consumers watching their channels (Hall, 2020).

12

S. Ray

3 Supply Line in Sports The global value of the sports industry was estimated at $471 billion in 2018—a 45% increase since 2011. Before COVID-19 stopped play, the trajectory seemed to be only upwards touching $756 billion annually (Hall, 2020; United Nations, 2020). Millions of jobs are therefore at stake globally, not only for sports professionals but also for those in related retail and services domains of the sporting industry connected with the leagues and events. These include travel, tourism, infrastructure, transportation, catering, equipment manufacturing, administering the games and media broadcasting. Professional athletes are also under the risk of losing sponsors and are under the pressure to reschedule their training while trying to stay fit at home as much as possible. Every part of the sports value chain starting from athletes, teams and leagues, to the media that broadcast and cover games, has been affected. However, this only represents the tip of the iceberg. While sports at the senior level are coming back (maybe because of financial compulsions), two years of a lull at the junior level may break the players’ supply line and that can be felt in not so distant future. The global outbreak of COVID-19 has led to the closure of schools, gyms, pools, stadiums, dance, aerobics and fitness studios, physiotherapy centres, parks and playgrounds. Most people, therefore, could not actively participate in their regular individual or group sporting or physical activities. Being interned at home, many became less physically active, spent longer screen time and imbibed irregular sleep and food habits, resulting in a gain of weight and loss of physical fitness. Lack of access to regular sporting or exercise routines may result in challenges to physical and mental health that can lead a whole nation to not only sportingly but also physically weak (Eime et al., 2013; Holt et al., 2017). Cricket is the most popular game in India, a country with nearly 1.4 billion people. The game has entered the post-commercialization phase (Beech, 2004), where the business part continues round the year even though the game is played in a much lesser span and changes are happening at a rapid pace (Ray, 2021a). Figure 1 depicts the player’s supply line cone with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at the helm. Players of the order of hundreds are contracted by BCCI to play international matches [3 formats—test, one-day international (ODI) and Twenty 20 international (T20I)] and are also hired by Indian Premier League (IPL), a T20 league comprising of franchise-based teams. Now, these players at the top come from the state level where various divisions and age group level competition and grooming take place. These players, in turn, come from the university or club level, which is fed by the colleges, schools and local clubs. On average, only hundreds reach the pole position from the set of aspirants of the order of 10 million at the lowest tier. The numbers may be different for another sport or another country—but invariably it is shaped as a cone with varying height h (based on the number of layers) and ∅ as the angle of inclination/coverage at the vertex which sets up the premise #1. The volume of the cone at each level represents the total number of players up to that level. While games at the elite level have

Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events …

13

Fig. 1 Supply line cone for cricket in India

started, the most coveted Indian domestic cricket tournament at the state level, Ranji Trophy was abandoned midway in 2020 and was not played in 2021. One can easily extrapolate this finding to the levels below and to other games where most of the tournaments were simply abandoned across countries worldwide. All England Open Badminton Champion (2001) and a successful coach, Pullela Gopichand raised his concerns in a similar fashion (Roy, 2022, Feb 21)—‘The top players are still okay. I am talking about the next generation… That level was badly affected by the pandemic since 2020 March. So here we have good players with no ranking, players at the junior level who haven’t been able to play in tournaments… We need to kind of bring them back to the stage. That will be the real challenge’. Postcatastrophe, he stresses “streamlining and proper structuring” so that the tournament calendar is organized properly with the availability of the coaches, the support staff, etc. The problem takes a slightly different shape for basketball in the USA. Mark Tatum, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer at National Basketball Association, opined—“Ours is a global game; a quarter of NBA players were born outside of the United States; we have offices in different countries and cities around the world. This pandemic may change the protocols we have to live by, but not our focus on expanding basketball around the world” (Hall, 2020). So if the feeder countries cannot hold tournaments and coaching sessions, there will certainly be a drought in upcoming quality players. In a TV programme, Geet Sethi, multiple times world professional billiard champion, quoted a certain sportsperson whose conjecture was that a player has to spend 10,000 h of dedicated practice to achieve mastery in any sport. So it is pertinent to look for methods and tools such that sports

14

S. Ray

at the junior level remain good enough not to break the supply line or cause a dip in performance quality as far as practicable.

4 Literature Review In the early part of the pandemic, the stress was on personal hygiene, testing, contact tracing and isolating and postponement or cancellation of large-scale public gatherings. Wong et al. (2020) have shown that even without a spectating crowd and minimum non-essential personnel present at the venue (e.g. by cancelling press conferences and interviews), the infection risk is high for the players for a soccer game of 90 min. Analysing soccer matches from Hong Kong league, they found out that the average duration of close contact between professional football players is 19 min per game and each player performs 52 infection-risky behaviours on an average. The heart rate and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) of players wearing a facemask are 128 beats per minute and 12.7, respectively, and 124 beats per minute and an RPE of 10.8 without a mask. So the facemasks increase the physiological burden of the body. Sporting equipment should be cleaned as frequently as possible as the COVID-19 virus can last as long as 72 h on plastic and stainless steel surfaces. Hong Kong imposed multiple measures for infection control at its national training centre to balance the risk of deconditioning of a player versus the risk of infection. But at a junior level, this was not visible as staying safe is perceived lot more important than staying active. The United Nations (United Nations, 2020) has recommended finding innovative solutions to mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on the sports ecosystem, comprising producers, broadcasters, fans, businesses, owners and players amongst others. This includes finding out ways to engage with fans and ensuring safe sporting events through new operating models for the workforce safety and venue strategies. It has also recommended for the governmental agencies to provide sports federations, clubs and organizations with guidance related to safety, health and labour protocols around the world and to work collaboratively with health and care services, schools and civil society agencies to support physical activity at home as far as possible. The UN, through its Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (United Nations, 2020), has taken the responsibility for supporting different governmental agencies to ensure effective recovery and reorientation of the sports sector through research and policy guidance. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, has recommended for coaches and players focus on building individual skills and conditioning instead of competition. Coaches can limit close or full contact (such as tackling, checking or guarding) in game-like situations or limit the number of participants involved in close or full-contact situations. Leagues can decrease the number of competitions during a season. Discourage unnecessary physical contacts, such as high fives, handshakes, fist bumps or hugs. It has recommended for a viral test 3–5 days after any sports camp

Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events …

15

or event and isolation if tested positive (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2021). In Australia, competitive research schemes are designed to promote partnerships at the national and international level between researchers, businesses, industries and clubs to apply advanced knowledge to foster the development of resources and training programmes. Such collaborative funding may assist various community organizations in helping youth sports stakeholders mitigate the mental, physical and financial struggles during an unexpected catastrophe. Alternatively, the rival sporting clubs and schools can combine their intellectual, material and human resources to explore innovative ways to rebuild the volunteer workforce. Despite these strategies, John, the CEO of a semi-professional Australian-rule football club, had faced a postlockdown season without match payments for players and the surrounding workforce in high-level competitions (Elliott et al., 2021). To find out how the pandemic has impacted youth sports, Elliott et al. (2021) involved 39 (24 male, 15 female) youth sport stakeholders that consisted of a heterogeneous sample of young athletes (aged between 15 and 17 years) (n = 18), parents (n = 11), coaches (n = 5), sport volunteers (n = 2) and sports administrators (n = 3) aged between 15 and 82 years from across the rural and urban areas of South Australia. They advanced the extant theory by introducing ‘4 Rs’ (namely, ‘recognizing the struggle’, ‘reconnection’, ‘re-engaging after restrictions’ and ‘reimagining sport’). The study provides the following insights: (a) Decline in mental well-being and physical activity led to the ‘domino effect’ on sporting employees, volunteers and indeed, the players; (b) There was an increase in family connectedness and connecting with coaches and teammates during the pandemic via social media platforms; (c) It is now a challenge for sports to attract volunteers and participants back into the sport; and (d) It is a challenge for the players to accustom to the actual playing experiences post-lockdown amid restrictions and protocols and with reset values (like enjoyment is more important than success) and philosophies underpinning the provision of youth sport. Ciampolini et al. (2020) have recommended developing quality coaching practices by working with ‘master coaches’ who train the trainers. Callary et al. (2020) are hopeful that the uptake of online training and development by coaches during the pandemic may result in improved sporting skills. Another strategy to attract young people’s interest and time in sports is given by Elliott, Bevan and Litchfield’s grounded theory (2020) based on how the youngsters can ‘connect’ with real-life stories of influential sporting figures. Community-level sport plays a vital role in promoting positive social, emotional, cultural and economic outcomes. However, social and physical distancing may hinder the progress unless alternative plans are ready. Parental involvement in youth sports is critical especially when parents double up as a coach. Under the stress of such a crisis, it can adversely impact participant enjoyment, motivation and overall engagement. The fee hike, reduction in parent and community volunteers and a decrease in

16

S. Ray

sports development officer like roles are some examples of how the pandemic has represented a ‘tipping point’ for sporting clubs and families who find it difficult to return to sport (Ringuet-Riot et al., 2014). Since the beginning of the pandemic, several research papers have investigated the challenges and considerations that need to be controlled for elite athletes (Mohr et al., 2020), sports participants with disability (Fitzgerald et al., 2020) and sport managers (Ludvigsen & Hayton, 2020), to resume organized sport once the impact of the pandemic subsides. Others have forecast the consequences of the pandemic for youth sports based on pragmatic research. For example, one of the major concerns raised by Drummond et al. (2020) is that the pandemic may lead to a generation of young people potentially ‘lost’ to the organized sport. One of the latest news clippings (Mazumdar, 2022, May 3) has corroborated that fear into reality in the Indian context. It reports that for multiple sports disciplines (e.g. cricket, table tennis and soccer), the school level tournaments are coming back as the pandemic is on the wane. However, schools are experiencing low endurance, stamina and even enthusiasm amongst students and are struggling to build a team. The online sports classes for the last two years have barely addressed the physical preparation for a game except for a few who did training at an individual level. These issues have motivated to pursue this work to find out how to reduce the scale of disruption for organized or even unorganized sports at a junior level.

5 The Proposed Solution Framework This study is based on an interpretivist’s epistemologies, which conjectures that there are multiple realities rather than one single, objective truth (Sparkes & Smith, 2014). This paradigm is helped by the ontological assumption that people actively react to the realities they perceive from the events, actions, processes and conditions happening around the world (Atkinson, 2012). Hence, the present approach lays stress on building a framework rather than a solution as different faces of uncertainty may pose different hindrances to different sports in different parts of the world. There is some research work (Gould, 2019; Howie et al., 2020) even before the pandemic on improving participation, retention, promoting accessibility for players, addressing complex challenges arising out of interactions between parents, coaches, administrators and players and enhancing the enjoyment factor. These focus areas are likely to hold significance as sporting clubs and organizations try to navigate out of the uncertainties caused by COVID-19. The absence of community sport has succinctly highlighted the core values of community sport. It fosters social connectedness through fun and play. From individual participants to their families, volunteers and communities, it connects with benefits in social, mental and physical health. The revival of youth sports participation and retention through community sport is already in discussion. Continuing the same in the face of uncertainty under severe constraints is getting prominence due to COVID-19. The areas of intervention and

Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events …

17

the suggested mitigation measures for managing COVID-19 or similar uncertaintyinducing events are presented through four viewpoints, namely strategy, finance, operations and technology.

6 Strategy Viewpoint Strategy plays a vital role in sports management. The role of the environment can be far-reaching, complex and dynamic. The disruptions in the environment may be caused due to man-made disasters or an act of God or a combination. The discipline of crisis management recognizes a minimum of three distinct phases of crisis (Pauchant & Mitroff, 1992; Smith, 1990), namely the pre-disaster, during disaster and post-disaster phases. Resilience must be brought into practice to combat at least the foreseeable disruptions during the pre-disaster phase. Due to the dearth of such information in the sporting arena, one can borrow from the extant pieces of literature on pre-disaster activities to apply in sports-related management and mitigation plans. As per the literature, during the pre-disaster phase, any country should focus on risk/vulnerability profiling and capacity building. In risk profiling, one maps a region with likely hazards or disasters, their severity and the corresponding probability of happening and possible impact (economic, social, physical, environmental). Floods prove more lethal in the USA, whereas wind storms and epidemics are most destructive in Asia and Africa, respectively. One needs to continuously learn and update the profile. Once the risk profiling is done, the focus can be shifted to preparedness and capacity building. One needs to integrate mitigation with the development process. An earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale causes more havoc in India than in USA or Japan. Resilience comes with infrastructure, partnership, public awareness, an early alert system, research and training (Ray, 2008). Shrivastava and Mitroff (1987) have developed a crisis typology according to where the crisis is generated (internal/external) and which systems (technical/social) are the primary causes. They have put a threat on sports due to health hazards and travel bans with the onslaught of the SARS virus into the category ‘external and technical’. However, not all forms of ‘uncertain events’ will affect all sports equally. The COVID-19-induced pandemic did not affect sports that can be played online (e.g. chess, card games, etc.) as much as it affected the games needing physical contact. Also, there are many events which can be practised at an individual level within a home environment, for example, running, throwing, jumping, swimming, billiards, shooting, etc. Extending this thought, the physical contact-based epidemic is going to do more harm to the games of rugby (15 players per side), American football, cricket and soccer (11 players per side) than the games like tennis, table tennis, badminton (one or two players per side) or purely individual events or zero contact sports as mentioned earlier. So each country should do a vulnerability profiling for each sport against possible disruptions based on weather, infrastructure, online and offline components, coaching versus self-learning possibilities, outdoor versus indoor possibilities and local effects (e.g. for a large country like Australia, South Australia

18

S. Ray

performed relatively better than Victoria in combating COVID-19). The framework should be prepared in happier times acknowledging the impact and potential interruptions on the social and technical characteristics of all stakeholders so that the same can be invoked in case of a catastrophe. Prioritization should be the other factor in judiciously choosing the games. Ability, popularity (Ray & Roychowdhury, 2021) and also revenue potential can play a critical role in selecting the games in the face of resource crunch, for example, cricket in the Indian subcontinent, soccer in Europe and Latin America, American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey in North America and Rugby in the southern hemisphere. An eye may be kept on any upcoming multi-sport events like Olympics, World Championships or Asian/Commonwealth games for choosing certain sports disciplines for preferential treatment.

7 Finance Viewpoint The findings of Elliott et al. (2021) have provided valuable insight into the disruption that youth sport has faced as a result of the global pandemic. The recommendations include providing additional resources and tools to families, sporting clubs and sporting organizations so that children can train at home during the lockdown. This may aid the recovery, survival and prosperity of youth sports. But the moot point is whether the same is feasible for all the countries? While the players’ supply line cone is bottom-heavy (from the national/ministerial level down to the provincial/municipal level), the profit potentiality is top-heavy—an inverted cone. As a player rises from the lower band to the upper band, the number in the cohort reduces and the control on these players by the governing bodies enhances. On the contrary, governing bodies earn the maximum with players perching at the top of the cone. Gradually, the earning reduces at each level below finally yielding to ‘expenditure only’ levels where they seemingly invest to hone future players. This is premise #2 as depicted in Fig. 2. Howie et al. (2020) felt the need for more persistent research to understand the overall return on investment from youth sport since monetizing the contribution of sport to health and nation-building is complex. However, the same is beyond the scope of this work. There are three main income streams for professional sports leagues—sales of media rights, sponsorship and advertising collaborations and match day revenue through ticketing and hospitality. The general principle is that the organizing body of such leagues distributes the total income between participating clubs as a minimum guaranteed payment with performance-related bonuses on top. The clubs can generate additional income, by competing in other tournaments, signing their sponsorship agreements or developing their direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels for media, memorabilia sales and subscriptions. However, the financial success of any individual club or franchise depends on its own as well as the collective success of the overarching league. Any stoppage longer than a temporary shutdown can make the league fail their commitments to the broadcasters, restricting their ability to share

Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events …

19

Fig. 2 Proposed sports value chain cycle

out income back with the clubs. The impact on the industry is striking; ‘no game’ will simply mean ‘no TV deal’ as well as ‘no income’ from ticket sales and ‘no income’ means the sustenance of clubs is at risk. Professional sports leagues are analogous to entertainment companies, where each team in a league is like a product. More eyeballs on a product make it more valuable. Broadcasters such as ESPN and Fox Sports are showing classic games, archived content, documentaries and e-sports in a bid to keep consumers engrossed. Negotiations are taking place between sports bodies and broadcasters to deal with force majeure events such as COVID-19. There are instances where leagues are paying the broadcasters compensation for missed games and/or granting additional rights and/or even extending agreements. The issues are replicated further down the value chain. In the USA, while Premier League basketball clubs are facing $60–150 m in lost revenues, collegiate men’s teams have braced a more than 50% drop in income (Hall, 2020). In times of recession, when disposable income diminishes, sports businesses do expect a decrease in turnover. Still, earning potential is the main reason why sports at the elite level resume with the slightest opportunity post-pandemic. In the present context, it was essential to create bio-bubbles for the safety of the players and support staff. But this is a costly affair. The Indian Cricket Board has budgeted nearly USD 1.4 million for an estimated 20,000 COVID-19 RT-PCR tests to be conducted during the Indian Premier League (IPL) after its resumption on 19 September 2021 in UAE (Press Trust of India, 2020). While the eight franchises playing the IPL bore the cost of testing till it was postponed in India, the BCCI has left nothing to chance for the UAE leg so that the tournament gets over. Around 75 healthcare workers, conducting tests and managing documentation, from VPS Healthcare, a UAE-based

20

S. Ray

company, have been kept in bio-secure conditions along with the players, officials and administrators to ensure test, isolation and treat. Similarly, Cricket Australia has budgeted more than AUD 30 million for managing bio-bubbles for India’s tour during 2021–2022 to protect its broadcast rights with stringent protocols (The Times of India, 2020). Most importantly, it is not viable to create such an environment at the junior level, irrespective of how rich a country is. With no earning potential at the junior level, there is no such compulsion to resume. Also, another point of note here is that in most countries, the junior level sport is funded by the government whereas the earnings at the elite level are enjoyed by private parties (business tycoons or business enterprises). Naturally, in the face of a disaster, sports assume the least priority for a bounce back to the government. In the present context, saving lives (by lockdown or later by inoculating people) and returning to normalcy with respect to livelihoods were a major concern worldwide. The funding and priority for sports should come from the private parties who enjoy the dividend at the elite level if they want a minimal break in the supply chain and quality. In Fig. 2, this is shown as the proposed sports value chain cycle—an athlete starts at a very early age; gradually, only a minute fraction of them achieve mastery in the sport; as they turn professional, they earn money and so do their respective governing body, sponsors and team owners. The proposal here is to make a part of the profit be invested and percolated down to the root level regularly for better infrastructure, coaching and equipment rather than waiting for government grants. If one aims to continue practice and tournaments at the junior level, funding assumes the highest importance.

8 Operations Viewpoint Continuing from the previous sections, premise #1 (which is player’s supply line conically shaped; only a tiny per cent reaches the top) and premise #2 (which is earning or profit potential for the administrators/sponsors/players shaped as an inverted cone with highest at the top) lead to premise #3: COVID-19 has hit the junior level the most. Because of the smaller number of players at the top, one has better control over them, and for financial reasons, games have resumed at the elite level with the slightest opportunity post-disaster. Leo Burnett’s, a global advertising agency, ‘0-36’ framework is noteworthy. According to Dheeraj Sinha, CEO and Chief Strategy Officer, South Asia, the ‘0-3-6’ model was designed to focus on what is to be done in time 0 which is now, what is to be done in the next 3 months from now and what is to be done in another 6 months (Nair, 2021, December 13). In absence of any ‘compass’ that can help to navigate in the face of uncertainty induced by such a pandemic, setting stage-wise short-term targets seems to be ideal, Sinha opined. The same philosophy is applied here. It is obvious that if the funding drops by a certain percentage, the coverage at the junior level will suffer proportionately or even worse. Different tactics may be taken for different games based on their vulnerability profiling. For each chosen

Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events …

21

Fig. 3 Sketch on conical governance

game, conical governance is proposed here which is supported by premise #1. For example, if funding drops by x%, the coverage of players may also drop by x% or more. This can be achieved by either pruning from the bottom (a certain number of bottom-most layers are taken out of the equation reducing the height) or reducing the angle of coverage at each level as shown in Fig. 3 or by a combination of both. Let V 1 be the volume of the cone that depicts the coverage where ∅, r 1 and h are respectively the angle of coverage, spread at the lowest level and depth of the cone under normal circumstances. Case 1 deals with finding out the reduced angle of coverage (∝) to handle a reduction in the fund by p = V 2 /V 1 , where p = proportion of reduction and height remains the same. V1 =

1 2 πr h 3 1

V2 =

1 2 πr h 3 2

r1 = h tan ∅ r2 = h tan ∝ So, p =

r22 r12

and this leads to the Eq. 1 below: ∝= tan−1

√

 p tan ∅

(1)

Case 2 aims to reduce the coverage by adjusting the height h to h1 keeping the angle of coverage unchanged to cope with the reduction in the fund by p = V 2 /V 1 , where p = proportion of reduction. This leads to the Eq. 2 below: h1 = h

√  3 p

(2)

22

S. Ray

Fig. 4 Operational strategy with respect to normalcy stages

So Eq. 1 above depicts the necessary degree of ‘hair cut’ on coverage to cope with the reduction in the fund, whereas Eq. 2 depicts how shortening the height, one can deal with the reduction in the fund. These two pure strategies can then be merged for taking a hybrid measure, if needed, by reducing both the angle of coverage and height. The other change that can be brought in is to cannibalize existing layers to create new layers in between. This can ensure a fraction of the lower-level players shares better facilities with higher-tiered players. This culminates in an overall operational strategy at different stages of normalcy and is depicted in Fig. 4. By definition, operations management deals with creating, operating and controlling the transformation system that takes inputs from a variety of resources and produces outputs of goods and services suitable for customers (Naylor, 2002); Johnston and Clark (2001) have identified this to be a management of processes, people and resources to provide the required goods and services to a specified level of quality, doing so in the most cost-effective way. Drawing a parallel, here one needs to train and educate youngsters with the skills of a game so that they can play the game in their adulthood drawing satisfaction from its spectators and other stakeholders. It is envisaged that there are five stages of normalcy between the commencement of disaster and complete recovery (Fig. 4) which are: • Impossible—this phase indicates avoidance by completely withdrawing from an activity. Immediately after the strike of catastrophe (natural or man-made), all the priorities other than life-saving take a back seat. A contemporary example is when all the games and events were completely stopped. • Slow start—during this period, the suddenness and the extent of the impact have been assessed, known as organizational handling. People start believing that the

Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events …

23

worst is over; however, they remain on guard via deferment of many activities and take a ‘wait and see’ approach. A contemporary example is when all the games and events started slowly in bio-secure environments for players and management staff without any spectators. • Improving—in this phase, prevention and control measures for reducing the impact and rehabilitation are planned. An organization seeks to consolidate and then reposition itself through changes to operating norms, practices and processes. A contemporary example is when it allowed a certain percentage of the spectator in stadium under certain restrictions. • Near normal—during this phase, the ‘life’ continuity plan is firmly in place (via vaccination or rebuilding or even transfer of liability through insurance). Organizations learn from their experiences through a feedback mechanism. A contemporary example is when games at the junior level came back with certain precautions. • Normal—this phase continues until the next catastrophe strikes. This is the ‘business usual’ scenario. As per Fig. 4, during the ‘impossible’ stage, no sporting event may be allowed since the priority will be on saving lives. During the ‘slow start’ phase, vertical pruning seems to be the best strategy—after all the game has to generate money for its survival and the control over players, support staff, referees and the overall environment is maximum at the highest level (as per premise #2). So, only the elite level resumes playing to keep the revenue streams flowing. During the ‘improving’ stage, a hybrid approach may be adopted. Along with the elite level continuing their games, the next few layers can be cannibalized (merged with the reduction in the number of players) to utilize the same facilities for practice and tournaments. Operational readiness for clipping the cone vertically or reducing the angle of coverage or both should be a pre-disaster activity and implementation should be thought of earlier as contingency measures. During the ‘near normal’ stage, it is high time to go back to the original layers, though the angle of coverage may still need to be clipped due to a shortage of funding and other constraints. Lastly, in the ‘normal’ stage, the original composure is restored. Kelly et al. (2020) utilized the Personal Assets Framework (Côté et al., 2014) to assess potential short- and long-term consequences for youth participants with respect to ‘4Cs’ (competence, confidence, connection and character) and the 3Ps (performance, participation and personal development). Echoing their contextual considerations, one needs to find out a way so that parents, peers, coaches and sports organizations effectively engage with each other both during and after the crisis for the ‘creamy’ layer. Ideally, all kids should play. So for the ‘non-creamy’ layer, one has to plan for alternative activities during and after the crisis based on developmental outcomes (4C’s and 3P’s) to not make them feel less important. Finally, the countries should be on the lookout for resilience against the virus either through herd immunity, effective vaccination or other restrictive measures so that the sports bodies can scale up fast at the earliest opportunity.

24

S. Ray

9 Technology Viewpoint During the pandemic, the global community has responded by creating online content on how to stay active including stretching, meditation, yoga and dance classes tailored for an entire family to practice. For those who have Internet access, there are many free tutorials on social media; for example, physical fitness games can be practised in small spaces by people of all ages. Evidence-based ideas for the development of targeted video materials have also been proposed recently as educational support resources for parents in youth sports (Bradbury-Jones & Isham, 2020). UN has recommended enhancing access to online resources to facilitate sports activities wherever possible. This should be a key goal to maintain social distancing. However, low-tech and no-tech solutions must also be thought of for those who lack access to the Internet. With the advent of digital video capture, each game can now be recorded, analysed and played back many times. The coaches can work with each player and analyse their strengths and weaknesses to develop personal action plans for skill enhancement (Xiong, 1998) using the Internet. The sporting skills along with physical and mental aspects can be benchmarked against athletes of other countries in the same age group. Virtual reality modelling language (VRML) can be used to create a virtual training room as an accessory to train the trainers (Holcomb, 1997). In the absence of physical sports, these can keep the youngsters engaged in learning new skills or ironing out existing deficiencies. Using the Internet, coaches can easily get information on new trends, background on competitors’ teams, players, coaches and competition locations, weather, transport, logistics, etc. Analytics can then make it possible for coaches and athletes to analyse and integrate information and resources to improve training, decisionmaking and skill development. Coaches and administrators can use the performance database for screening the ‘creamy layer’, especially under budget constraints. Ray (2021b) has outlined the following data requirements to manage a sporting facility: Sport function

Database content

1. Players

Demographic data (e.g. name, age, gender, contact information), medical details, food chart, performance history, restrictions, if any, achievements

2. Coaches

Batch information, training timetable, conditioning timetable, data from tools for practice and analysis, monitoring of evolving practices

3. Administration

Roster of volunteers, officials, timekeepers, coaches, counsellors, doctors, nutritionists and their contracts, equipment and inventory lists, facility maintenance, licenses for tools for practice and analysis

4. Public relations

Donors for money or in-kind services, organizing own tournaments, participating in other tournaments, liaisoning with the external world

Reflecting on Sondhi’s (1999) question on what advances in technology are driving the change in an industry, one needs to find an answer in the realm of the sports industry, especially in the wake of COVID-19-like situations. For example, augmented reality (AR) uses computer vision and machine learning models to analyse

Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events …

25

the camera recordings, so that it can recognize body gestures and movements in real time, allowing athletes to better measure their performance after a training session. Joshi (2019) has predicted a major role of virtual and augmented reality (VAR) in the sports sector after its success in the education, manufacturing, retail and healthcare sectors. He has mentioned training to be a key beneficiary along with on-field decision-making, broadcasting, sports marketing and playing fantasy sports. Mons (2020) too is bullish about VAR’s role in in-stadia entertainment and fan engagement, betting, refereeing, broadcasting, marketing and advertising, sports medicine, gamification of sports and related products apart from being a valuable training aid. Young (2020) has mentioned Facebook’s attempt to mimic the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) courtside seat in virtual reality (VR), Major League Baseball’s (MLB) AR offerings using game statistics and similar attempts by National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Soccer (MLS). However, he has also mentioned technical challenges to be faced in the path of earning their fullest benefits. Training is a vital activity in any professional player’s career. AR can potentially help professionals during training sessions by overlaying data over the real-world environment or by incorporating data in pre-recorded videos. This can show players how to improve their game by changing their playing style. Players can correct their actions and adopt better techniques by utilizing augmented reality in training sessions. The technology can also be used to study strategies adopted by opponents and plan counteractive strategies, as per Joshi (2019). Mons (2020) highlighted the use of AR in creating a whole range of new situations and environments through simulation for learning new skills. Additionally, this simulation can minimize the chances of injury to players due to no actual physical contact, so desirable a norm to continue learning in isolation to cope with COVID-19. Besides, smart clothing containing sensors may help to improve yoga poses, bat-lift or golf-swing, which can be seen on a smartphone. Overlay techniques may help in replicating the golf-swing of any key golfer. Smart glasses and lenses can provide real-time training data, for example, miles covered or the pulse rate. The possibilities are endless and can be disruptive to the job of a coach.

10 Conclusion Whereas each sport at the elite level is coming back in an extremely controlled environment, it is the player’s supply line right from the grass-roots level that is suffering the most. While the dearth in the supply line will be felt any time between the next five and ten years, it is surprising that there is not much focus from the academic sphere to mitigate the risk. To avoid scaling issues, the study suggests, each country should select strategically some sports and adopt a selective supply line cone for each one of them through tailoring. The strategic journey mandates a sudden but intentional change in the direction to cope with COVID-19-like uncertainties rather than a gradual and unintended organizational shift. Strategic intent refers to the willingness to create an agreed

26

S. Ray

valuable new reality that precedes strategic means. Strategic means indicate the goals and the change in processes that need to be implemented to achieve this reality and are often determined as the plan is progressed. The present paper suggests such strategic intent followed by the means (through finance, operations and technology) to limit the disruptive effect of COVID-19 or similar catastrophe. The lesson is that one needs to be nimble-footed, proactive and agile in decision-making to cut corners in such a way that even when the supply chain weakens, it does not break.

References Atkinson, M. (2012). Key concepts in sport and exercise research methods. Sage. Beech, J. (2004). Introduction. In J. Beech & S. Chadwick. (Eds.). The business of sport management. Financial Times Press. Bradbury-Jones, C., & Isham, L. (2020). The pandemic paradox: The consequences of COVID-19 on domestic violence. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29, 2047–2049. Callary, B., Brady, A., Kiosoglous, C., Clewer, P., Resende, R., Mehrtens, T., Wilkie, M., & Horvath, R. (2020). Making sense of coach development worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Sport Communication, 13(3), 575–585. Centers for disease control and prevention. (2021). Sports Program FAQs. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/youthsports-faq.html Ciampolini, V., Tozetto, A. V., Milan, F. J., Camiré, M., & Milistetd, M. (2020). Lifelong learning pathway of a coach developer operating in a national sport federation. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 15(3), 428–438. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954120912384 Côté, J., Turnnidge, J., & Evans, M. B. (2014). The dynamic process of development through sport. Kinesiologia Slovenica, 20(3), 14–26. Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic. (2021). Retrieved November 22, 2021, from www.worldometers. info/coronavirus/ Davies, C., & Dunbar, N. (2022). European football and the COVID-19 pandemic—its impact on competitions, clubs and player contracts. Malaysian Journal of Sport Science and Recreation, 18(1), 66–75. https://doi.org/10.24191/mjssr.v18i1.17640. Drummond, M., Elliott, S., Drummond, C., & Prichard, I. (2020). Youth sport and COVID-19: A potential generation lost. Emerald Open Research, 2(27), 27. Eime, R. M., Young, J. A., Harvey, J. T., Charity, M. J., & Payne, W. R. (2013). A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for children and adolescents: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 10, Article No.: 135. Elliott, S., Bevan, N., & Litchfield, C. (2020). Parents, girls’ and Australian football: A constructivist grounded theory for attracting and retaining participation. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 12(3), 392–413. Elliott, S., Drummond, M. J., Prichard, I., Eime, R., Drummond, C., & Mason, R. (2021). Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on youth sport in Australia and consequences for future participation and retention. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1–16. Ernst & Young LLP. (2020). Managing the impact of COVID-19 on India’s supply chains—now, next and beyond. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/eysites/ey-com/en_in/topics/government-and-public-sector/2020/09/managing-the-impact-ofcovid-19-on-india-supply-chains.pdf Fitzgerald, H., Stride, A., & Drury, S. (2020). COVID-19, lockdown and (disability) sport. Managing Sport and Leisure, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2020.1776950

Supply Line in Sports—Can We Insulate It from Catastrophic Events …

27

Gould, D. (2019). The current youth sport landscape: Identifying critical research issues. Kinesiology Review, 8(3), 150–161. Hall, S. B, (2020). This is how COVID-19 is affecting the world of sports. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/sports-covid19-coronavirus-excers ise-specators-media-coverage/ Holcomb, B.E. (1997). The virtual athletic training room. San José State University. Holt, N. L., Neely, K. C., Slater, L. G., Camiré, M., Côté, J., Fraser-Thomas, J., MacDonald, D., Strachan, L., & Tamminen, K. A. (2017). A grounded theory of positive youth development through sport based on results from a qualitative meta-study. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 10(1), 1–49. Howie, E. K., Guagliano, J. M., Milton, K., Vella, S. A., Gomersall, S. R., Kolbe-Alexander, T. L., Richards, J., & Pate, R. R. (2020). Ten research priorities related to youth sport, physical activity, and health. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 17(9), 920–929. Johnston, R., & Clark, G. (2001). Service operations management. Financial Times Prentice Hall, Harlow. Joshi, N. (2019). Revolutionizing sports with augmented reality. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/10/26/revolutionizing-sports-with-aug mented-reality/?sh=248c872f1416 Kelly, A. L., Erickson, K., & Turnnidge, J. (2020). Youth sport in the time of COVID-19: Considerations for researchers and practitioners. Managing Sport and Leisure, 27(1–2), 56–66. Ludvigsen, J. A. L., & Hayton, J. (2020). Toward COVID-19 secure events: considerations for organizing the safe resumption of major sporting events. Managing Sport and Leisure, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2020.1782252 Mazumdar, J. (2022, May 3). Kids’ fitness for sports hit. The Telegraph, p. 10. McKinsey & Company. (2021). Supply-chain disruptions now outweigh COVID-19 concerns as the biggest risks executives see to domestic and corporate growth—October 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corpor ate-finance/our-insights/the-coronavirus-effect-on-global-economic-sentiment Mohr, M., Nassis, G. P., Brito, J., Randers, M. B., Castagna, C., Parnell, D., & Krustrup, P. (2020). Return to elite football after the COVID-19 lockdown. Managing Sport and Leisure, 1–9. https:// doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2020.1768635 Mons, J. K. (2020). 10 great ways how AR will impact the world of sports. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from https://sporttomorrow.com/10-great-ways-ar-will-impact-the-world-of-sports/ Nair, V. (2021, December 13). Leo Burnett’s 0-3-6 survival guide pays off in long-term. The Telegraph, p. 8. Naylor, J. (2002). Introduction to Operations Management (2nd ed.), Financial Times Prentice Hall, Harlow. Pauchant, T., & Mitroff, I. (1992). Transforming the Crisis-prone Organisation. Jossey-Bass. Press Trust of India. (2020). IPL 2020: BCCI to spend Rs 10 crore on more than 20,000 coronavirus tests. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket/story/ ipl-2020-coronavirus-tests-20000-bcci-budget-rs-10-crore-uae-1717468-2020-09-01 Ray, S. (2008). Evolution of disaster management maturity (DMM) model for assessing country readiness in combating disasters. Journal for Contemporary Management Research, 2(2), 1–17. Ray, S. (2021a). Identification of research paradigms for managing the cricketing ecosystem using stakeholder analysis and text mining. Management and Labour Studies, 46(3), 289–312. Ray, S. (2021b). Quadrennial heartbreak called the Olympics. IMI Konnect, 10(4), 24–29. ISSN 2321-9378. Ray, S., & Roychowdhury, S. (2021). Cricket mix optimization using heuristic framework after ensuring Markovian equilibrium. Journal of Sports Analytics, 7(3), 155–168. Ringuet-Riot, C., Cuskelly, G., Auld, C., & Zakus, D. (2014). Volunteer roles, involvement and commitment in voluntary sport organizations: evidence of core and peripheral volunteers. Sport in society, 17(1), 116–133. Roy, A. (2022, February 21). Gopi charts road map for new generation. The Telegraph, p. 13.

28

S. Ray

Shrivastava, P., & Mitroff, I. (1987). Strategic management of corporate crises. The Colombia Journal of World Business, 22(1), 5–11. Smith, D. (1990). Beyond contingency planning: Towards a model of crisis management. Industrial Crisis Quarterly, 4(4), 263–275. Sondhi, R. (1999). Total Strategy. Lancashire, England: Airworthy. Sparkes, A., & Smith, B. (2014). Qualitative research methods in sport, exercise and health: From process to product. Routledge. Sport and physical activity should be part of post-COVID-19 recovery plans, say governments. (2020). Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://olympics.com/ioc/news/sport-and-physicalactivity-should-be-part-of-post-covid-19-recovery-plans-say-governments The Times of India. (2020). Cricket Australia’s projected bio-bubble budget for India series and BBL rises to AUD 30 million. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://timesofindia.indiat imes.com/sports/cricket/news/cricket-australias-projected-bio-bubble-budget-for-india-seriesand-bbl-rises-to-aud-30-million/articleshow/77926600.cms United Nations. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on sport, physical activity and well-being and its effects on social development. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.un.org/develo pment/desa/dspd/2020/05/covid-19-sport/ Wong, A. Y., Ling, S. K., Louie, L. H., Law, G. Y., So, R. C., Lee, D. C., Yau, F. C., & Yung, P. S. (2020). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports and exercise. Asia-Pacific Journal of Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy, Rehabilitation and Technology, 22, 39–44. Xiong, D. C. (1998). The development of software for the wellness development process: La Crosse Wellness Project [Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse]. Young, J. (2020). Sports leagues are betting on augmented reality, as virtual courtside seats can’t match the real thing. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/01/ tech-augmented-reality-sports-leagues-nba-mlb-nhl-profit-virtual-reality.html

Dr. Subhasis Ray is Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), Kolkata, India. Earlier, he taught at ICFAI Business School (IBS). With more than 11 years of teaching and research experience, he also has nearly 18 years of global experience in IT consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Tech Mahindra and IBM. He holds dual master degrees in Statistics and Computer Science from the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. He later completed M.Phil. and D.Phil. from the University of Calcutta. He has published his research in several journals of repute: International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Decision, South Asian Journal of Management, Journal of Statistical Research, Journal of Sports Analytics and Malaysian Journal of Sport Science and Recreation. His work on cricket has been cited in the prestigious UAE daily Gulf News, and many of his articles are published in Indian dailies like The Telegraph, Assam Tribune, Orissa Post. Dr. Ray is the author of the book titled Management of the Cricketing Ecosystem - An Analytic Approach (Springer Sports Economics, Management and Policy, Vol. 20).

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment Elizaveta Zhuk and Michel Desbordes

1 Introduction Hosting sports mega-events (SMEs) today is connected with plenty of risks and challenges. Many scholars prove that hosting became extremely expensive (Andreff, 2012; Baade & Matheson, 2016; Chappelet, 2014; Solberg, 2017; Zimbalist, 2010), and countries do not want to host at any costs any longer because of possibility of financial crisis, abandoned sports infrastructure (Emery et al., 2016; Gratton & Preuss, 2008; Leopkey & Parent, 2012; MacAloon, 2008; Thomson et al., 2013) and public opposition (Allen et al., 2012; Girginov, 2012; Hiller & Wanner, 2018; Masterman, 2014). Some researchers fairly argue that there is a risk for international sports organisations (events owners) to end up with no countries willing to host SMEs at some point in the future (Masterman, 2014; Parent & Chappelet, 2017; Solberg, 2017). From this perspective, polycentric approach can potentially become a solution to this problem. Polycentric approach is also known as co-hosting, when two or more countries host the event together, sharing risks and benefits. It is a relatively new concept, and it has not been widely researched yet. The most famous cases of cohosted SMEs relate to football championships, such as: UEFA Euro 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2020, and the 2002 and 2026 FIFA World Cup. At the moment, there were no co-hosted Olympic Games in history. However, in 2014, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) adopted the Olympic Agenda 2020 (IOC, 2014) that introduced the possibility of co-hosting. E. Zhuk (B) Research center CIAMS, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University Paris Saclay, Building 335, 91400 Orsay, France e-mail: [email protected] M. Desbordes University Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_3

29

30

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

This chapter is one of the very first attempts to define and analyse positive effects and challenges related to co-hosting. Previous studies on co-hosted SMEs focussed primarily on separate aspects of the events rather than on the phenomenon of cohosting. Besides, currently in literature, there are no defined conditions under which polycentric approach should be applied to be a good alternative to a traditional approach to hosting SMEs by one single country. This study is aimed to cover this gap. This chapter is split into five sections. The introduction is followed by the first section that gives an overview of SMEs’ co-hosting history and current state. The second section describes the research methodology. The main results are presented in the third section that defines positive effects and challenges of co-hosting. The fourth section provides a set of conditions for joint bids developed by the authors. Finally, the fifth section concludes this chapter and gives several ideas regarding practical implications of the results of this study.

2 Co-Hosting SMEs: History and Current State Co-hosting format has been tested by several international sports organisations in the past. The first Rugby World Cup in history organised in 1987 was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Some authors evaluated the event as successful from both financial and organisational viewpoints (Hutchins, 1998), and others claimed that it was a financial disaster (Chaix, 2006). Nevertheless, the event was recognised as a sporting and media success (Chaix, 2006; Hutchins, 1998; O’Brien & Slack, 2004). In spite of organisational challenges, the next 1991 Rugby World Cup was also hosted by several nations: France, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For Cricket World Cup, co-hosting format became rather common: seven out of 12 world championships organised since 1975 have been co-hosted by two, three or even eight countries. For example, the 2007 Cricket World Cup tournament took place in eight countries of the West Indies. It has been the largest single sporting event ever held in the Caribbean region (Majumdar & Gemmell, 2013). Polycentric nature of the event and the extended nature of the competition (the event lasted 48 days) caused specific difficulties. According to Beech (2008), the main challenges were related to limited flights and accommodation options, as well as different currencies in the host countries. Visa issue was solved with the help of a special arrangements of the Caribbean Community providing relaxations of visa requirements. The International Handball Federation (IHB), the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) also organised previously or will organise their world championships in several countries at a time. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was one of pioneers amongst international football sports organisations to apply polycentric approach. During the last two decades, there were four cases when two countries hosted the European Football Championship together: Euro 2000 (co-hosted by Belgium and

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

31

the Netherlands), Euro 2008 (Austria and Switzerland) and Euro 2012 (Poland and Ukraine). Finally, UEFA Euro 2020 (postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) was an absolutely unique event co-hosted by 11 locations in ten European countries. This decision was explained by 60th Anniversary of the UEFA European Championship. Several researchers tried to find additional explanation of Pan-European nature of Euro 2020. Wilson and Kitchin (2016) claimed that one of the main reasons to select such a unique format was not to expose European countries, many of which have suffered the financial crisis, to the costs of staging the championship in their own right. Stura et al. (2017) stated that the UEFA decision was explained by wish to “bring the tournament to European fans’ front door” (p. 26). Parent and Chappelet (2017) wrote that the format of Euro 2020 was “politically more unique for Europe” (p. 11) and allowed to use existing stadiums that made the event easier from organisational perspective. Finally, Kennedy (2017) claimed that money, effort and time spent by various nations competing for hosting parts of Euro 2020 are a testimony to the growing power of the UEFA European Football Championship brand, in terms of economic, social and political capital. UEFA Euro 2020 was originally scheduled to take place from June 12 to July 12, 2020, but three months before the event in March 2020, it was decided that due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament will be postponed by one year to be held from June 11 to July 11, 2021. Other changes referred to hosting venues. Initially, there were supposed to be 13 hosting cities, but Brussels was dropped in December 2017 because the construction of the city’s stadium was abandoned. Dublin was dropped only two months before the event in April 2021 due to the government’s COVID regulations related to stadium attendance. Finally, in Spain, the games were played in Seville instead of Bilbao, as was originally planned. As a result, Euro 2020 was hosted by 11 cities: Amsterdam, Baku, Budapest, Bucharest, Glasgow, Copenhagen, Munich, London, Rome, Seville and Saint-Petersburg. In 2020, it was estimated that the decision to postpone scheduled Euro to 2021 would cause a revenue loss of 300 million Euros for UEFA. However, cancelling the event entirely would have cost around 400 million Euros (Statista, 2020). The attitude of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to polycentric approach went through certain evolution. The 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan is the only co-hosted FIFA World Cup in history so far. According to Heere et al. (2012), the event was awarded to both countries not because Japan and Korea had an agreement to host together, but because FIFA did not want to choose one over the other. As stated by FIFA, “the sporting world regarded the decision to be a risky one” (FIFA, 2002, p. 14) because of the cultural and language barriers between two nations, logistics, infrastructure. Subsequently, FIFA admitted that the event was very complex and demanding in organisational terms (FIFA, 2004) and banned co-hosting. At the same time, Horne and Manzenreiter (2004) who analysed the impact of the event on the host countries concluded that one of the most positive

32

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

outcomes of that championship was “clearly improved relationships between the co-hosting nations” (p. 200). Later during the bidding process for the World Cup 2010, Tunisia and Libya expressed wish to host the event together. However, since there were three other bidders, FIFA decided not to lift the ban on co-hosting. As the result, Tunisia and Libya withdrew from bidding. The change occurred in 2010 when FIFA formally accepted the principle of cohosting the tournament. FIFA received joint bids from Spain and Portugal, as well as from Belgium and the Netherlands for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. In both joint bids, there was only one unified local organising committee (LOC). Back in 2002, Korea and Japan had separate organising committees which “gave the impression at times that there were two different World Cups taking place” (FIFA, 2010a). FIFA still emphasised that co-hosting could pose challenges regarding the joint operational delivery of the event (FIFA, 2010b, 2010c). At the end, none of two joint bids won. Finally, in 2016, FIFA directly stated that co-hosting “was a positive idea to encourage more countries to host the World Cup” (FIFA, 2016a, p. 17). Furthermore, later in 2016, FIFA Council decided that joint bids for the 2026 World Cup would be permitted with a case-by-case evaluation, not limited to a specific number (FIFA, 2016b). As the result, three CONCACAF member federations (Canada, Mexico and USA) won with the joint bid “United 2026.” The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first one co-hosted by three countries. General information about co-hosted football SMEs is represented in Table 1. As for the Olympic Games, none were previously officially co-hosted (though during the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, few sailing races were held in the Netherlands, and during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, equestrian events were held in Sweden). However, in 2014, the International Olympic Committee made a big step adopting the Olympic Agenda 2020. Cornerstones of the Agenda 2020 are reduction of costs for bidding, maximum use of existing facilities and possibility of co-hosting (IOC, 2014). Soon after in 2015, the 12th European Youth Olympic Festival was co-hosted by Austria and Liechtenstein. According to Kristiansen et al. (2016), this co-hosting was “pioneering in the history of the International Olympic Committee and exemplifies the IOC’s ongoing renewal of the Olympic Movement” (p. 1153). Indeed, introducing the possibility of co-hosting, the IOC addressed both current challenges related to hosting SMEs and the future of the Olympic Games. The possibility of co-hosting had already received the feedback from countries. Two joint bids (Stockholm—Åre and Milan—Cortina d’Ampezzo) were competing for the right to host the 2026 Winter Olympics. Stockholm—Åre bid presumed several events which would take place in Latvia, making the 2026 Olympics co-hosted by two countries. Though this bid lost to another joint bid Milan—Cortina d’Ampezzo, the 2026 Olympic Games will still be polycentric within one country, with six sports clusters all over Northern Italy. What is important is that countries demonstrated interest in co-hosting the Olympics. Additionally, during the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games hosted by Switzerland, some competitions were co-hosted by France. Finally, during the 2024 Paris Olympics, surfing competitions will be held in Tahiti. Thus, polycentric approach to hosting has a great potential for the Olympic Movement.

Belgium, the Netherlands

Korea, Japan

Austria, Switzerland

Poland, Ukraine

Amsterdam, Baku, Budapest, Bucharest, Glasgow, Copenhagen, Munich, London, Rome, Seville, Saint-Petersburg

Canada, Mexico, USA

UEFA Euro 2000

FIFA WC 2002

UEFA Euro 2008

UEFA Euro 2012

UEFA Euro 2020

FIFA WC 2026

48

24

16

16

32

16

Number of teams

80

51

31

31

64

31

Number of matches

–

1099

144

114

2705 (FIFA, 2002)

1126

Total stadium attendance (in thousands) (Statista, 2021)

–

1883

1391

1351

2352 (Merten & Winand, 2022)1

230

Total revenue (Statista, 2022a)

–

1135

837

802

881 (Akindes, 2022)2

93

Broadcasting revenue (Statista, 2022b)

UEFA/FIFA revenue (in million Euros)

–

521

314

290

N/A

54

Commercial rights revenue (Statista, 2022b)

–

149

136

101

N/A

83

Ticket revenue (Statista, 2022b)

–

77

102

155

N/A

0

Hospitality revenue (Statista, 2022b)

amount into Euros according to 2002 exchange rate.

2 In cited source, the original sum was presented in the US Dollars and was equal to USD 861 million. In order to preserve the consistency of currencies in Table 1, the authors converted this

amount into Euros according to 2002 exchange rate.

1 In cited source, the original sum was presented in the US Dollars and was equal to USD 2,3 billion. In order to preserve the consistency of currencies in Table 1, the authors converted this

Hosts

Co-hosted event

Table 1 Co-hosted football SMEs general information

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment 33

34

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

Currently, there is no defined set of conditions for joint bids in either international sports organisations’ documents or literature. The Olympic Agenda 2020 states that co-hosting is possible “notably for reasons of geography and sustainability” (IOC, 2014). FIFA has never defined particular conditions for co-hosting either; in 2016, it stated that co-hosting is allowed with a case-by-case evaluation. Though UEFA had never developed general conditions for joint bids, it went further than the IOC or FIFA. For UEFA Euro 2016, joint bids of two member associations were permitted. UEFA was still ready to consider joint bid from three countries together with “convincing argument regarding the measures to be taken to ensure the smooth and successful organisation of UEFA Euro 2016 in such a manner” (UEFA, 2010, p. 6). For Euro 2024, joint bids by several UEFA member associations were permitted “but only if they are from neighbouring countries” (UEFA, 2016, p. 10). For Euro 2028, UEFA announced that “joint bids are permitted, provided that the bidding countries are geographically compact” (UEFA, 2021a), further specifying that they should be neighbouring countries (UEFA, 2021b). Thus, for Euro 2016, the only requirement regarding co-hosting related to the number of countries (two or three maximum), Euro 2020 was an extreme polycentric case with 11 hosting locations in 10 countries involved, while for Euro 2024 and 2028, the only requirement is related to the geographical proximity (neighbouring countries). However, in two latter cases, UEFA did not specify whether there must necessarily be a land border between co-hosting states or not. The authors’ assumption is that while testing different co-hosting criteria, UEFA is trying to define the best practices for polycentric approach which might eventually evaluate into a set of conditions for joint bids in the future. Although polycentric approach to hosting SMEs has significant positive effects and is able to increase number of bidding countries, at the same time, it has specific challenges. This chapter is aimed to find out whether main “pros” of co-hosting outweighs “cons”, whether polycentric approach can be a good way to address the drawbacks of a traditional approach to hosting sports event by one single country and, if yes, under what conditions.

3 Methodology 3.1 Primary Data Collection The authors use qualitative research method such as semi-structured in-depth openended interviews. Semi-structured interviews are good when the researcher has already analysed the issue before the interview and is looking for additional information (Edwards & Skinner, 2009). The interview allows to explore in detail the opinions and experiences of others and to see things from the perspectives of interviewees (Rubin and Rubin, 2012). Since the goal was to find out various stakeholders’

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

35

opinions about SMEs co-hosting, the interview was selected as a perfect method of primary data collection. The authors used purposive sampling because this form of sampling allows to select participants who are relevant for the research and ensures the variety between sample members in terms of key characteristics (Bryman & Bell, 2011). Research participants’ inclusion criteria: 1. Participants of interviews belong to selected stakeholder groups. 2. Participants possess particular knowledge, experience and/or data regarding cohosted SMEs included into this study. 3. Such SMEs are: • UEFA EURO 2020 (11 cities in ten European countries). • FIFA World Cup 2026 (USA, Canada and Mexico), • Shortlisted polycentric Olympic bid 2026 Stockholm–Åre (Sweden and Latvia). Additionally, the interviewees were professionally engaged into other co-hosted large-scale sports events, such as: the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, the 2013, 2015 and 2019 Men’s European Volleyball Championships, the 2019 IHF Men’s Handball World Championship, the 2020 and 2022 EHF European Men’s Handball Championships. For the purpose of this research, four categories of stakeholders were interviewed: (1) hosting countries, (2) sponsors, (3) media, and (4) athletes. An overview of interviewees is provided in Table 2. Hosting countries provided data regarding challenges and opportunities they are facing or faced preparing for the events and related specifically to the events’ polycentric format. Sponsors were selected for the study because there is no previous sound research regarding the effects that polycentric format of SMEs might have on them. Media plays the main role in widening events’ audience. Co-hosting specifics can affect broadcasting and journalists’ activities. Athletes provided data on personal experience related to co-hosted events. The aim of the interviews was to find out stakeholders’ opinions about polycentric approach to hosting SMEs and to define main positive effects and challenges related to co-hosting from different stakeholders’ perspectives. Specific questions for interviewees referred to planning and operational processes, costs, logistics, atmosphere of the event, etc. The authors conducted 12 interviews in total, three with each of four stakeholder groups. Interviewing several representatives of each stakeholder group allowed to define heterogeneity of stakeholders’ perspectives regarding pros and cons of cohosting both between and within stakeholder groups. The interviews were conducted via electronic meetings in April–May 2022. The time of the interviews varied from 31 to 94 min (Ø 54 min per interview), limited

36

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

Table 2 List of interviewees Stakeholder group Interviewee profile

Interview length in minutes Reference in text

Hosting country

Senior executive of Stockholm-Åre 2026 Winter Olympics Bidding committee, Swedish National Olympic Committee

42

Country 1

Hosting country

Top ranking executive for North America’s successful bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup

59

Country 2

Hosting country

General secretary of 54 Football Association of European country, Director of Local organising structure UEFA Euro 2020

Country 3

Global sponsor

Director of 52 FMCG-company’s global partnership with the Olympic Movement with 20+ years of experience in the company

Sponsor 1

Global sponsor

Senior Strategic Partnership Manager with 15+ years of experience, including management of global sponsors for UEFA Euro 2016 and 2020

94

Sponsor 2

Global sponsor

Global head of 56 sponsorship and events in oil company who led the programme management, PR and digital activation of company’s FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro sponsorships

Sponsor 3

Media

Sports journalist with 30+ 56 years of experience, radio sports broadcasting, FIFA World Cup commentator, project consultant for UEFA Euro 2012 joint bid (Croatia) and the 2018 FIFA World Cup bid

Media 1

(continued)

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

37

Table 2 (continued) Stakeholder group Interviewee profile

Interview length in minutes Reference in text

Media

Sports journalist in the fourth biggest media outlet in Spain

53

Media 2

Media

Sports journalist in a private broadcasting company (London–Cologne–New York)

49

Media 3

Athlete

Participant and winner of four co-hosted European and World Volleyball Championships Four Olympic Games athlete and winner

65

Athlete 1

Athlete

Participant and winner of three co-hosted European and World Men’s Handball Championships 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games medalist

33

Athlete 2

Athlete

Four Olympic Games athlete Sports journalist with 15+ years of experience in sports journalism and news production

31

Athlete 3

to the participants’ available time. Interviews were recorded and further transcribed and analysed by the authors themselves.

3.2 Secondary Data Collection In terms of qualitative secondary data collection, the authors analysed documents of international sports organisations (IOC, FIFA, UEFA) related to the bidding process and to particular events included into the study.

4 Results and Discussion The literature review and analyses of the secondary data allowed the authors to make a hypothesis that co-hosting has both positive effects and challenges. Positive

38

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

effects and challenges formed two core categories. Analysis of interviews proved this hypothesis. Next, the authors distinguished number of specific effects that were assigned to each of two core categories (e.g. “sport popularisation” went to positive effects, “split Olympic Village” went to challenges, etc.). Additionally, deep-dive analysis of the primary data enabled the authors to aggregate both particular positive effects and challenges into several subcategories based on their nature (e.g. economical and infrastructural benefits, partnership benefits and challenges, planning and operational challenges, etc.). In order to better illustrate the perspectives of various stakeholders, direct quotes were included into this chapter.

4.1 Positive Effects of Co-Hosting 4.1.1

Economical and Infrastructural Benefits

Sharing costs and risks between co-hosting countries According to many authors (Chappelet, 2014, Grix et al., 2017, Preuss, 2006 and 2015, Sroka, 2021), hosting SMEs has become a major challenge even for rich countries because of huge costs. Co-hosting gives a possibility to share costs and risks between the countries and that was unanimously named by the interviewees as the primary advantage of co-hosting: One has to think why to make a joint bid. And often it comes down to reducing risks and costs. (Country 1)

Co-hosting has been viewed as a reasonable option even if the country could organise the event alone: Countries like France, Germany, England can host themselves. But I wonder how much they’d rather share the costs with a neighbouring country. It’s massively less regarding costs. And for smaller countries with less capacities to host it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. (Sponsor 2)

According to Baade and Matheson (2016), there are three major categories of costs connected with hosting SMEs: 1. Expenses for general infrastructure such as transportation and housing. 2. Expenses for specialised sports infrastructure required for competitions. 3. Operational costs such as general administration, security, ceremonies. The lion’s share of costs related to SMEs falls to general and sports infrastructure (non-operational costs). Infrastructural requirements for hosting SMEs are huge. The country has to provide not only stadiums and other sports facilities of certain capacity (sports infrastructure), but also hotels, airports and so on (general infrastructure). Co-hosting helps to reduce these costs by sharing the burden with another country/countries instead of building everything on its’ own. Co-hosting format also

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

39

allows to save money not only by the fact of sharing costs, but also placing SME to a lower cost country where everything is cheaper. At the same time, operational costs might increase if more than one country is involved into hosting due to operational complexity, two or more LOCs, complication of logistics, additional security risks, etc. Operational costs can be minimised if cohosting countries are alike (Stettler et al., 2017). Finally, since costs for general and sports infrastructure are usually the lion’s share of the SME’s budget, co-hosting can still save a lot of money to the country, even with consideration to increased operational costs. Possibility to use existing infrastructure The problem of sports infrastructure in particular relates not only to the costs required for its’ construction. Abandoned or poorly used sports infrastructure (known as “white elephants”) became a serious issue referred as a negative legacy of SMEs (it happened in Athens, South Africa, Brazil). Co-hosting was fairly seen by the participants of this study as a chance to avoid “white elephants” and to use sports infrastructure that is already in place instead of building new sports venues. Those few authors who addressed the polycentric approach (Byun et al., 2019; Parent & Chappelet, 2017; Stura et al., 2017; Walzel & Eickhoff, 2021) considered the opportunity to use existing stadiums as one of the advantages of co-hosting, too. Infrastructure renovation and country’s development Few interviewees from all stakeholder groups mentioned that SME could be a good justification for investment into renovation of existing infrastructure and could even give a push to country’s development in a broad sense. For example, for co-hosted UEFA Euro 2008 out of four stadiums in Austria, one was modernised, two were upgraded and one more was erected (UEFA, 2008). So, instead of hosting Euro 2008 alone and constructing several new stadiums that it potentially would not need after the event, Austria chose to co-host and improved existing sports infrastructure instead of building new facilities, saving a lot of money. Hosting opportunities to more countries Polycentric approach was also considered by all interviewees as the way to give hosting opportunities to more countries that would not be able to host SME alone due to various reasons (economic reasons, lack of required infrastructure, size of the country, etc.). While hosting requirements are a serious challenge even for rich and big countries, the majority of countries are expelled from hosting SMEs on their own: I think the big ‘pro’ [of co-hosting] is that countries that could never host SMEs all of a sudden can. (Country 3)

Co-hosting can also solve the problems of potential lack of bidders and fair geographical distribution of SMEs for the events owners because it brings SMEs to new geographies:

40

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes Long-term winner is the IOC because the event can be run in more places. It will give an opportunity to smaller countries to have one piece of the Olympic Games. (Country 1)

Sponsorship activation on a larger territory Amongst positive effects of co-hosting, interviewees named an opportunity to activate sponsorship on a larger territory giving more brand visibility to global sponsors. This viewpoint is supported by the study of Stura et al. (2017) related to Euro 2020, that stated that sponsors could “address a much larger audience with their marketing activities” (p. 33). Representatives of sponsors admitted this benefit unanimously: [Co-hosting is a] possibility to activate on a larger territory and get more visibility for the brand in those countries. (Sponsor 3)

4.1.2

Partnership Benefits

Improve relations between co-hosting countries Plenty of interviewees from all stakeholder groups (and the hosting countries’ group unanimously) were positive about the potential of co-hosting to improve relations between the countries. Interviewees considered sport to be a great communication tool and believed that preparing the event together can help to facilitate the dialogue between the countries. The impact on relations between the countries might depend on how well the co-hosting goes, if there are conflicts between co-hosts, etc. Expertise sharing Expertise sharing during common work on SME was named as co-hosting positive effect by all representatives of hosting countries as they had a chance to experience it. Expertise sharing can be especially visible and fruitful when one of the countries within a co-hosting alliance is more experienced in SME hosting than another/others.

4.1.3

Country Branding/PR Benefits

Promotion and visibility for the country Hosting SME gives countries an opportunity to make the rest of the world talk about them before, during and after the event. Of course, a lot depends on how the country plays this hosting card. But apparently, SMEs give promotion and visibility to the country. This might result in foreign investments, increase of tourist flow and country’s development. Besides, if the country runs its’ part of the event successfully, it increases chances to co-host (or host alone) other SMEs in the future (the infrastructure would already be in place for it), because SMEs’ owners and international community will see the country as a credible international player: For some countries hosting or co-hosting SME is the only chance to represent themselves to the sports world. They will get the attention of international sports organisation, sponsors, etc. (Athlete 1)

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

41

Tourism development Naturally, SMEs attract people to the hosting country. Though the crowding out effect should not be forgotten, for less tourist-attractive countries, SME might be a good chance to get more foreign visitors than usual. Development of tourism and increase of tourist flow might be a positive effect of co-hosting. National pride and public engagement doubled/multiplied Some stakeholders mentioned that national pride and public engagement will be doubled or multiplied due to co-hosting. The explanation was that national pride comes as a usual effect of hosting SME, and if the event is hosted by more than one country, this effect is doubled or multiplied for the population of all countries involved. Media stories creation potential Few interviewees stated that co-hosting has a big potential to create interesting media stories. Indeed, co-hosting format implies bigger scope in terms of geography, culture, history, etc. There might be a special message or story behind the joint bid that might draw extra media attention (e.g. if one day South Korea and North Korea would co-host SME, it could demonstrate the power of sport in conflict resolution). Besides, co-hosting allows to host some particular sports in the countries where this sport is popular, where there is a local fan base and existing sports infrastructure. It would help to have stadiums full of spectators which is great for the atmosphere of the event and looks better from media perspective. Finally, co-hosting allows to bring the event to some iconic destinations that might be particularly scenic or have a rich history behind. Again, this is good from TV picture and storytelling perspectives. Justification of hosting to the public Last but not least, co-hosting is good from PR perspective, since it is easier to “sell” the idea of co-hosting to the public (comparing to hosting alone) claiming that risks and costs will be shared. One of the issues raised by the interviewees was public opposition against hosting SMEs that demand a lot of public money: I think where you normally get the breakdown around public consent is around the intensive capital investment that cannot be justified other than for the World Cup. (Country 2)

Since countries are using a lot of tax payers’ money for financing SMEs, there is “increasing pressure on governments to justify public funding of events in terms of economic returns” (Carlsen, 2012, p. 252). Polycentric approach can facilitate getting public consent to host the event. Due to reduction of costs and risks, the idea of co-hosting might be more appealing and easier acceptable by people of the country than hosting alone.

42

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

4.1.4

Sportive/Cultural Benefits

Bringing SME to fans’ front doors One of the positive effects of co-hosting stated by almost all interviewees was the opportunity to bring SME to spectators’ front doors. This is especially important for those people who for various reasons are not ready to travel far from home for the sake of SME. Co-hosting increases number of hosting locations, allowing people to either attend the event in their own city or country, or offering several cities to travel to instead of just one: When the event is being co-hosted by your country, for you it’s perfect, because the tournament comes to you. (Athlete 2)

Sport popularisation Some interviewees (including all hosting countries’ representatives) noted that hosting SME can naturally work for sport popularisation in the country. In case of cohosting, this effect is being multiplied according to the number of hosts. It happens because sport is getting additional attention of authorities, media and people, and more investments into sports infrastructure are being made. More intercultural experience While the initial research hypothesis of the authors was that co-hosting might result in a lack of intercultural experience, some interviewees mentioned as an advantage the possibility to experience more than one country and culture due to co-hosting.

4.1.5

Sustainability/Legacy Benefits

Recent studies demonstrate public demand for better legacy and sustainability in regards with SMEs (Feilhauer et al., 2022; Preuss, 2019). Many participants of this research also expressed concerns regarding sustainability and legacy of SMEs. They were aware of cost overruns related to hosting SMEs (especially, the Olympics), lack of bidders in recent years, countries withdrawing from the bidding, etc. The majority considered that bidding process and hosting should be re-evaluated and that co-hosting is more sustainable and beneficial from many aspects and for many stakeholders, including international sports organisations, than hosting alone. According to UNESCO, “sustainability is a paradigm for thinking about the future in which environmental, societal and economic considerations are balanced in the pursuit of an improved quality of life” (UNESCO, 2022). As comes from this definition and literature (e.g. Purvis et al., 2019), sustainability has few intertwined dimensions: economic, societal, environmental. Co-hosting format of SME helps to reach goals in all these dimensions: to re-use existing general and sports infrastructure, and if some new facilities are required for the event, co-hosting helps to place them at locations where they will be really used for the next decades instead of turning into

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

43

“white elephants”. Co-hosting helps to save natural and financial resources. It gives a chance to host SME to countries that otherwise would not be able to do so and leave positive legacy facilitating sport promotion, knowledge exchange, development of local businesses and tourism.

4.2 Challenges of Co-Hosting 4.2.1

Distance/Logistics Challenges

Distance and Logistics Distance and logistics were named as the main co-hosting challenges by all the study participants from all stakeholder groups. Interviews’ analysis allowed the authors to make several findings. First, from stakeholders’ perspective, a big distance between host cities might create difficulties in general, no matter whether the event is co-hosted by several countries or hosted by one single country with a large territory (like during the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Brazil and Russia). Second, the proximity of hosting locations might matter more than their being within one country (for example, if few countries “share” mountains, they could potentially share SME like Winter Olympics, too). Third, big distance itself is not a major problem if there is a good transport connection between co-hosting countries allowing to reduce travel time. It might be more complicated to travel between smaller cities that are close to each other (even within one country) but poorly connected. Four, the significance of distance might depend on particular SME (e.g. for the Olympic Games short distance between the venues is more critical than for football SMEs). Thus, distance and logistics are a challenge related to polycentric SMEs indeed. A real problem would be the big distance together with poor transport infrastructure. Other than that, both distance and logistics can be managed: Distance is manageable. (Sponsor 1) Logistics - that’s instrumental. (Country 2)

The authors developed several solutions to manage distance and logistics more efficiently in case of co-hosting. These solutions can work better if combined. 1. Clusters Sports venues do not necessarily need to be spread around the country (or countries). They might be concentrated in a part(-s) of it, allowing to visit several locations and travel only around a part of the country/countries, but not across the whole country/countries. Clustering would allow to use transportation other than airplanes (train, car) that could make travelling cheaper.

44

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

2. Scheduling Proper scheduling the event time wise and location wise would give travelling stakeholders opportunity to have rest between trainings, competitions or work (for athletes, media and sponsors) and plan a trip in a cheaper and more convenient way (for spectators). 3. Charter flights for athletes Charter flights might be a solution for athletes first of all, allowing them to travel fast, convenient and comfortable, saving energy for trainings and competitions. 4. Free transportation for fans Free comfortable day and night trains for SME ticket holders were running between the host cities during UEFA Euro 2008 (Lienhard & Preuss, 2014; Manzenreiter & Spitaler, 2013) and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Apparently, this means additional costs for hosting countries and cannot work if the distance is too big, like in case of UEFA Euro 2020 or the 2026 FIFA World Cup (however, it can still work on a part of the hosting countries’ territory). In general, even though those stakeholders who have to travel a lot for SMEs prefer hosting locations to be close to each other, they do not mind travelling if there is a convenient, comfortable and cheap way to do it. Hosting countries’ representatives demonstrated awareness of this issue and stated the importance of good transport infrastructure. Carbon footprint Carbon footprint might be a negative effect of co-hosting directly related to the big distance and necessity to travel a lot.

4.2.2

Planning and Operational Challenges

Planning and operational complexity multiplication Planning and operational complexity was named as a serious challenge of co-hosting by all stakeholders except athletes. Hosting SME is a complicated matter, and cohosting with another country adds to this complexity. Different work styles and management cultures, different legislations and languages, necessity to negotiate and avoid conflicts can make co-hosting very challenging. The more countries are involved into co-hosting, the more complicated it becomes: Each additional country does create challenges and it has compounding effect. (Country 2)

Many interviewees stated that depending on the number of countries, co-hosting means duplication or multiplication of functions, venues, processes: If you start to split SME, you multiply the complexity. […] Let’s take hospitality: you need buses, hotels, staff to manage this, and you need to multiply it by the number of cities in case of co-hosting. Same thing for the operations…you have to multiply everything. (Sponsor 1)

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

45

Hence, planning and operational complexity is a serious challenge of polycentric format that affects co-hosting countries, sponsors, media and event owners. The authors presume that similarities between co-hosts in their culture, mentality, economical characteristics, etc., can facilitate planning and operational processes. Other particular planning and operational challenges mentioned by interviewees were: visa restrictions; different legislations, taxes, customs; difficulties to maintain equal standards and deliver the same experience to various stakeholders; different co-hosting vision/strategy; cultural differences; security concerns; language barrier; different time zones.

4.2.3

Partnership Challenges

Sharing the benefits (not always fairly) Countries that are getting involved into co-hosting of SME are sharing not only risks and costs but also benefits related to hosting. Byun et al. (2020) mentioned that “forming joint bids might dilute bidders’ economic benefits by spreading it across multiple hosts” (p. 14). Potentially, this may lead to a situation when one country benefits less than the other, for example, if one country seems less attractive for investors, sponsors and visitors for various reasons, or if the country is rather distant and/or the logistics there is poor, or if the country does not play “the hosting card” to the fullest extent. Fair share does not necessarily mean equal share. If benefits are not being shared equally, it might still be a “win-win” situation, for example, when one country hosts less competitions and potentially gets less benefits, but also invests less than the other country. In case of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Mexico and Canada will host only ten matches each while 60 will be hosted by the USA. Nevertheless, they will have their chance to make the best out of it without investing excessive money and have their names associated with the World Cup. Reduced national pride and public engagement The population of the hosting country might experience certain frustration due to the fact that their country is sharing SME instead of hosting it alone. Few interviewees presumed that this might reduce national pride and public engagement that might be expected when the country is hosting SME: The disadvantage of co-hosting is that it does not create “this is our event” feeling. (Country 1)

Sceptical comments regarding national pride and public engagement referred specifically to UEFA Euro 2020. Few interviewees claimed that they did not manage to really follow where particular games were played and that hosting together with so many countries did not feel that meaningful: Germany was one of Euro 2020 hosts, but everybody said: “Does it matter? There were nine other hosts, we were just one of ten”. So, the recognition you get [in case of co-hosting] is much lower. (Media 3)

46

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

Competition/rivalry between co-hosts Potentially, situation of co-hosting might grow into competition or even rivalry between co-hosting countries. It might happen if countries get involved into cohosting as equal partners but then something goes wrong (e.g. one country tries to get a bigger piece of “hosting cake” without investing more). Other than that, concurrence might be a good thing for the quality of SME, if co-hosts try to outdo each other.

4.2.4

Sportive/Cultural Challenges

Hard to see/cover all sports By spreading the event on a large territory, especially few countries, you are providing more access to local audience. A natural downside of it is that those stakeholders who want to see as many sports or games as possible will have to try really hard to make it work. For them, it would imply more travelling, more expenses, other extra inconveniences (e.g. visas). Co-hosting might create challenges for journalists to cover competitions. It refers to distance and logistics, necessity to have few crews in different locations, etc. Without doing it, media can miss some big stories that might happen during SMEs. Bad for athletes The majority of interviewees stated that from all stakeholders, athletes suffer the most from co-hosting format of SME. Apparently, for athletes who have to go through colossal pressure of trainings and competitions, co-hosting creates extra complications with no obvious benefits. The reason is the necessity to travel a lot, often on tight schedule and not always comfortably, and to train and compete after. The quality of their performance that definitely affects the atmosphere of the event and spectators’ experience might suffer: What really matters for us [athletes] is sports result. And this result is easier to achieve when we are in a comfortable environment at one location rather than at different ones. […] At the end of the day the quality of spectators’ experience from the game depends exactly on athletes’ performance. (Athlete 1)

Loss of the Olympic atmosphere/values Potential challenge defined by the interviewees in connection with co-hosting the Olympic Games was the loss of the unique Olympic atmosphere and the Olympic values. Indeed, there is something very special about the Olympic Games comparing to other sports events. The Olympics have several elements which are truly unique. These are the Olympic torch relay and the Olympic flame, the opening and closing ceremonies, the Olympic village. The Olympic Games are multi-sport SME, which means that there are many Olympic champions at the end and a huge interest of a very

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

47

wide audience. Interviewees claimed that these unique elements are inseparable from the Olympic Games, that they are that “magic sauce” which makes the Olympics so one-of-a-kind and that splitting these elements would change or even ruin the whole Olympic experience (first of all, for athletes and spectators). Many stakeholders made a point that football SMEs differ a lot from the Olympic Games. Football SMEs are polycentric by their nature; they are usually hosted by several locations within the country. The Olympic Games, on the contrary, are being hosted by a particular city rather than the whole country. At the same time, the Winter Olympics usually have mountain cluster and ice cluster (so they are polycentric to some extent), while the Summer Olympics tend to be mono-centric (or perhaps are being seen as such by people, because in fact some competitions (e.g. sailing, football) are often held outside the host city). Participants of this study could imagine co-hosting of football SMEs and the Winter Olympics way easier than co-hosting of the Summer Olympic Games. Split Olympic Village Speaking of the Olympics, half of stakeholders were very concerned particularly about the Olympic Village and what happens to it in case of co-hosting. Stakeholders stated that being at one location was one of the crucial elements of the Olympic Games. However, another half of stakeholders fairly noticed that for recent decades, there was no necessarily one Olympic village, especially for the Winter Olympics, where there are usually an ice cluster and a mountain cluster that might be rather far away from each other. So, the idea of all athletes being really under one roof is no longer fully valid: If I look at my four Olympic Games, [...] we were not at the main Olympic Village. [...] The Winter Olympics is different than the Summer Olympics. But a claim against that all athletes are under one roof is that it has never been that way from my experience. (Athlete 3)

Loss of the event’s identity Speaking about UEFA Euro 2020, many interviewees mentioned that they could not really follow where particular games were played: For Euro 2020 the biggest issue was the pandemic. But sometimes we were a little bit lost: where is this game being played? (Media 2)

Indeed, it might be hard to create the unique identity of the event if it is polycentric. UEFA Euro 2020 case was rather extreme as the event took place in 11 locations in ten countries all around Europe. If SME is being co-hosted by two countries, their chances to be associated with the event are higher (as well as fitting both countries’ names on the logo of the event). Anyway, in case of co-hosting, the branding effect for the country may be not as strong as if hosting alone. This is co-hosting-related risk that country should be aware of and something it should give consideration to if it wants to create a unique identity of the event and benefit from it.

48

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

Lack of intercultural experience Some interviewees claimed that intercultural experience might be diluted in case of co-hosting because a person’s visit to the hosting country might be too short leaving no chance to get to know the country or city. However, the majority of participants mentioned as an advantage the possibility to experience more than one country and culture due to co-hosting (see “Positive effects” section above).

4.3 Summary of the Results Analysing the interviews, the authors made several findings. Firstly, various stakeholders had different standpoints on positive effects and challenges of SMEs’ co-hosting due to heterogeneity of their interests and priorities both between and within stakeholder groups. Stakeholders’ perspectives on “pros” and “cons” of polycentric approach are presented in Tables 3 and 4. Hosting countries’ stakeholder group was the most homogenous regarding the positive effects of co-hosting. The participants from this group also named almost twice more co-hosting positive effects than challenges. At the same time, some positive effects (e.g. expertise sharing, sport popularisation) and challenges (e.g. security concerns, different vision/strategy) named by hosting countries’ representatives have been either barely mentioned or not even mentioned by other stakeholders. It can be explained by the fact that hosting countries’ representatives have experienced these advantages and challenges while the others have not. Sponsors were quite homogenous regarding positive effects of co-hosting. However, they were more focussed on challenges, specifically those related to planning and operational complexity. In spite of it, they unanimously admitted that cohosting gives more brand visibility and an opportunity to activate sponsorship on a larger territory. Media stakeholders were rather heterogeneous regarding both those positive effects and challenges of co-hosting that were not on the top of the lists. This might be explained by heterogeneity of interviewees’ profiles within the group: journalists who participated in this study have different professional experiences in regards with SMEs and work for different media sectors (private TV broadcaster, radio broadcaster, print and digital media). The group of athletes demonstrated homogeneity regarding sportive challenges barely mentioning the rest. The reason is that they were focussed on those particular challenges that could influence them in person (e.g. split Olympic Village, loss of the Olympic atmosphere). All interviewees unanimously agreed that co-hosting allows to share and reduce costs and risks and gives hosting opportunities to more countries. Almost all admitted that co-hosting allows to avoid abandoned sports infrastructure and gives better access to SMEs to a wider audience bringing SMEs to more locations. At the same time, all

Co-hosting positive effects

Sharing costs and risks

Hosting opportunities to more countries

Use of existing infrastructure

Bringing SME to fans’ front doors

Improve relations between co-hosts

Promotion/visibility for the country

Sponsorship activation on a larger territory

Better legacy effects

National pride and public engagement doubled

Expertise sharing

Sport popularisation

More intercultural experience

Sustainability

Tourism development

Infrastructure renovation

Media stories creation potential

Justification of hosting to the public

Country’s development

Category

Econ/Inf

Econ/Inf

Econ/Inf

Sport/Cul

Partn

Brand/PR

Econ/Inf

Sust/Leg

Brand/PR

Partn

Sport/Cul

Sport/Cul

Sust/Leg

Brand/PR

Econ/Inf

Brand/PR

Brand/PR

Econ/Inf

Table 3 Co-hosting positive effects

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

C3

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

S2

X

X

X

X

X

S3

S1

X

C2

C1 X

Global sponsor

Hosting country

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

M1

Media

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

M2

X

X

X

X

X

X

M3

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

A1

X

X

X

X

X

A2

Athlete

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

A3

1

2

2

4

4

5

5

5

5

5

6

7

7

9

10

10

12

12

Total

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment 49

Co-hosting challenges

Distance and logistics

Planning and operational complexity

Hard to see/cover all sports

Bad for athletes

Visa restrictions

Loss of the Olympic atmosphere/values

Split Olympic Village

Loss of the event’s identity

Different legislationy/taxes/customs

Sharing the benefits (not always fairly)

Hard to maintain equal standards

Reduced nat. pride and public engagement

Carbon footprint

Different vision/strategy

Competition/rivalry between co-hosts

Lack of intercultural experience

Cultural differences

Security concerns

Language barrier

Different time zones

Category

Dist/Log

Oper/Plan

Sport/Cul

Sport/Cul

Oper/Plan

Sport/Cul

Sport/Cul

Sport/Cul

Oper/Plan

Partn

Oper/Plan

Partn

Dist/Log

Oper/Plan

Partn

Sport/Cul

Oper/Plan

Oper/Plan

Oper/Plan

Oper/Plan

Table 4 Co-hosting challenges

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

S3

S1

S2

Global sponsor

C3

C1

C2

Hosting country

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

M1

Media

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

M2

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

M3

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

A1

X

X

X

X

X

A2

Athlete

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

A3

1

2

2

2

3

3

3

3

4

4

5

5

6

6

6

6

7

8

10

12

Total

50 E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

51

interviewees unanimously claimed that big distance and poor logistics are the main problems connected with co-hosting. Secondly, interviewees from all stakeholder groups admitted that though ultimately UEFA Euro 2020 worked rather well taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic, they would prefer it to be a one-time thing. They claimed that the event was too big and spread out, some countries were not attractive enough for sponsors and fans and that people were getting lost regarding where particular games were played. Nevertheless, study participants admitted that Euro 2020 gave a chance to co-host to those countries that would not be able to do it alone. Thirdly, analysis of both primary and secondary data related to polycentric approach leads to the conclusion that co-hosting is beneficial first of all for countries due to reduced investments and better legacy effects. Those stakeholders who have to run their business related to SMEs (sponsors, media) experience additional planning and operations complexity and potential multiplication of required resources. Those who have to travel a lot (athletes and spectators) suffer logistical challenges. For the event owners, co-hosting can increase the number of bidders and bring the event to new geographies, but at the same time, it also creates additional risks, planning and operational complexity. Thus, operational and planning complexity as well as big distance and complicated logistics remain the two biggest challenges of co-hosting. The first one can be managed by harmonisation of rules regarding legislations, taxes, visas, etc. The second can be managed by clustering, carefully considered logistics and scheduling. Fourthly, in order to balance interests of different stakeholder groups and to consider own interests, international sports organisations should apply certain criteria for joint bids. Set of such conditions was developed by the authors of this chapter.

5 Conditions for Joint Bids The authors had to define the conditions under which polycentric approach could be a good alternative to a traditional approach to hosting SMEs by one single country. Co-hosting is a relatively new concept, so no such conditions were previously defined in literature to the best of the authors’ knowledge. The authors asked all interviewees the questions regarding the criteria which should be taken into consideration by international sports organisations when they review joint bids. The findings are presented in Table 5. The main criterion named by all the interviewees was convenient logistics between the countries and good transport infrastructure. During the interviews, the participants of this study emphasised that the main challenge of polycentric SMEs is not the big distance between host cities but the absence or lack of transport infrastructure that makes travel fast, convenient and cheap. One of the most frequently defined criteria was the absence of conflicts between co-hosting countries. Clearly, in case of unrest or conflicts, the countries should

52

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

Table 5 Conditions for joint bids Conditions

Hosting country C1

Global sponsor

Media

Athlete

Total

C2

C3

S1

S2

S3

M1 M2 M3 A1

A2

A3

Convenient logistics X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

12

No conflicts between co-hosts

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

11

Public consent

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

11

Infrastructure

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

9

Economical and political stability

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

No visa or simple visa Geographical proximity Common/similar legal systems

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

Mutual good will to co-host

X

X

Similar culture

X

Cultural/historical logic behind the bid

X X

Good interpersonal relations

X

X

4

X

4 3

X

X

3 3

X X

8 7

X

2

X

2 X

Similar political regimes/human rights

X X

2 1

X

1

Same language Optimal number of co-hosts

X

X

X

Legacy

Only joint bids accepted

8 8

X

X

Harmonisation of rules

X

X

X

Neighbouring countries

Sustainability

X

X 3-6 2-3

2-8 6

2

2-3 2

2

1 3

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

53

not host any event, either together or individually, since it would be risky for all stakeholders and the event owner. Public consent for hosting the event was named as an important condition by almost all interviewees. Indeed, several recent referenda and protests against hosting SMEs as well as public concerns regarding costs for hosting make it important to analyse the public opinion before bidding. Local community is an important stakeholder and should therefore be taken into account. The majority of interviewees considered the ability of countries to provide necessary general and sports infrastructure as an essential condition for co-hosting. Apparently, it is impossible to become a host of SME without proper infrastructure. Even if the country has to build new sports venues to co-host, it does not have to build all of them, since it hosts only part of the event. Two-thirds of the participants considered economical and political stability of the countries as an important condition for SMEs (co-)hosting. However, all media representatives unanimously stated that this condition is not a prerequisite. They referred to the list of countries that hosted SMEs in recent years (South Africa, Ukraine, Brazil, Russia) and claimed that SME can have such a big positive impact on the country that international sports organisations should give a chance to (co-) host to countries that might be not very stable at the moment of bidding. No visa or simple visa procedure criterion was named by two-thirds of interviewees. The necessity to obtain visas has been seen by many as a burden. Two-thirds of interviewees claimed that they prefer the short distance between co-hosts (no one could specify how short it should be, though). One-third said that co-hosting countries should be neighbouring countries. Common or similar legal systems were named as an important condition for co-hosting by the majority of the participants. This factor can simplify management of various processes related to co-hosting (shipping of goods, taxes, etc.). One-third of interviewees stated that there should be countries’ mutual good will to co-host and that joint bids should not be imposed on the countries by the event owners. Sports organisations should not be trying to convince unwilling hosts to team up and create joint bids. Otherwise, it might lead to operational problems, conflicts and eventually be risky for the event owners themselves. Another criterion making operational and planning processes easier is similarities in cultures and mentalities in co-hosting countries. Cultural differences can add to operational and planning complexity; therefore, this factor is desirable for successful co-hosting of the event. Need for a cultural and/or historical logic behind the joint bid was named by one-fourth of interviewees as an essential criterion. A story behind the joint bid is good from marketing and branding perspectives and helps to develop a message to the rest of the world. The rest criteria named by the interviewees were: sustainability and legacy, good interpersonal relations between the organisers, harmonisations of rules, similar political regimes and attitude to human rights, clear requirement from international sports organisations to accept only joint bids.

54

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

Finally, nine of 12 interviewees provided their opinion regarding optimal number of countries for the joint bid. According to six participants, two or three co-hosting countries would be just enough. Three interviewees said that the number of countries for the joint bid might be six or even eight. Finally, three of 12 interviewees could not name the exact number. Hence, the analysis of priorities of four stakeholder groups together with secondary sources allowed the authors to develop a set of conditions under which polycentric approach to hosting SMEs can be a good alternative to a traditional approach of hosting by one single country. The authors distinguished the conditions which are prerequisite and those which are enabling. Prerequisite conditions: 1. Absence of conflicts between co-hosts, their political and economical stability Co-hosts should be politically and economically stable countries without serious conflicts (e.g. war), either mutual or with third parties. These conditions are crucial for hosting the event and providing safety to all stakeholders. 2. Convenient logistics Co-hosting countries must not necessarily have a common border, but host cities definitely must be well-connected in terms of transport, offering more than one travel option (plane, train, bus, ferry, car). Transportation tickets must be affordable price wise for various categories of visitors. 3. Public consent This is a mandatory condition for either hosting or co-hosting. SMEs demand a lot of public money, and taxpayers have the right to decide whether SME is a good investment for their country or not. 4. Ability to provide infrastructure Co-hosts must be able to provide general and sports infrastructure of proper quality according to the requirements of the event owner. 5. Countries’ mutual good will to co-host Though this criterion was not on the top of the list after the interviews, the authors believe that co-hosting alliances must be initiated by the countries and that it is critical for the success of co-hosting. Enabling conditions: 1. Common or similar legal systems, similar cultures and harmonisation of rules Similar cultures and common or similar legal systems of co-hosts can facilitate planning and operational processes. 2. Simple visa procedures To simplify visit to the country and to not deter potential visitors, co-hosting states should offer relaxation of visa requirements or provide visa waiver for the period of the event. 3. Geographical proximity Though distance is manageable and logistics is the key, geographical proximity of co-hosting locations makes things easier for all stakeholders.

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

55

4. Logic and a story behind the joint bid Logic and a story explaining why particular countries decided to host together is beneficial for countries’ images, the identity of SME and its’ attractiveness. These conditions were developed by the authors with a consideration to the priorities of four stakeholder groups. The authors believe that these conditions could be applied by international sports organisations.

6 Conclusion This chapter addresses co-hosting of SMEs, often referred to as polycentric approach to hosting SMEs. The authors conducted 12 semi-structured in-depth open-ended interviews with four groups of SMEs’ stakeholders to define positive effects and challenges of co-hosting. Amongst defined positive effects and challenges, some have been mentioned more frequently; total number of mentioned positive effects (111) overweighed number of mentioned challenges (98). It allows to make the conclusion that the majority of stakeholders are positive regarding co-hosting format of SMEs. However, certain drawbacks of polycentric approach are rather significant and should be managed properly in order to make co-hosting beneficial to as many stakeholders as possible. This chapter identifies the conditions for joint bids. The authors analysed the interviews thoroughly and developed a set of prerequisite and enabling conditions. Defining these conditions, the authors carefully considered and balanced needs and interests of four stakeholder groups included into this study. This set of conditions under which polycentric approach should be applied could become a guideline for international sports organisations. The authors believe that co-hosting has a huge potential if applied with consideration for interests and needs of various stakeholders. It can bring SMEs to new geographies, help to create better legacy of SMEs and make them more sustainable. The results of this research could be used by SMEs owners, first of all UEFA, FIFA and the IOC, that are concerned about the future of their SMEs, want to have enough bidders and make hosting possible for those countries which had never hosted before. The results of this study could be used by the countries that consider the possibility of hosting SMEs but being aware of related costs are looking for a way to reduce them. This research could be used by the governments to justify co-hosting before the public and avoid social unrest.

References Akindes, G. A. (2022). Broadcasting and the FIFA World Cup: privatisation and technology. In S. Chadwick, P. Widdop, C. Anagnostopoulos, & D. Parnell (Eds.), The business of the FIFA World Cup (pp. 203–224). Routledge.

56

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

Allen, J., O’toole, W., Harris, R., & McDonnell, I. (2012). Festival and special event management. Wiley. Andreff, W. (2012). The winner’s curse: Why is the cost of sports mega-events so often underestimated? In: W. Maennig, & A. S. Zimbalist (Eds.), International handbook on the economics of mega sporting events (pp. 37–69). Edward Elgar Publishing. Baade, R. A., & Matheson, V. A. (2016). Going for the gold: The economics of the Olympics. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30(2), 201–218. Beech, J. (2008). On tour with the Barmy Army: a case study in sports tourism. In S. Chadwick & S. Arthur (Eds.), International cases in the business of sport (pp. 342–357). Routledge. Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2011). Business research methods. Oxford University Press. Byun, J., Ellis, D., & Leopkey, B. (2020). The pursuit of legitimacy through strategic alliances: the examination of international joint sport event bidding. European Sport Management Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2020.1759668 Byun, J., Leopkey, B., & Ellis, D. (2019). Understanding joint bids for international large-scale sport events as strategic alliances. Sport, Business and Management: an International Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-09-2018-0074 Carlsen, J. (2012). The economics and evaluation of festivals and events. In I. Yeoman, M. Robertson, J. Ali-Knight, S. Drummond, & U. McMahon-Beattie (Eds.), Festival and events management (pp. 246–259). Routledge. Chaix, P. (2006). The economics of professional rugby. In: W. Andreff, S. Szymanski (Eds.), Handbook on the economics of sport (pp. 573–584). Edward Elgar Publishing. Chappelet, J. L. (2014). Managing the size of the Olympic games. Sport in Society, 17(5), 581–592. Edwards, A., & Skinner, J. (2009). Qualitative research in sport management. Elsevier. Emery, P., Westerbeek, H., Schwarz, E. C., Liu, D., & Turner, P. (2016). Managing sport facilities and major events. Routledge. Feilhauer, E., Schnitzer, M., Walde, J., & Tappeiner, G. (2022). What residents of potential Olympic cities want: using conjoint analysis to deal with dominant and heterogeneous preferences. Current Issues in Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2022.2067030 FIFA. (2002). 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan—report and statistics. https://digitalhub.fifa.com/ m/70c9b3c769d0e7a4/original/bw96axitsmtrojpaeugz-pdf.pdf. Accessed June 10, 2022. FIFA. (2004). FIFA Activity report 2002-2004. http://www.centrostudisport.it/PDF/FIFA/127.pdf. Accessed May 26, 2022. FIFA. (2010a). Blatter: There’s indescribable anticipation. https://web.archive.org/web/201104 30050438/https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/bodies/news/newsid%3D1230904.html. Accessed June 11, 2022. FIFA. (2010b). 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups Bid evaluation report: Holland and Belgium. https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/2ad9f993335c96e9/original/ihjuqijpqdyzcmmcxpft-pdf. pdf. Accessed June 11, 2022. FIFA. (2010c). 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups bid evaluation report: Spain and Portugal. https:// digitalhub.fifa.com/m/73ac95ff1aad4fa1/original/mbi7evspzeqh59aldljv-pdf.pdf. Accessed June 11, 2022. FIFA. (2016a). 66th FIFA Congress minutes. https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/7a7086d44ab57cf1/ori ginal/aeczius0hhi0m5j7y8su-pdf.pdf. Accessed May 26, 2022. FIFA. (2016b). Council discusses vision for the future of football. https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/fifa-council/media-releases/fifa-council-discusses-vision-for-the-future-of-foo tball-2843681. Accessed May 26, 2022. Girginov, V. (2012). Handbook of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Volume one: Making the games. Routledge. Gratton, C., & Preuss, H. (2008). Maximizing Olympic impacts by building up legacies. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 25(14), 1922–1938. Grix, J., Brannagan, P. M., Wood, H., & Wynne, C. (2017). State strategies for leveraging sports mega-events: Unpacking the concept of ‘legacy.’ International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 9(2), 203–218.

Co-Hosting Sports Mega-Events in a Fast-Paced Environment

57

Heere, B., Kim, C., Yoshida, M., Nakamura, H., Ogura, T., Chung, K. S., & Lim, S. Y. (2012). The impact of World Cup 2002 on the bilateral relationship between South Korea and Japan. Journal of Sport Management, 26(2), 127–142. Hiller, H. H., & Wanner, R. A. (2018). Public opinion in Olympic cities: From bidding to retrospection. Urban Affairs Review, 54(5), 962–993. Horne, J. D., & Manzenreiter, W. (2004). Accounting for mega-events: forecast and actual impacts of the 2002 Football World Cup Finals on the host countries Japan/Korea. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 39(2), 187–203. Hutchins, B. (1998). Global processes and the rugby union World Cup. Occasional Papers in Football Studies, 1(2), 34–54. IOC. (2014). Olympic agenda 2020. https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Olympic_Agenda_ 2020/Olympic_Agenda_2020-20-20_Recommendations-ENG.pdf. Accessed May 26, 2022. Kennedy, P. (2017). Using Habermas to crack the European football championships. Sport in Society, 20(3), 355–368. Kristiansen, E., Strittmatter, A. M., & Skirstad, B. (2016). Stakeholders, challenges and issues at a co-hosted youth Olympic event: lessons learned from the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2015. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 33(10), 1152–1168. Leopkey, B., & Parent, M. M. (2012). Olympic Games legacy: from general benefits to sustainable long-term legacy. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 29(6), 924–943. Lienhard, P., & Preuss, H. (2014). Legacy, sustainability and CSR at mega sport events: an analysis of the UEFA Euro 2008 in Switzerland. Springer. MacAloon, J. J. (2008). ‘Legacy’ as managerial/magical discourse in contemporary Olympic affairs. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 25(14), 2060–2071. Majumdar, B., & Gemmell, J. (2013). Cricket, Race and the 2007 World Cup. Routledge. Manzenreiter, W., & Spitaler, G. (Eds.). (2013). Governance, citizenship and the new European football championships: The European spectacle. Routledge. Masterman, G. (2014). Strategic sports event management. Routledge. Merten, S., & Winand, M. (2022). Planning and organising FIFA World Cups. In S. Chadwick, P. Widdop, C. Anagnostopoulos, & D. Parnell (Eds.), The business of the FIFA World Cup (pp. 134–149). Routledge. O’Brien, D., & Slack, T. (2004). Strategic responses to institutional pressures for commercialisation: A case study of an English rugby union club. In T. Slack (Ed.), The commercialisation of sport (pp. 164–181). Routledge. Parent, M. M., & Chappelet, J. L. (2017). The (wide) world of sports events. In M. M. Parent & J. L. Chappelet (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sports event management (pp. 19–36). Routledge. Preuss, H. (2019). Event legacy framework and measurement. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 11(1), 103–118. Preuss, H. (2015). A framework for identifying the legacies of a mega sport event. Leisure Studies, 34(6), 643–664. Preuss, H. (2006). The Olympics. In: W. Andreff, S. Szymanski (Eds.), Handbook on the economics of sport (pp. 183–196). Edward Elgar Publishing. Purvis, B., Mao, Y., & Robinson, D. (2019). Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins. Sustainability Science, 14(3), 681–695. Rubin, H. J., Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Sage Solberg, H. A. (2017). Mega events: Why cities are willing to host them, despite the lack of economic benefits. In I. Brittain, J. Bocarro, T. Byers, & K. Swart (Eds.), Legacies and mega events: fact or fairy tales? (pp. 63–80). Routledge. Sroka, R. (2021). International sporting mega-events and conditionality. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 13(3), 461–477. Statista. (2020). Potential loss of revenue for UEFA for postponing or cancelling Euro 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as of March 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/ 1105619/covid-euro-2020-revenue-loss/. Accessed June 11, 2022.

58

E. Zhuk and M. Desbordes

Statista. (2021). Total stadium attendance of the UEFA European Championships from 1960 to 2021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/378230/uefa-euro-total-attendance/. Accessed June 11, 2022. Statista. (2022a). Revenue of the UEFA European championships 1992–2020. https://www.statista. com/statistics/279103/uefa-euro-revenue/. Accessed June 11, 2022. Statista. (2022b). UEFA EURO championship revenue breakdown from 1992 to 2020. https://www. statista.com/statistics/279102/uefa-european-championship-revenue-breakdown/. Accessed June 11, 2022. Stettler, J., Herzer, C., Wallebohr, A., & Rutter, H. (2017). Using the event-scorecard and the event management system as powerful strategic tools for destinations: examples from Switzerland. In N. Wise & J. Harris (Eds.), Sport (pp. 83–99). Routledge. Stura, C., Aicher, C., Kaspar, R., Klein, C., Schulz, S., Unterlechner, S. (2017). A path to success or a mistake in the making? Routledge Handbook of International Sport Business. Thomson, A., Schlenker, K., & Schulenkorf, N. (2013). Conceptualizing sport event legacy. Event Management, 17(2), 111–122. UEFA. (2008). Euro 2008 Sustainability report. https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/ Competitions/EURO_/77/42/52/774252_DOWNLOAD.pdf. Accessed May 26, 2022. UEFA. (2010). 2014-16 UEFA European football championship bid regulations. https://www.uefa. com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefa/Others/78/93/55/789355_DOWNLOAD. pdf. Accessed May 26, 2022. UEFA. (2016). Bid regulations UEFA Euro 2024. https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0234-0f842c 1dfa33-a05068728ed9-1000/uefa_euro_2024_bid_regulations.pdf. Accessed May 26, 2022. UEFA. (2021a). UEFA announces bidding process for potential UEFA EURO 2028 hosts. https://www.uefa.com/returntoplay/news/026e-1375f6486ffc-184f03226503-1000--uefaannounces-bidding-process-for-potential-uefa-euro-2028-hos/. Accessed May 26, 2022. UEFA. (2021b). The bid regulations UEFA finals and final phases (Edition 2021). https://documents. uefa.com/r/Zg6fcVVJ7m6~CjeXgn4CPA/vWaK0LNUmRVvanXc5z2IYg. Accessed May 26, 2022. UNESCO. (2022). Sustainable development. https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-sustainabledevelopment/what-is-esd/sd. Accessed May 26, 2022. Walzel, S., & Eickhoff, M. (2021). The social value of co-hosting: Rethinking the management of sports events. European Sport Management Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2021. 2010784 Wilson, R., & Kitchin, P. (2016). Managing the finances of sport mega-events. In S. Frawley (Ed.), Managing sport mega-events (pp. 87–102). Routledge. Zimbalist, A. (2010). Is it worth it? Finance and Development., 47(1), 8–11.

Elizaveta Zhuk is a doctoral student in sport management at University of Paris-Saclay, France. She has Master’s degrees in Law from Lomonosov Moscow State University and in Sport management from Russian International Olympic University. Elizaveta worked for a Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation and as a lawyer in a private sector. She is an author of academic articles on human rights and gender issues in sport. Elizaveta was a speaker at international sport conferences in the UK, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, etc. Main areas of Elizaveta’s academic interests are: sports mega-events, sport management, sport marketing, sports law, gender issues in sport, racism and hooliganism in football. Michel Desbordes is a full professor at the Université Paris-Saclay, France. He is a specialist in sports marketing with a research focus on the management of sports events, sports sponsorship and marketing applied to football. He has published 34 books and 58 academic articles (International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship; European Sport Management Quarterly; International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, amongst others) in this field. From January 2009 to 2019, Professor Desbordes has been the Editor of the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship.

Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions Jimut Bahan Chakrabarty and Prashant Premkumar

1 Introduction Sporting events are the ceremonial and celebratory physical pursuit of excellence which creates a market that is a highly competitive and emotional space. At the same time, it is also an industry that has grown tremendously in the recent past and will continue along its growth trajectory for many years to come. The presence and popularity of sports can be witnessed at every level, from local, regional to global. According to KPMG (2016), with an estimated worth of around USD 600– 700 billion, the global sports market includes not only the manufacturing and retail of sports goods, but also infrastructure, events, and training. With a contribution of approximately 1% to the global GDP, this industry owing to its close association with other sectors like education, real estate, and tourism exercises a significant impact on the global economy. Considered to be the greatest non-defense related, worldwide logistics event by many experts, the Olympic Games which can be classified as a mega-event attracts around 11,000 athletes; 20,000 media personnel (both international broadcasters and press) are supported by roughly 150,000 staff members and volunteers and host 5.5 million spectators apart from the billions of TV viewers (Minis et al., 2006b). According to Bovy (2003), the larger the event, the larger the costs and efforts to strategize, organize, and manage transportation. Moreover, the efforts and costs grow exponentially. Large-scale transportation is plagued by issues like the unusual magnitude and volume of spectators, activities, visitors, and logistical flows; the geographical and spatial concentration of traffic flows; traffic flow time-concentration J. B. Chakrabarty (B) Operations Management, Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur, Sambalpur, India e-mail: [email protected] P. Premkumar Decision Sciences, Indian Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam, India e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_4

59

60

J. B. Chakrabarty and P. Premkumar

due to event scheduling; the superposition of various categories of transport and traffic flows; the development of innovative temporary transport and traffic management as well as ticketing schemes; the definition of an appropriate agreement between megaevent organizers and public authorities; and the systematic development of security schemes for crowd control and specific traffic management. To ensure the smooth management and conduct of the sporting events, proper and timely movement of resources—which includes both, athletes and viewers, sports equipment, and other materials—is very important along with the management of venue and other supporting infrastructure. The field which involves managing logistics activities in sports and sports event management is broadly called sports logistics management (SLM). Sports logistics management is an area of study that is heavily under-studied and under-researched, and hence, the field provides ample opportunities for improvement. In the following sections, a framework is presented to understand the key aspects of sports logistics management, and the challenges caused due to disruptions in some of the popular sporting events are exemplified and reviewed using the proposed framework.

2 Understanding Logistics in Sports Since time immemorial, sports and sports events formed an integral part of the cultural milieu of the societies. Evidence suggests that many ancient civilizations hosted grand sports events for reasons rooted in their religion. The first ancient Olympic Games held to honor the Greek god Zeus started in the year 776 BC. The event was held after every four years at Olympia where people from across Europe came to showcase their athletic prowess in different events (Welcome to the Ancient Olympic Games, n.d.). Stadiums were built to accommodate the growing number of spectators over the years. It is estimated that Olympia II built during the latter part of the sixth century BC and Olympia III built during the middle part of the fourth century BC could accommodate 24,000 and 40,000 spectators, respectively (Crowther, 2001). The Leonidaion, a lodging place for athletes and hostels to accommodate spectators, was also built to facilitate the games at their peak (Crowther, 2001; Welcome to the Ancient Olympic Games, n.d.). Standing tall even today, the magnificent Colosseum of Rome is witness to several sports events of the time, including the gory gladiatorial contests. Archaeologists found evidence of ticketing systems, reserved seating arrangements, and numbered gates that facilitated the grand events organized at the Roman Colosseum during those days. This points toward the recognition of the significance of logistics and its management for mega sports events in the Middle Ages of European history. In the modern era, the first Olympics was held in Athens in 1896. It can be considered as the first mega sports event of the modern era that for the first time witnessed participation from 14 countries in 43 different events (Athens, 1896, n.d.). Today, our calendars are brimming with sports events that are mega or major in nature as classified by Herold et al. (2019). With the plethora of sporting events pertaining

Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions

61

to different sports with multiple venues and thousands of spectators, the logistics challenges are manifold. The challenges in operations and logistics of these sports events led many researchers to critically analyze and examine such sports events. Jiang (2008) examined the traffic flow of the Beijing subway during Beijing Olympics 2008 and found an association between passenger volume on subways with the layout of the Olympics stadiums. Kassens-Noor (2010) analyzed how the transport measures taken to manage Olympic Games can also be aligned with the long-term goals of managing transport in the host cities. The paper also points out instances where efforts to organize Olympic Games made a long-term positive impact on the urban transport system. In a way, Kassens-Noor (2010) highlights the importance of sustainability that one should keep in mind while organizing major and mega-events. Minis et al. (2006b) provide a systematic analysis of Olympic logistics by studying for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The paper suggests that established design principles such as venue planning can be applied irrespective of the characteristics of the host country, whereas established principles of outsourcing, warehousing, or just-in-time (JIT) deliveries should be looked at considering the characteristics of the host country. The paper also defines the scope and characteristics of Olympic logistics which can be extended for other major and mega-events as well. In another study, Minis et al. (2006a) looked at the design of the Athletes’ transportation system for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The paper highlights some of the key characteristics of the Athletes’ transportation system as high service reliability, high dependence on vehicle schedules for the competition, and efficient system monitoring and control. The paper also presents methods for the development of service specifications, estimation of bus fleet size, and a network design for the organization and management of the transport. Drummond and Cronje (2019) use the case of the FIFA World Cup in 2010 hosted by South Africa to point out that the key issues in hosting a mega-event are pressures with hosting mega-events, mechanisms and processes for hosting events, and communication issues. Unless the organizers take the three above-mentioned issues into account, the post-event utilization of the infrastructure built for the event will lead to problematic cost–benefit ratios. Smith and Smith (2008) analyzed the strategies involved in choosing the Super Bowl venue in the USA. The importance is mainly given to the infrastructure of the stadium as well as the host city, and some intangible factors such as media coverage and the impact of advertisement are also taken into account. Most of the studies in the literature try either to investigate or to evaluate the logistic strategies of a mega or major sports event suggesting some future direction to handle such events. Although the studies carry deep insights, none of the papers discussed so far designed any framework to give us a systematic understanding of sports logistics using which future studies can be conducted. To put the missing link in place, Herold et al. (2019) in their pioneering work presented the first conceptual framework known as the sports logistics framework (SLF) which helps us to systematically understand sports logistics. Herold et al. (2020) evaluated the empirical utility of the SLF model using the case of the Dallas Cowboys, an American National Football League (NFL) team.

62

J. B. Chakrabarty and P. Premkumar

2.1 The 3M Classification Studies from the event management literature form the basis of the classification of the sports events. Emery (2010) presented a detailed review of how events are classified and based on some characteristics zeroed down on the differences between a major sports event and any other events. Bowdin et al. (2012) classified events in general as local or community events, major events, hallmark events, and mega-events. Bowdin et al. (2012) further categorized sports events as mega-events, calendar events, oneoff events, and showcase events based on the economic activities generated, media coverage, frequency of the events, and scale of the events as characteristics for the classification. Modifying the classification presented by Bowdin et al. (2012) for the purpose of sports logistics, Herold et al. (2019) classified the sports events as mega-events, major events, and local/regional events. Advancing the classification put forward by Herold et al. (2019), the sports events can be classified as mega, major, or minor (3M classification). A broad definition of each of these categories are as follows: Mega-events: These are events of massive scale occurring once in two to four years and lasting a short duration—typically, less than sixty days. Usually, such events happen not more than once in a decade at the same location. Organizing such events may require huge change in the existing infrastructure. Such events attract spectators from across the globe and receive international media coverage. Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup, Commonwealth Games are some examples of mega-events. Major events: These are large-scale events which happen mostly in the existing infrastructure although some change in the infrastructure can happen over time to accommodate the changing needs of the game. The duration of these events can vary from short to long—from less than a month to a year. It receives a mix of national and international media coverage and a mix of national and international spectators. The share of international media and spectators depends on the global reputation of the event. Typically, these events occur once in a year. Some examples of such events include reputed football leagues such as EPL, reputed cricket leagues such as IPL, NBA, NFL, tennis grand slams such as Wimbledon, Formula One races. Minor events: These events are mostly seasonal or annual events of a smaller scale. Like mega-events, the duration of these events can vary from small to large. They garner mostly local or regional media attention with some coverage from national media as well. Such events attract only local audiences. For example: National or Regional championships of different sports, university championships etc. Bilateral events can also be included in this category.

Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions

63

2.2 Characteristics of Sports Events To gain a systematic understanding of sports logistics, the first step is to understand the characteristics of a sports event. Minis et al. (2006b) in their analysis of the design of logistics operations for the Olympic Games note down the key characteristics of the Olympic Games from a logistics management perspective. Taking inputs from Minis et al. (2006b) and Kauppi et al. (2013), Herold et al. (2019) identified six characteristics that can be attributed to any sports event. Modifying the characteristics highlighted by Herold et al. (2019), the following eight characteristics of a sports event are identified. • Infrastructure: This head includes the infrastructure facilities that are required to conduct a sports event. As identified by Herold et al. (2019), sports infrastructure includes venue space, warehousing space and transportation resources, the logistics expertise of the organizing country/venue, the transportation infrastructure for spectators, the capacity of broadcasting and media, information technology, and other support infrastructures. For a minor sports event, mostly existing infrastructure is used with no further development to the infrastructure being made. For an event of major nature, the existing infrastructure is used with some minor developments, whereas major development to the existing infrastructure is required for a mega-event. • Location: The location of a sports event plays a pivotal role in the management of shipment and transport of the resources. For mega-events such as FIFA World Cup or Olympic Games, the location changes every four years which augments the logistical challenges manifold (Minis et al., 2006b). For most minor events which are local or regional in nature, the venue is mostly permanent, whereas for major events such as Formula 1, some of the major cricket and football leagues, PGA golf tours, the venue is mostly recurring (Herold et al., 2019). • Staff-mix: Depending on the scale of the event, the staff requirement varies and so does the ratio of professional and inexperienced staffs. The more the requirement of the staffs, the greater the number of inexperienced staffs or volunteers. The staffmix for a minor event consists of professionals, the staff-mix in case of a major event will mostly consist of professionals with some inexperienced or voluntary staffs, whereas for a mega-event, the mix of professionals and inexperienced staff or volunteers is almost equal (Herold et al., 2019; Minis et al., 2006b). • Fans and spectators: The mix of fans and spectators may range from being purely local to a mix of local, national, and global based on the type of event. The audience mix also indicates the reputation of the event and has an influence on the media coverage (Herold et al., 2019). This in turn also impacts the logistics management process such as management of venue space, transportation. • Media and broadcasting: In the earlier works in the literature, media and broadcasting featured as a part of other characteristics (Herold et al., 2019; Minis et al., 2006b). But, as the sports events are garnering more and more media attention, it is necessary to consider it as a separate entity while identifying the characteristics of sports events as the media coverage, and hence, their logistics management is

64

J. B. Chakrabarty and P. Premkumar

different for different events. Mega sports events attract international media and broadcasters, major events attract mostly national or some international media, and minor events attract mostly local or regional broadcasters. • Size: The size of the sports event is one of the common markers to differentiate sports events; it also an important indicator of the extent of logistic planning and management required for the event (Minis et al., 2006b). Larger the size of the event, the greater are the challenges in managing operations and logistics. • Frequency: Herold et al. (2019) clubbed the frequency of occurrence of the events with the time/duration of the events. However, these two characteristics are very distinct. From the classification presented by Bowdin et al. (2012), it can be understood that frequency of events influences logistics planning and management of the sports events. Mega-events occur once in two to four years, whereas other events have annual or seasonal occurrences. • Time/Duration: The time and duration of the event are one of the important indicators of the type of the event. Typically, events such as Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup last for less than 60 days, whereas other events can vary between less than a month to a year. The 3M classification of the sports events with respect to the characteristics mentioned above is summarized in Table 1. Table 1 3M classification of sports events and their characteristics Types of sports events Characteristics

Minor

Major

Mega

Infrastructure

Existing

Existing with minor developments

Existing with major developments

Location

Permanent

Recurring

Changing

Staff-mix

Mostly experienced

Majority experienced and some non-experienced

Almost equal mix of experienced and non-experienced

Fans and spectators

Mostly local

A mix of local and global

Mostly global

Media and broadcasting

Mostly local or regional with some national

A mix of national and international

Mostly international

Size

Small

Large

Massive

Frequency

One-off, Seasonal or Annual

Annual

Once in two or four years

Time/duration

Short

Short to long

Short to long

Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions

65

2.3 Sports Logistics Pentagon Framework Sports logistics pentagon is a framework that helps in understanding the scope of sports logistics management. Herold et al. (2019) discussed four distinct interrelated pillars of sports logistics based on which the sports logistics framework (SLF) was presented which included venue logistics management, sports equipment logistics management, fans’ and spectators’ logistics management, and athletes’ logistics management. One of the important aspects pertaining to the scope of sports logistics—media and broadcasting logistics management—did not get its due attention in the SLF framework. Although Herold et al. (2019) acknowledged the importance of media and broadcasting, the scope of media and broadcasting logistics management was restricted to managing the space and infrastructure for media and broadcasting at the venue. The sports logistics pentagon framework (SLPF) includes media and broadcasting logistics management as a separate pillar in the scope of sports logistics management because media and broadcasting logistics management is not just restricted to providing them space and infrastructure at the venue but also includes supporting operations at off-site media hubs, organizing and supporting the media team at press conferences, and transportation of the media and broadcasting team, etc. The five pillars of the SLPF framework are discussed briefly as follows (Fig. 1): • Venue logistics management: Sports venues are key to any sports events. The sports venue logistics management includes the management of venue space for all the stakeholders of the sports event, catering, medical arrangements, security arrangements, crowd control, and management of venue support infrastructures. • Sports equipment logistics management: The procurement and transport of the sports equipment form part of this head which also includes custom clearances, freight forwarding, and organization of the warehouses. For a mega-event such as Olympic Games, sports equipment may range from horses to rowing boat. The sheer diversity of the items brings in a lot of uncertainty along the way (Minis et al., 2006b). • Athletes’ logistics management: This includes facilitating the athletes and their support staffs with adequate facilities to make them perform seamlessly during their games. Managing stay of the athletes and the support staff—during the COVID-19 pandemic it also meant ensuring that the requirements of the athletes are met within the bio bubble, scheduling practice games, managing transportation—Minis et al. (2006a) elaborate the processes and challenges in managing athletes’ transportation for mega-events, managing security of the athletes, and media interactions. • Media and broadcasting logistics management: This head includes providing support to the media and broadcasting agencies, managing their stay and transportation, providing them with support infrastructure, supporting operations at off-site media hubs, scheduling and organizing press conferences and media interactions with the athletes.

66

J. B. Chakrabarty and P. Premkumar

Infrastructure

Mega

Major

Minor

Location

Staff-mix Fans & Spectators Media & Broadcasting

Size

Frequency

Time/Duration

Sports Logistics Management

Fans & Spectators’ logistics management

Estimate

Plan

Source

Make

Deliver

Recover

Fig. 1 Sports logistics pentagon framework

• Fans’ and Spectators’ logistics management: As the saying goes—“There is no sport without spectators.” Anderson et al. (2012) while highlighting the importance of spectators point out that spectators’ presence can motivate a team, influence the referee’s decision, and impact performance of the players. One of the key criteria for the venue selection of the Super Bowl is the environment and the venues’ ability to facilitate the spectators as identified by Smith and Smith (2008). The logistics management of fans and spectators includes ensuring availability of adequate transport facilities, building temporary or permanent infrastructure for traffic management during the event, providing a safe and pleasant environment for the spectators. For mega and major events, the city planners and public authorities are involved in the process.

Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions

67

2.4 Functions Involved in Sports Logistics Management Giannakis (2011) explored the supply chain operations’ reference (SCOR) model and adapted SCOR to develop a reference architecture for service operations. Herold et al. (2019) argued that the SCOR architecture like in case of service operations can also be adapted for sports logistics and suggested some changes to suit the needs of sports logistics. To strengthen the framework further, the SCOR model is adjusted to best reflect the core functions of sports logistics using the following heads: • Estimate: The estimation of material, manpower, sports equipment, fans and spectators, number of athletes (in case of Olympic or Commonwealth Games), etc. should be arrived at before moving to the planning phase. For mega-events like Olympic Games, the exact estimate may not be possible (Minis et al., 2006b), but a ballpark estimate is required to start with. • Plan: Planning sets the priorities and targets for the logistics management team. It creates a roadmap for sourcing and development so that the resources and capabilities are aligned to meet the needs of the stakeholders of a sports event. • Source: The sourcing activities involve procurement of material, manpower, services, and information. • Make: This head involves processes that arranges and assembles resources to meet the requirements of the stakeholders of a sports event. • Deliver: Delivery involves activities such as transportation, customs clearance, and final delivery. • Recover: In the SCOR model defined for manufacturing processes, the last head is termed a “return” which refers to the reverse logistics. In case of sports logistics, “recover” a terminology adapted by Giannakis (2011) appropriately captures the related activities. Recovery pertains to the efforts made to utilize the infrastructure and other resources developed for the purpose of the event in a sustainable manner.

3 The Changing Nature of Sports Logistics Management The growing global economy and technological advances have had a tremendous impact on the popularity and reach of sporting events to every nook and corner of the world. While commercial airlines started their operations as early as the 1920s, it was not until the 1950s that they became common and affordable. The advent of air travel and its access to the common man was a game-changer for the sports industry. It not only facilitated the timely movement of the athletes but also gave access to the live viewing of sporting events to fans and spectators from up close. This was otherwise restricted to delayed information through newspapers or radio broadcasting in most cases either of which left a lot to the imagination of the readers/ listeners. Only a lucky few financially well-off spectators had access to viewership through the television sets.

68

J. B. Chakrabarty and P. Premkumar

The growth of the aviation industry also set off an unprecedented growth trend in the sports industry. This was closely followed by technological advancements which also led to the television sets becoming a necessity in every household as opposed to being a luxury earlier. These two changes could arguably be described as the major enabling factors which necessitated the development of a new field of study called sports logistics management. The complexities involved in conducting and organizing sporting events only increased as a result. Because of the fast-paced growth in these two industries, sports gained access to every nook and corner of the world. While the governing bodies of these sports were able to reach the households, they also gained an access to the spectators’ psyche. With the world around them changing at a fast pace, the spectators’ preferences also started changing. As a result, sports across the globe had to change with the changing times. Most sporting events are different from how they used to be some decades ago. However, cricket is arguably the only sport that has seen such a drastic change over the past century. From the era of timeless test matches, cricket has evolved into a multiformat game today which caters to a wider spectrum of spectators than any other sport. The summer of 1939 in Durban, South Africa, saw the longest test match cricket being played between England and South Africa. The match which was played from March 3 to March 14 was abandoned after eight days were lost due to rain. The teams could still have continued playing for a result but for the ship taking the England team home. The World War II was another disruption in the timeline that put a temporary halt to almost all sporting activities across the globe for a period of six years. When the world was back on its feet and sporting ties resumed, sports across the table gradually started adapting to the new world. At the same time, the world also saw a lot of fast-paced technological advancements in the aftermath of the World War. Within a decade, commercial air travel started gaining popularity and also started becoming affordable albeit to the sport governing bodies of the major sporting nations. Affordability for the spectators was still some time away. However, changes had started appearing in almost all sports. Cricket had migrated to six-day and later on to five-day test matches from the timeless test matches. The 1970s saw the introduction of one-day 60 over cricket matches which were changed to 50 over matches by the late 1980s. The duration of matches in cricket demanded a lot of investment in the form of time from the spectators. This later on led to the evolution of T20 cricket matches in the 2000s which perhaps is the most popular form of cricket today. The Olympics had tracks made of grass, dirt, or cinder earlier. The 1950s saw the introduction of synthetic surfaces made from a combination of asphalt or rubber, and later in the 1960s, the first polyurethane track surfaces made their first appearance. Almost every decade henceforth saw some changes leading to the track in Tokyo recently having all athletes giving a unanimous euphoric response to the pace of the track. While these two may serve as unique examples to highlight the transformation of sports, the history of sports is replete with numerous such instances where almost each and every sport has transformed over the years to garner more viewership from fans and spectators alike. The Olympic motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius” which literally translates to “Faster, Higher, Stronger” was actually being achieved due to

Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions

69

these transformations in sports. The constant rewriting of the record books for all sports is a testament to this fact. This resulted in an explosive growth in the fans and spectators base across all sporting events. Viewership started growing not only at homes because of the increasing affordability of television sets, but also at the stadiums where they could witness live the achievements of the athletes and take pride in them. The attendance patterns at sporting events have seen a big change also due to the incorporation of multipurpose facilities at new-generation stadia across the world. These have a sharper focus on catering to corporate hospitality. The corporate world is not only the major source of revenue for facility and event management operators but also is the major source of funding for the construction of these facilities. As opposed to the tax revenue fully funding them prior to the 1990s, the organizers are turning more and more to easier and larger sources of funds, resulting in the majority of the venues being privately owned and funded. A taste of better facilities has resulted in the customers demanding better service and entertainment. Consequently, sophisticated, information- and spectacle-hungry audiences expect well-trained, friendly, immaculately dressed, and highly knowledgeable staff to serve better food in more convenient, ergonomically outfitted physical surroundings (Westerbeek et al., 2005). The changing nature of sports in general also results in the changing dynamics of sports logistics management. However, the broad scope of sports logistics management and the functions involved remain the same. The scale of operations, however, does change due to the tremendous growth achieved over the past few decades, increasing the complexity of managing sporting events. At the same time, like any other industry, the sports industry too, faces an uncertain environment bringing along with it, multiple risk factors. The effectiveness of managing the logistics activities in the backdrop of increasing growth and multiple risk factors boils down to the resilience and agility of the sports’ governing body and the associated organizing committees. The very nature of these events grants agility to these organizations. Resilience, however, depends on the popularity of the sport, the proportion of people following the sport, and the reach of the sport across the globe. This section looks at some instances of disruptions and postponements in sports in the past century and how they affected sports logistics management.

3.1 The Olympic Games Throughout the history of modern Olympics since 1896, the games have been canceled three times and postponed once. All three cancelations can be attributed to the World Wars, whereas the postponement was due to the pandemic. The 1916 Olympics due to be hosted by Germany were canceled due to the World War I. The World War I also meant that the losing nations or those blamed for starting it, namely Hungary, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, could not take part in the subsequent Olympic Games. Germany eventually got an opportunity to host the 1936 Olympics with the games being held in a newly built Olympic Stadium. The

70

J. B. Chakrabarty and P. Premkumar

1940 Olympics which were originally supposed to be held in Japan were awarded to Finland after Japan forfeited the hosting owing to the Sino-Japanese War. Helsinki’s preparations for the event were well ahead of schedule when they completed the construction of the Olympic stadium by 1938. The World War II, however, led to the games’ cancelation in both 1939 and 1944. Despite the duration of the games being close to only two weeks, both summer and winter Olympics have a long planning period of two to three years. As soon as the games are awarded to host country (city), the entire schedule and the opening ceremony date and time are set. This happens somewhere close to seven years before the actual games commence. However, bulk of the logistics activities happen one year prior to the start of the games and end within two to three months post the games. The level of preparation and logistical activities involved is perhaps unmatched by any other sport. Minis et al. (2006b) report that roughly 1000 logistical staff handled 6000 incoming containers into the host country which need more than 400 material handling equipments to handle, store, and transport the containers maintained in a 100,000 m2 area of warehousing space. The sheer number of sports in the Olympics itself leads to a diverse set of sporting items and equipments. The uncertainties are associated with the quantities, and the arrival and departure times of these items only increase. While all other associated activities are planned well in advance, the demand size and timing are announced by the teams only months or even days in advance. The rapid dissolution of the organizing committee of the Olympic Games leaves little time for knowledge transfer on to the next organizing committee for the subsequent games. On top of that, a fixed and a jam-packed schedule leaves little room for error on part of the staff of the Olympics Logistics team, where every mistake may have profound implications. A mix of professional and volunteer staff in the ratio of 1:1 makes the task seem all the more insurmountable Minis et al. (2006b). However, it is the logistics team that interfaces with all the teams of the event and thereby achieves the integration of the organizing committee operations. In the event of cancelation of an event as big as the Olympic Games, there are huge cost implications. Though these costs may vary and depend on the unique characteristics discussed above to a large extent, the environment of the host country also plays a significant part in the costs. While cancelation of games has cost implications in terms of costs already incurred, shifting or postponement of the games has additional cost implications in terms of repetition of certain functions and activities already performed. The location of the host country also contributes to cost. A country’s geography will determine whether the freight forwarding is through sea, land, air, or a combination of these. The costs depend on the choice of the channel adopted. The logistics infrastructure of the host nation which includes availability of ample and cost-effective warehousing space as well as transportation resources contribute to costs incurred in both canceled as well as postponed/relocated events. The host nation’s logistics know-how and business environment also play an important role in terms of cost. A developed nation may have a better logistics business environment and know-how. However, a developing country may provide cheaper labor.

Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions

71

These aspects of costs and complexities involved are not limited to the Olympic Games alone. The same aspects are relevant to other major events like trade shows and even other major sports. However, arguably, the level of complexity involved in the Olympics may be unparalleled.

3.2 Cricket During the World War I, cricket was still a long way from becoming a global sport. As the war broke out, even sportsmen were summoned by the war office and this brought cricket to a halt with all first-class cricket being suspended for the duration of the war. The World War II was marginally different as compared to its predecessor since first-class cricket continued in England to some extent. International cricket matches were, however, put on hold. During both the wars, in terms of logistics management, the complexities involved were minor. The year 2004, however, saw a tsunami battered Sri Lankan Cricket team requesting for a trip back home worried for their families and shattered by the scale of the tragedy. While the global cricket governing body International Cricket Council (ICC) had the agility to respond to such a situation, it took almost five days before the rest of the tour was called off. The existing policy at ICC had provisions for cancelation of a tournament only in the event of a security threat or the government calling its players back. While this delay provided enough time for the organizers to plan the recovery part of the SLPM, there existed an uncertainty on the cancelation of the remaining tour due to the absence of a policy. Back home in Sri Lanka, the disaster resulted in destruction of some infrastructure and the Sri Lankan Cricket Board had to incur a huge cost before cricket resumed in the island nation. A fully refurbished Galle Stadium hosted its first Test match between Sri Lanka and England, three years later in December 2007 (Unni, 2020). War and natural disasters are not the only reasons for disruptions or cancelations of cricket tours. Terrorist attacks have also had their fair share of the pie. In 2009, the Sri Lankan cricket team faced an attack from 12 gunmen who ended up injuring six cricketers (Unni, 2020). Disruption of cricket tournaments due to terrorist attack unfortunately was not a rare occurrence. In 1987 and 1993, New Zealand canceled their Sri Lankan tour owing to a bombing and an assassination in Colombo. The 1996 Cricket World Cup saw Australia and West Indies giving a walkover to the Sri Lankan team fearing for their safety. In 2002, New Zealand again called off their tour after an attack on their hotel. 2009, however, was the first time a cricket team was targeted directly (Unni, 2020). In the aftermath of the attack, the Government of India refused to commit security by Indian paramilitary forces to the cricketers during the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) since its schedule coincided with the multi-phase 2009 Indian general elections. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) then decided to hold the tournament in South Africa with an unchanged format (Gibson, 2009). The pandemic of COVID-19 also had its impact on cricketing schedules. The ICC had to postpone both, 2020 and 2021 editions of

72

J. B. Chakrabarty and P. Premkumar

Men’s T20 World Cup by a year (ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 postponed, 2020). The qualifiers for 2023 50-overs World Cup were also disrupted due to which the 50-overs World Cup too had to be postponed. While officially the 2020 edition (held in 2021) of the T20 World Cup was hosted by India, due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 situation in India, it was relocated to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. From the logistics management point of view, these were huge change. The organizers not only had to shift the five pillars of the SLPF, but also from the functional point of view, all the functions starting from estimation and ending with recovery had to be charted again. In a tournament like the IPL, each team has its own stadium. Each of the teams play both home and away which necessitates as many stadiums as the number of teams. Logistically, relocating the tournament from India to UAE or South Africa which may have lesser number of stadiums makes the problem less complicated in terms of managing the venue. Multiple teams can be housed in the same hotel and same vicinity, thereby making the security arrangements easier to implement. Assets management, movement of sports equipments, movement of athletes, fans and spectators, management of broadcasters and media become easier to handle despite having to rework on each of these aspects. However, a relocation due to event like the pandemic brings along with it a different set of complexities. The same five pillars of SLPF, which became easier to handle due to relocation to a country with lesser number of stadiums, now have the added complexity in terms of isolation of teams from each other. The introduction of bubbles created for the safety of the players and staff becomes extremely difficult to handle when a greater number of teams are involved. The participating teams also tend to send in a larger contingent of players in the event of some players getting affected by the pandemic. The functions on the other hand are a different ball game altogether. Estimation of demand in terms of number of spectators, warehousing space for storing materials, advertising revenue, etc. will have to be re-estimated. Planning and scheduling of the matches will have to be done considering a buffer in the event of cancelation of matches. All other associated functions will have to revolve around the new estimates and plans.

3.3 National Football League The National Football League (NFL) was the first professional gridiron football league to have a nationwide presence in the USA. Starting in 1920, the NFL grew in its popularity and became one of the most coveted sports events of America. From racial divide to racial integration, from facing a stiff competition from a rival league to having a merger with the rival for the betterment the league, the NFL had seen it all. Yet, the established league felt some operational hiccups in the aftermath of a devastating terrorist attack. In 2001, the week two games of the 82nd season of the NFL was about to be held on 16th and 17th of September. Just a week prior to that, the world witnessed

Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions

73

what arguably can be considered as the most dreadful terrorist attacks in the modern history, the 9/11. In the aftermath the devastating attack, it was decided that the NFL games of week two will be postponed. The NFL authorities decided to push the week two games to Wild Card Round of the event (January 6 and 7, 2002). As a result of this change, the whole season had to be pushed back by a week. From the logistics management point, this change meant a lot of reworks on the five pillars of the SLPF. Although the venues remained the same, the shift in the dates meant that the venues had to be booked again for a later date which came at a cost. In fact, the Super Bowl venue was booked according to the original schedule in the New Orleans but because of the change in schedule, the NFL authorities were demanded $25 million which also prompted them to think about a new venue for the Super Bowl in the New York area. Finally, the venue remained the same, but it costs NFL $5 million (Vult, 2016). In the aftermath of the attack, the security measures also became very stringent, the security process also had to be put in place within a week as the event resumed on September 22. The security measures also slowed down the entry and exit processes in the stadium had an impact in the transportation system in turn affecting all the five pillars of the SLPF. The COVID-19 pandemic also brought in a lot of changes to the NFL season of 2020 posing tremendous challenges for the five pillars of SLPF and the functions of the sports logistics management. As Seifert (2021) wrote, the NFL season changed their long-held football habits, suspended their sense of competitive equity, and adopted a well-funded and substantially stringent version of the COVID-19 mitigation efforts that the US nation was advised to follow. At the peak of COVID-19, the well-managed NFL league had a positivity rate of 0.076% against the country average of 6.8% for the same period. The NFL season during COVID-19 was organized with stringent measures for testing, contact tracing, travel, meals, meetings, and all the other regular activities of the season. To mitigate the risk, the meetings and workout sessions were held online. The teams had to ship equipment to each player for the virtual workout sessions. The draft, which is one of the biggest events of an NFL season, was held online with a near seamless coordination between teams and players. The season was held with tremendous restrictions. Daily testing, minimizing in-person meetings, closing dining rooms, and constant spacing brought in several modifications in the venue, athletes’, and equipment logistics management. The pandemic seasons of NFL gave us a template for the sports logistics management which should be further studied, as a deeper understanding of it is necessary for the future of sports management.

4 Conclusion Organizing any sports event is an uphill task. Organizing events of grand scale can be considered nothing short of a marvel as far as logistics management is concerned. The limitations and challenges are immense, but the completion of the

74

J. B. Chakrabarty and P. Premkumar

tasks should happen within the stipulated time. It requires impeccable coordination as any mistakes committed can have repercussions which can jeopardize the event. In spite of being a logistics management wonder, there are very few studies in the literature that dig deeper into the logistics management aspect of sports. This chapter takes a small step forward in understanding the aspects of sports logistics. The chapter comprehensively defines different types of sports events emphasizing its characteristics. It introduces a new framework further improving the existing sports logistics management framework and lays down the scope and functions of sports logistics management. The chapter further looks at the role of disruptions in shaping sports logistics management practices assessing some popular sporting events. The chapter underscores some of the important areas of sports logistics management that must be studied, deliberated, and contemplated further.

References Anderson, M., Wolfson, S., Neave, N., & Moss, M. (2012). Perspectives on the home advantage: A comparison of football players, fans and referees. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 13(3), 311–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2011.11.012 Athens 1896. (n.d.). International Olympic Committee. https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/ athens-1896 Bovy, P. (2003). Mega sports event transportation and main mobility management issues. In Transport and exceptional public events. report of the one hundred and twenty second round table on transport economics European conference of ministers of transport. Bowdin, G., Allen, J., Harris, R., McDonnell, I., & O’Toole, W. (2012). Events management. Routledge. Crowther, N. (2001). Visiting the Olympic games in ancient Greece: Travel and conditions for athletes and spectators. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 18(4), 37–52. https:// doi.org/10.1080/714001666 Drummond, R., & Cronje, J. (2019). Building a white elephant? The case of the Cape Town Stadium. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 11(1), 57–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/194 06940.2018.1508053 Emery, P. (2010). Past, present, future major sport event management practice: The practitioner perspective. Sport Management Review, 13(2), 158–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2009. 06.003 Giannakis, M. (2011). Management of service supply chains with a service-oriented reference model: The case of management consulting. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 16(5), 346–361. https://doi.org/10.1108/13598541111155857 Gibson, O. (2009, March 23). South Africa leads race to host Indian Premier League. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/mar/23/indian-premier-league-ipl-englandsouth-africa-move?CMP=gu_com Herold, D. M., Breitbarth, T., Schulenkorf, N., & Kummer, S. (2019). Sport logistics research: Reviewing and line marking of a new field. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 31(2), 357–379. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-02-2019-0066 Herold, D. M., Schulenkorf, N., Breitbarth, T., & Bongiovanni, I. (2020, November). An application of the sports logistics framework: the case of the Dallas Cowboys. In Journal of Convention & Event Tourism 22(2), 155–176. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/15470148.2020.1852991

Understanding Sports Logistics: Scope, Framework, and Disruptions

75

Jiang, Y. (2008). Analysis on Beijing subway flows during the 29th Olympics. Journal of Transportation Systems Engineering and Information Technology, 8(6), 46–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/ S1570-6672(09)60004-0 Kassens-Noor, E. (2010). Sustaining the momentum: Olympics as potential catalyst for enhancing urban transport. Transportation Research Record, 2187(1), 106–113. https://doi.org/10.3141/218 7-14 Kauppi, K., Moxham, C., & Bamford, D. (2013). Should we try out for the major leagues? A call for research in sport operations management. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 33(10), 1368–1399. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-11-2011-0418 KPMG. (2016, September). The business of sports—playing to win as the game unfurls. https://ass ets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2016/09/the-business-of-sports.pdf Minis, I., Keys, E., & Athanasopoulos, T. (2006a). Contribution to the design of the Athletes bus network during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Transportation Research Part a: Policy and Practice, 40(9), 776–791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2005.12.009 Minis, I., Paraschi, M., & Tzimourtas, A. (2006b). The design of logistics operations for the Olympic Games. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 36(8), 621–642. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600030610702899 Seifert, K. (2021, February 12). How the NFL navigated COVID-19 this season: 959,860 tests, $100 million and zero cancellations. ESPN. https://www.espn.in/nfl/story/_/id/30781978/hownfl-navigated-covid-19-season-959860-tests-100-million-zero-cancellations Smith, A. D., & Smith, A. A. (2008). Exploring the service location strategies behind super bowl venue selection. Services Marketing Quarterly, 29(4), 66–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/153329608 02218778 Unni, D. (2020, March 24). Cricket, interrupted. The Cricket Monthly. https://www.thecricketmo nthly.com/story/1219677/cricket--interrupted Vult, D. (2016, September 9). Remembering 9/11 and its impact on the NFL. A Cincinnati Bengals community. https://www.cincyjungle.com/2016/9/9/12848464/remembering-9-11-andits-impact-on-the-nfl Welcome to the Ancient Olympic Games. (n.d.). International Olympic Committee. https://oly mpics.com/ioc/ancient-olympic-games Westerbeek, H., Smith, A., Turner, P., Emery, P., Green, C., & Van Leeuwen, L. (2005). Managing sport facilities and major events. Allen & Unwin.

Dr. Jimut Bahan Chakrabarty is an Assistant Professor in the area of Operations Management at the Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur. Prior to joining IIM Sambalpur, he worked as Assistant Professor at the Institute of Rural Management Anand. He holds a PhD degree in Quantitative Methods from IIM Kozhikode. He has also worked in various capacities with Tata Consultancy Services Limited, Adani Institute of Infrastructure Management, and IIM Kozhikode. His research interests lie in the areas of Quality and Reliability Management, Machine Learning, Game Theory, and Sports Analytics. Dr. Prashant Premkumar is an Assistant Professor in the area of Decision Sciences at the Indian Institute of Management Visakhapatnam. Prior to joining IIM Visakhapatnam, he worked as Assistant Professor at the Institute of Rural Management Anand. He holds a PhD degree from IIM Kozhikode. He has also worked in various capacities with Vedanta Resources, Torrent Power Ltd., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and NIRMA University. His research interests lie in the areas of Network Optimization Problems, Data Analytics, and Sports Analytics.

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability Practices in International Sports Federations P. Moon , A. François, and E. Bayle

1 Introduction Sport is also an important enabler of sustainable development. We recognise the growing contribution of sport to the realisation of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives. The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Paragraph 37

Over the past two decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability have gained a substantial amount of attention from practitioners and scholars in the international sport context. As illustrated in the epigraph above, sport can be viewed as a vehicle for sustainable development. It has played an important role in offering a bridge across social and economic gaps and an opportunity to improve the quality of life (Smith & Westerbeek, 2007). Today, both for-profit and nonprofit sport organisations have increasingly shown socially responsible behaviour, which most likely comes from the uniqueness of sport and its “social” attributes. In early twentieth century, international sport federations (hereafter IFs) started out as volunteer-run amateur associations (Clausen & Bayle, 2017). Like many private P. Moon (B) Department of Sports Business, Namseoul University, Daehak-ro 91, Seonghwan-eup, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan 31020, South Korea e-mail: [email protected] A. François Laboratoire Cetaps, University of Rouen, Boulevard Siegfried, 76821 Mont Saint Aignan, France e-mail: [email protected] E. Bayle Institute of Sport Sciences, University of Lausanne, UNIL-Centre, Synathlon 2414, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_5

77

78

P. Moon et al.

companies, however, the IFs are increasingly engaging in social responsibility activities as they have become far more business-oriented than in the past (see Clausen et al., 2018a, 2018b). Due to the professionalisation and commercialisation of international sporting events, a growing number of IFs have undertaken the concepts of CSR and sustainability over the years, although they are generally categorised as non-profit sport organisations. Behind the emergence of the concept of sustainability in the world of sports, in particular, there have been calls from the United Nations (UN) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As is generally known, the UN plays a role in making global policies to contribute to building a better world, and many (inter-)national sports organisations including the IOC follow UN recommendations. In September 2015, the IOC President, Thomas Bach stated that the IOC supports for the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Boykoff & Mascarenhas, 2016). In fact, the IOC’s sustainability strategy is aligned with the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) (IOC, 2016a, 2021a). In this vein, the IOC has encouraged the IFs to join sustainability activities. Between 2016 and 2017, the IOC published a total of 40 “IF Sustainability Projects” (today, “Sustainability Case Studies”), which come from more than 20 IFs. These cover a wide range of sustainability topics, and each one is also in line with one or more of the UN SDGs (IOC, 2018a). The IOC has been committed to sustainability (e.g. appointing a sustainability manager in 2017; publishing a guidebook, the ‘IOC Sustainability Essentials’ in 2018; presenting Carbon Action Awards to 20 sports organisations in 2022), and it continues to encourage the IFs and national Olympic committees (NOCs) to carry out more sustainability actions. In June 2020, the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), supported by the IOC, also launched sustainability.sport, a web portal devoted to sustainability issues such as climate change, economic inequality, and social injustice (IOC, 2020). This chapter focuses on the recent wave of sustainability within the IFs for the last decade. There are two reasons of exploring the case of IFs in the context of sustainability implementation. First, as an international governing body for each sport, they play a critical role in disseminating such principles to their members, such as continental or national federations. Their policies even affect grassroots sports organisations via the national federations (NFs). Second, to date, few studies have examined the unique organisational characteristics of the IFs, which is having both a non-profit mission of developing sports and a commercial mission of making success of sport events with an array of stakeholders including various commercial partners (e.g. sponsors, broadcasters, marketing agencies, etc.). As such, it would be worth investigating the recent “sustainability” phenomenon around the IFs. The chapter is organised into five sections. This introduction is followed by the second section that describes the background of the emergence of sustainability in international sport. The subsequent section is devoted to analysing three IFs’ approaches to sustainability, which seem relatively advanced amongst Olympic IFs. The three IFs are as follows: the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), World Sailing (WS), and the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA). Because many IFs still are in their nascent stages, the fourth section addresses

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

79

today’s challenges and several possible solutions or suggestions on how to better integrate sustainability into their main sports events. Lastly, the chapter concludes by highlighting some practical and conceptual implications of the study, and a few suggestions for future research are presented in the final section.

2 An Overview of CSR and Sustainability in the Context of IFs 2.1 CSR and Sustainability in the Sport Sector: The Emergence and Definitions CSR is a long-standing managerial concept that has been greatly expanded since its inception (François et al., 2019). The modern era of CSR began in the 1950s (Carroll, 1999; Waters & Ott, 2014). Sport did not start engaging with CSR to any significant extent until the early 1990s (Babiak & Wolfe, 2013; Kott, 2005; Moon, et al., 2022; Robinson, 2005). In North America, the number of CSR initiatives by professional sports leagues (e.g. the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL) started to increase substantially in the late 1980s–early 1990s (Babiak, 2010). In the past, IFs were far from the public expectations of CSR practices because they started out as pure amateur structures with the mission of setting up rules for their respective sports (Clausen, 2018). Since the abolition of the Olympic amateur code in 1981, however, they have progressively become professionalised and commercialised with a combination of top athletes (seeking prize money), spectators (seeking entertainment), and broadcasters and sponsors (seeking a return on investment) (Clausen & Bayle, 2017). The development of cable, satellite and digital television, and the Internet boosted the demand for sports broadcasting from the 1990s on, resulting in more valuable broadcasting deals for sporting events (Andreff & Bourg, 2006; Andreff & Staudohar, 2000; Geeraert, 2015; Szymanski, 2006). The adoption of business-like practices has led to a hybridisation trend amongst sport federations (Bayle & Robinson, 2007; Zeimers et al., 2021). Most IFs, in turn, have begun increasing their attention to CSR and sustainability practices since then. In relation to the income from the sports broadcasting, in 1992, there was the first Olympic revenue distribution—a total of USD 37.6 million (IOC, 2014), and each of the 25 summer Olympic IFs received USD 1.5 million (Clausen & Bayle, 2017). It gradually increased and reached USD 520 million (the London 2012 Games) and USD 540 million (the Rio 2016 Games) (IOC, 2021b). In this regard, ISO 260001 — which is an international standard providing guidelines for social responsibility— extends the idea of “corporate social responsibility” from private businesses to other organisations, such as NGOs or IFs (Geeraert, 2015). Indeed, the notion of social responsibility has become important to all kinds of organisations, even for nonprofits.

80

P. Moon et al.

Although there has been an increase in the number of organisations implementing CSR activities, there is no universally accepted definition of CSR in the academic management literature (Walters & Tacon, 2010). CSR has been defined as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society” (European Commission, 2011). In the broad sense, CSR can be defined as “a continuing commitment by an organisation to behave ethically and contribute to economic development, while also improving the quality of life of its employees, the local community, and society at large” (Geeraert, 2015; Watts & Holme, 1999). Some other scholars describe CSR as “a set of actions aimed to further some social good, beyond the explicit pecuniary interests of the firm that are not required by law” (Babiak & Wolfe, 2009; McWilliams & Siegel, 2000). In the past, sustainability related to the environment only and CSR referred to social aspects such as human rights, but today, many consider corporate sustainability and CSR as synonyms (van Marrewijk, 2003). Though “sustainability” entered the public lexicon in 1992 at the Rio Summit (Cantelon & Letters, 2000; Del Fiacco & Orr, 2019), it tended to be close to the concept of “green”, which is typically invoked to describe an environmentally friendly or sustainable product, organisation, behaviour, or action (McCullough et al., 2020). However, the term sustainability has far broader applications than the natural environment or natural resources: it can refer to cultural, social, or economic sustainability (Littig & Griessler, 2005; McCullough et al., 2020). As the broader term, sustainability has been adopted by international sport organisations notably since 2010s. In particular, the IOC began removing the term “social responsibility” from its strategy documents in the mid-2010s, replacing it with “sustainability” (Bayle, 2016; François et al., 2020; Moon et al., 2022), even though the IOC has recently emphasised more on the environmental dimension of sustainability, which is linked to climate, biodiversity, waste, pollution, and legacy (e.g. a new guide entitled “How to be a sustainable champion” and a new report of “Over 125 years of Olympic venues: post-Games use” (IOC, 2022a, 2022b)). Likewise, the IFs have increasingly adopted the concept of sustainability since the mid-2010s. In 2014, for instance, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) published a sustainability handbook for local events organisers, and they used the Brundtland definition of sustainability (WCED, 1987) as follows: “Sustainability means meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability for future generations to satisfy theirs”. (FEI, 2014, p. 6). In 2015, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) also issued its own manual for sustainable events and adopted the same definition for it. Moreover, IFs such as the IIHF and World Sailing clearly define that sustainability has three dimensions—social, environmental, and economic, not solely the environmental pillar (source: IIHF, 2015; World Sailing, 2016a).

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

81

2.2 A Transition from “Green” and “CSR” to “Sustainability” in International Sport Events When it comes to sustainability in the world of sport, there are two main actors— the IOC and FIFA playing a “trendsetter” role, along with the UN. Phelps and Kent (2010, p. 279) depicted the IOC as “a regulatory agency having criteria that all recognised IFs must accept”. Even though the Lillehammer 1994 and the Sydney 2000 Games marked the start of the IOC’s environmental programmes with the concept of “Green Games” (Preuss, 2013), sustainability has been centred on the Olympic Games since the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. As Misener et al. (2013) noted that Vancouver committed to planning and hosting the world’s first sustainable Olympics, the Vancouver Organising Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) had sustainability on its mind from the planning phase. A series of its sustainability reports (2005–2006, 2006–2007, 2007–2008, 2008–2009, and 2009–2010) for the 2010 Games demonstrated its commitment to sustainability. According to Preuss (2013), the VANOC was the first organising committee to establish a sustainability department that managed environmental, social, and economic impacts for the Olympic Games. The following London 2012 Games have also played a significant role in promoting sustainability in the world of sport. London’s approach to sustainability mirrored Vancouver’s: though environmental sustainability was a major focus, social and economic sustainability appeared to be the priority (Del Fiacco & Orr, 2019; Gold & Gold, 2013). Santini and Henderson (2021) stated that the successful London 2012 environmental sustainability strategy brought sustainability to the forefront of the Olympic Movement. The following two interview quotes support the influence of the Vancouver and London Olympics on the IFs, in terms of sustainability awareness: Vancouver and London Games were good time to set this up, you know. 2012 was London. Vancouver was 2010 Winter Games. The two Olympic Games made it clear… very well defined. Maybe not so well defined, but as an example of sport and sustainability at a big event. So, I think this was a good sort of announcement that happened. And then, more or less many [international] federations were triggered. (FEI employee, 2019) I guess London played a big role in it actually because it was focused on the games. So, I think there was probably a quite heavy influence on that. Also, GRI talks about sustainability… a reporting framework. Then, London begins talking about sustainability. [...] I think that probably came from… because what was the first “green” Olympic Games? Sydney, wasn’t it?! 2000, but I think they used more “green” Olympics, so… transition from green to sustainability. (SchweryCade consultant, 2019)

The pattern of “green” to “sustainability” was also identified within the FIFA World Cup (hereafter FWC). Through the 2006 FWC in Germany, FIFA started to consider environmental aspects of the events seriously (source: interview with a FIFA employee, 2019), but FIFA was still using the terms “green” and “CSR” at that time (e.g. 2006 FWC Germany Green Goal Legacy Report (FIFA, 2004), and FIFA CSR Department). In 2012, however, a comprehensive sustainability strategy was launched for the 2014 FWC Brazil (FIFA, 2014). Importantly, the 2006 and

82

P. Moon et al.

Green

Sustainability CSR Charity

Fig. 1 Transition of “charity–CSR–sustainability” within FIFA, retrieved from Moon (2020, p. 231)

2014 FWCs are pertaining to the timeline of not only “green to sustainability” but “charity–CSR–sustainability”, as portrayed in Fig. 1. Specifically, there had been a number of charitable activities with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) before the 2006 FWC Germany. Between the 2006 and 2014 FWCs, there were a range of separate CSR projects (e.g. the “Football for Hope Festival”, “Anti-Discrimination Days”, etc.) which were far from its main football events (source: interview with a FIFA employee, 2019) (Moon et al., 2022). After the 2014 FWC Brazil, FIFA completely moved from CSR to sustainability, in terms of terminology alignment (e.g. Sustainability & Diversity Department, instead of CSR Department). Since the 2014 tournament, sustainability has been centred in FIFA (i.e. they focus on integrating it into its core business of organising the FWC). This pattern (“charity–CSR–sustainability”) has also been identified in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). One of the IIHF Social and Environmental Committee’s main activities was a “charity” project (IIHF, 2013), but the committee focused more on CSR activities such as ice sledge hockey projects, in collaboration with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) from the 2013/14 season (IIHF, 2014). Since the 2014/15 season, the committee shifted its attention from “charity and CSR practices” to “the integration of sustainability into its main ice hockey events”. An excellent example of its sustainability efforts is publishing its own guidebook for sustainable ice hockey events, the “IIHF Manual for Sustainable Events” (IIHF, 2015) and the “IIHF Sustainable Event Profile” (IIHF, 2018b), which is its own evaluation tool to assess the local event organisers’ sustainability performance. In sum, the transitions of “green” to “sustainability” and of “charity–CSR–sustainability” have appeared in international sports for the last two decades. In particular, the sustainability movement, which has come from the concepts of green and CSR, has emerged within the IFs notably since mid-2010s. Based on the above background, the following section describes how sustainability has been embedded in one of their core activities—organising international sporting events—via three case studies.

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

83

3 Case Studies: IFs’ Sustainability Implementation 3.1 Case Presentation Unlike for-profit companies, in general, the IFs are implicitly expected to show their social responsibility because of the characteristics of non-profit organisations—the inherently prosocial raison d’être (see Anastasiadis & Spence, 2019). Nevertheless, it is found that the following three IFs have been relatively active in implementing environmental and social practices amongst the Olympic IFs: the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), World Sailing (WS), and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) (Moon, 2020). Table 1 outlines them. The IIHF, which was founded in 1908 in Paris, features 82-member national associations. There are 27 employees in the headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland (status in early 2021). Since 1920, ice hockey has been held at the Olympic Games. Its mission is to promote ice hockey throughout the world and to lead the ice hockey movement as recognised by the IOC. The IIHF presides over ice hockey in the Olympic Games and over the IIHF World Championships at all levels (men, women, juniors under-20, juniors under-18, and women under-18). Each season, it runs around 25 different world championships in the five different categories in collaboration with local organising committees (LOCs). Its average annual revenue for the 2015/16– 2018/19 seasons was approximately USD 40.1 million, and the Olympic revenue share was 12% for the period. WS was formed in 1907, but sailing made its first appearance as an Olympic sport at the 1900 Paris Olympics. Its headquarters today is located in London, the United Kingdom, and it is composed of 144-member national authorities. There are 26 employees in six departments as follows: Chief Executive Office; Technical Table 1 Overview of the three IFs IF (Headquarters)

Formation

Olympic sport

NFs

Staff*

Revenue and Olympic revenue share** 2016–2019 (billion—bn; million—M) Average annual

Olympic revenue (%) 12

IIHF (Zurich)

1908

Since 1920

82

27 (2021)

USD 40.1 M (CHF 36.58 M)

WS (London)

1907

Since 1900

144

26 (2021)

USD 8.4 M (£ 47 6.21 M)

FIFA (Zurich)

1904

Since 1908

211

600–700 (2019)

USD 1.658 bn 0.37

*

Source: IFs’ websites (IIHF and WS); interview with a FIFA employee, 2019 **Source: FIFA Financial Reports 2017–2018; FIFA Annual Report 2019; IIHF Annual Reports (2016/2017–2019/2020); and World Sailing Limited Report and Financial Statements (2017–2019)

84

P. Moon et al.

Table 2 General information of interviews for the three case studies, retrieved from Moon (2020, p. 75) IF

Date

Length in minutes

Interviewee (status)

Means (place)

IIHF

18 Jan 2019

76

An employee (manager) and a committee member

In person (Zurich)

WS

14 Mar 2019

81

An employee (manager)

Skype

FIFA

11 Apr 2019

76

An employee (director)

In person (Zurich)

and Offshore; Commercial, Marketing and Communications; Events; Training and Development; Integrity and Governance (status in early 2021). Its average annual revenue for 2016–2019 was approximately USD 8.4 million. In the case of WS, the Olympic revenue dependency was 47%, which is significantly high amongst the three IFs. As an outdoor sport IF, its vision and missions are closely related to environmental sustainability, which is about creating a sustainable future for sailing and the waters of the world. FIFA was founded in 1904, and it is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. In 1900 and 1904, football was introduced as an exhibition sport. The first Olympic football was held at the 1908 London Games. Its membership comprises 211 national associations. There are 600–700 employees in the organisation (status as of 2019). According to our interviewee, the number of employees is growing because there has been more insourcing for a number of functions that used to be part of LOCs. The FWC—the biggest single sporting event in the world—started in 1930, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup has been held since 1991. Its average annual revenue (2016– 2019) was USD 1.6 billion, whilst the total revenue from the Rio 2016 Olympic football tournaments amounted to USD 24.7 million, which accounted for 0.37% of its revenue for the period. This shows that FIFA’s Olympic revenue dependency is considerably low. Main sources for the case studies are in-depth semi-structured interviews and organisational documents (e.g. annual reports/committee reports, sustainability strategies and reports, bidding documents related to sustainability, etc.). Table 2 shows general information about the interviews.

3.2 Case Studies Analysis For the case studies, an analysis framework, initially used for analysing CSR practices of professional sports clubs (François & Bayle, 2015), has been adopted to analyse the IFs’ sustainability implementation. The results are presented by using the eightdimension framework: (1) determinants, (2) goals, (3) resources, (4) stakeholders, (5) management tools, (6) actions, (7) evaluation, and (8) effects.

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

3.2.1

85

International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)

1. Determinants. Despite the fact that ice hockey is not directly linked to the natural environment, the IIHF recognised the importance of sustainability by top-level leaders such as Beate Grupp, an IIHF Council member/the chair of the IIHF Environmental and Social Activities Committee. After newly establishing the committee in early 2013, the IIHF started to carry out various social and environmental sustainability projects, as shown in its annual report (IIHF, 2013). The following interview quotes support that: Participant 1: “I would say... yeah, 2013 is probably right. I remember, in 2014, I approached the IIHF… four sustainability issues… 2014/15 for the U-18 World Championship here in Switzerland. I think after that, we did a little bit more. There was a guideline that we gave out… the sustainability manual book. I would say… after forming the first committee, and then, trying to find out what we wanted to do. And then, the first experience… then, it slowly started taking off. That’s the way I take.” Participant 2: “I would feel the same.” (IIHF employee and committee member, 2019)

2. Goals. Our two interviewees shared a middle-term and long-term goal, respectively. The former is increasing awareness of sustainability for NFs and LOCs. The latter is creating a higher standard of sustainability implementation in future. 3. Stakeholders. In terms of sustainability programmes, its main stakeholders are NFs and LOCs. In 2015, there was a sustainability consulting company, BSD Consulting who supported publishing the IIHF Manual for Sustainable Events, but it was only one-time partnership, according to the informants. Sometimes, the IIHF collaborates with the IOC and UN agencies such as the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) for sustainability practices. In 2018, for example, the IIHF joined the UNEP’s Clean Seas campaign via the IOC, along with six other IFs— IAAF (athletics), IGF (golf), ISA (surfing), ITU (triathlon), WR (rugby), and WS (sailing) (IOC, 2018b). The IIHF has also cooperated with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for the development of ice sledge hockey (IIHF, 2014). 4. Resources. There is no sustainability manager in the IIHF, but the Environmental and Social Activities Committee—which consists of five members including the chairwoman—plays a pivotal role in implementing sustainability practices. There are three to four committee meetings per year. Our interviewees said that the time the committee’s five members spend on sustainability issues would be equivalent to one half-time post, although they are not based at the IIHF headquarters (Moon et al., 2022). In terms of financial resources, there is a certain amount of budget for the committee, but it is subject to approval by the IIHF Congress. 5. Management tools. The IIHF was not using any formal sustainability management tool (e.g. ISO 20121) (status in early 2019). 6. Actions. In terms of sustainability implementation, the IIHF usually starts cooperating with LOCs two years ahead of the event, as described in the following quote:

86

P. Moon et al. “I think, it’s usually 4 years... you know, the LOC will get a world championship, and you start having site-visits. We have the transfer knowledge programme which already started, so the LOC… the future LOC is coming to the championship now to look at what is good and what is not good to go through all the areas. […] But really work starts with LOCs like... 2 years in advance, I would say. And then, all the collaborations as you talked... reduce waste, stuff like that… that comes usually from the LOCs. So, they probably start this a bit earlier because they need to think about this, but our cooperation usually starts 2 years in advance.” (IIHF employee, 2019)

As noted above, the committee published the guidebook—the IIHF Manual for Sustainable Events—for the NFs and future LOCs in 2015. By providing them with this kind of educational material, the IIHF encourages them to host the events in a sustainable manner. It has implemented not only a number of environmental sustainability projects (e.g. encouraging all event participants to use public transport, making special bags with used banners, distributing water savers, etc.), but also various social programmes (e.g. activities for inclusion, youth, and gender equality). 7. Evaluation. The IIHF has adopted two methods to evaluate its ice hockey events: (1) fans survey; and (2) requesting LOCs to fill in its own evaluation tool, the IIHF Sustainable Event Profile. First, the committee conducts surveys to find out the general interest of international ice hockey fans in regard of a sustainable ice hockey event and to check the acceptance of various sustainability-related projects on site (IIHF, 2017). For instance, surveys were carried out at the 2017 and 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships, respectively. The survey at the 2018 event was completed by more than 300 fans, and the survey questions for the two years were almost the same for the purpose of comparison (IIHF, 2018a). Second, the committee uses the IIHF Sustainable Event Profile as an evaluation tool. There are five sections in the document as follows: (1) transportation; (2) waste; (3) energy and infrastructure; (4) procurement; and (5) ethics and social aspects. For each theme, there are 6 to 12 questions with the checkbox: (a) fully applicable; (b) partly applicable; (c) not applicable; and (d) irrelevant (e.g., Transportation—“We are cooperating with local transportation agencies regarding the inclusion of public transportation fees in the event ticket”.). It was created to learn more about the success and issues of each LOC and ultimately to design new strategies to assist them in implementing sustainability activities (IIHF, 2018a). According to the profile, LOCs of world championships are requested to fill out the form and return it to the IIHF head office 4 weeks after the event (IIHF, 2018b). 8. Effects. For the past decade, there have been four major milestones in the IIHF’s management, which have come from the sustainability movement: (1) establishing the IIHF Environmental and Social Activities Committee (2013)2 ; (2) publishing the IIHF Manual for Sustainable Events (2015); (3) developing the IIHF Sustainable Event Profile (2018); and (4) launching the IIHF Sustainability Award (2019)3 . In addition, the number of committee members has increased: from four including the chair (2013–2016) to five (2016–2021). Amongst these changes, a highlight is the development of the Sustainable Event Profile because

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

87

it can be considered as a big step for integrating sustainability into the IIHF’s core business of organising ice hockey events. In the case of IIHF, there is a dedicated five-member committee playing a critical role in planning and implementing sustainability practices. However, sports organisations such as the IIHF may consider disposing a sustainability manager in the headquarters, in order to monitor and report their sustainability programmes more effectively. 3.2.2

World Sailing (WS)

1. Determinants. Although there were some external influences, World Sailing (WS) has recognised the need and value of sustainability. It was identified that its sustainability actions have been active notably since 2016. Since the arrival of Andy Hunt, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in early 2016, the concept of sustainability has been progressively placed in the centre of WS. In particular, the WS Sustainability Strategy (2017–2030) was launched in November 2016 (IOC, 2017a), and he presented it at the 2016 WS Annual Conference. In the following year, WS established a sustainability commission and hired a full-time sustainability programme manager. There have been also external influences on its sustainability behaviour: (a) sailors’ expectations, (b) IOC recommendations, and (c) UN recommendations. For example, the WS Sustainability Agenda 2030 aligns with the five focus areas of the IOC’s Sustainability Strategy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The following interview quote illustrates the external and internal factors: “We have... definitely expectations from the sailors. We found that through research, you know. We were not just guessing that. We actually researched it and found that… what they want. Recommendations from the IOC… certainly some of the Agenda 2020. That has influenced on some of our targets… make sure they are in line. And the UN agencies... there is a new initiative like the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) where we are participating in. I think there are also employees’ ideas and interest in... that coming out with different ideas. It’s difficult to say which ones are the main ones. I think, they all contribute.”

2. Goals. In 2017, WS launched the Sustainability Agenda 2030, which contains a set of sustainability objectives. Related to this, its sustainability goals can be divided into the following two: (1) the short-term goal is to carry out the target projects that WS can start immediately; (2) the long-term goal is to achieve some of the targets that need support from governments or the sport industry (source: interview with a WS employee, 2019). For instance, increasing the number of female sailors may need a cultural understanding in some regions of the world. Also, achieving some of the projects may rely on high technology (e.g. ecofriendly appliances of boats) because the sport of sailing needs boats for the race. 3. Stakeholders. According to our interviewee, WS’s main stakeholders for sustainability are sailors, NFs, and LOCs. He said that sponsors, NGOs, and the IOC

88

4.

5.

6.

7.

P. Moon et al.

can also be considered as partners. In this regard, the following three UN agencies were introduced as well during the interview: the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Resources. In terms of human resources, there are a sustainability manager and an eight-member sustainability commission in WS. An excellent example of the commission’s role is the development of the WS Sustainability Agenda 2030 containing 56 targets across the three pillars of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) (IOC, 2017a). Regarding financial resources, WS has a unique strategy: 5% of all WS sponsorship income is invested in sustainability initiatives (World Sailing, 2016b). According to the informant, this is the main funding source for its sustainability programmes, but WS looks for additional funding from sponsors. Management tools. WS has adopted ISO 20121 (an international standard for sustainable events management) as a management tool. It has been embedded in its bidding document: “Establish a sustainability management system that covers the key activities of the organisation that are material to delivering a sustainable regatta and ensure that this system is independently confirmed as being in accordance with the requirements of the standard ISO 20121” (World Sailing, 2017a, p. 41). WS also uses the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which is a globally recognised standard for measuring and managing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Actions. For its biggest event (e.g. 2022 Sailing World Championships), WS starts the preparation for more sustainable events 3 years in advance. Except for that, its cooperation with LOCs usually starts 2 years prior to events. In terms of the internal cooperation, the sustainability programme manager (today, Head of Sustainability) works closely with the Events team and Marketing team, but all the staff cooperate with each other when there is sustainability-related work to be done. In relation to the social pillar of sustainability, WS focuses on gender equity, inclusion, and youth (status in early 2019). In particular, our interviewee emphasised gender equity and inclusion as follows: “Gender equity is a big piece, so… obviously delivering that in our events, and also our governance is trying to encourage more women in sports, and social inclusion. Making sure we have, you know… sport is accessible to all.” For the youth, WS has requested LOCs to provide opportunities for young people to try out sailing, in order to engage the next generation of sailors (World Sailing, 2017a). Evaluation. When it comes to evaluation, WS requests LOCs to produce a postevent sustainability report. For example, Corpus Christi Yacht Club, the local organiser of the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championship (YSWC) published a sustainability report referencing the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards in collaboration with the WS sustainability programme manager. It covers all the activities undertaken with a theme of sustainability and ocean conservation in the 2018 YSWC (e.g. reducing energy, water and carbon emissions, waste management, equal opportunity, diversity, etc.) (Corpus Christi Yacht Club, 2018).

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

89

8. Effects. There have been a few internal changes in WS since 2016. First, its commitment to sustainability was embedded into its missions when the WS Sustainability Strategy was launched in November 2016: “To create a tangible sustainability programme that maximises the positive effect that the sailing community can have on our environment” (World Sailing, 2016a, p. 3). This was confirmed by our interviewee. Second, in early 2017, the sustainability commission was established upon the approval of the WS Council, and also, the sustainability manager was hired in 2017. To conclude, the leadership of the former CEO, Andy Hunt has played a substantial role in placing sustainability in the centre of WS. By developing its own sustainability strategy and announcing it publicly, sustainability has become one of its core values since the end of 2016. Consistent with the finding of Waters and Ott (2014)’s study, it was identified that engraving sustainability in a non-profit organisation’s mission is significant. It can be argued that it has allowed all the WS staff to make concrete sustainability actions with a financial and administrative support from the top leaders and a multitude of stakeholders. In a nutshell, behind its active sustainability performance, there have been a strong leadership, the human resources (a manager and a commission), a comprehensive sustainability strategy, as well as legitimacy with the new mission. The case study of WS shows what elements may be needed when a sport organisation starts its sustainability journey.

3.2.3

International Federation of Football Association (FIFA)

1. Determinants. FIFA recognised the importance of CSR and sustainability earlier than many other IFs. Creating a CSR department in 2005 has shown its commitment to social responsibility. However, there have also been external factors influencing on its socially responsible actions. On the one hand, there have been two internal factors: (1) leadership from the President and the Secretary General and (2) employees’ interests. On the other hand, there have been three external drivers: (a) the general public’s expectations; (b) circumstances of the host country; and (c) UN recommendations. The following quotes from our interviewee and a secondary source describe the external ones: Well... there is certain expectations from the general public. It’s very popular. TV is that we have... football is in everyone’s mind and part, so... this is definitely one. There is also another external factor which is the situation in the host country we are staging the events. For example, the fact that we are hosting the World Cup we signed. The World Cup will be hosted in Qatar... then, it’s inevitable that you start talking about human rights. You start talking about labour rights because the labour conditions in the country in general were very bad. It is not just expectations from the public. It’s the actual situation in the country where we are going. (FIFA employee, 2019) 2005 was the International Year of Sport and Physical Education with the UN and there was a call for sports organisations to embrace the concept of using sport as a tool for social development. We were, at the time, the first international sport organisation that took that call really seriously, and the first steps were the creation of a committee

90

P. Moon et al. on social responsibility, the creation of a CSR department, and of course, the allocation of financial resources. (Head of FIFA’s Sustainability and Diversity Department, Sport Industry Group, 2016)

2. Goals. According to the informant, there are a short-term, mid-term, and longterm goal, related to sustainability. First, implementing sustainability initiatives for upcoming World Cups is the FIFA Sustainability and Diversity Department’s short-term and mid-term goal. As the next event is the FIFA Women’s World Cup, for instance, delivering related plans is one of its short-term goals (status in early 2019). Its mid-term goal is the preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup (FWC) in Qatar. Lastly, its long-term goal is to achieve a full integration of sustainability into FIFA and its all football events, as illustrated in the following quote: In the long-term... if you ask me, in more general about FIFA, we are still aiming for a full integration in everything we do, so… the ultimate goal is to make the sustainability team unnecessary. [...] All the notions of sustainability in everyone else’s job. Then, the Legal team doesn’t need us anymore because they have expertise in contracts including sustainability. They can do it. Finance team invests in proper sustainability... a more sustainable way. And Marketing team… when they go on sale, sponsorship packages, they have as well understanding of that. Operations team... they implement sustainability measure. We don’t have to exist anymore. But as you know, this is an ideal, so... it’s rather a vision than a goal.

3. Stakeholders. As the FWC is the biggest single-sport event in the world, there are a wide range of stakeholders involved in its sustainability initiatives. NFs, LOCs, and host cities were counted as main stakeholders. In addition, there have been a number of UN agencies engaged in the activities. We had UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). As you said, UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). We still have collaboration because we are part of… we were the first sport organisation, and we have signed the new framework of UNFCCC. And we collaborate with ILO (International Labour Organisation) particularly around the reform process… the labour reform processing in Qatar. We have a relationship now with UNICEF around some child protection… child safeguarding issues. There are discussions with UN Women around women issues. [...] UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) was cooperating with us around 2014. There are a number of UN agencies.

Our interviewee also said that FIFA collaborates with a large number of NGOs around the world (e.g. World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry, Streetfootballworld, etc.). He added that there are stadium authorities, sponsors (e.g. Coca-Cola), as well as sustainability consultancies. In short, there are numerous stakeholders supporting its sustainability activities in different ways. 4. Resources. The FIFA Sustainability and Diversity Department, which consists of 10 full-time employees in the headquarters, was initially established with the name of CSR department in 2005. But FIFA changed its name to Sustainability and Diversity department after the 2014 FWC Brazil. A unique feature of FIFA is forming a joint “Sustainability Team” with each LOC, which has been since the 2014 FWC. Two employees of FIFA join the LOC sustainability team, and

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

91

they work in the host country for closer cooperation (FIFA, 2014), confirmed by our interviewee. In 2016, FIFA also hired a Human Rights manager and established an eight-member independent Human Rights Advisory Board (IOC, 2017b). In terms of financial resources, the FIFA sustainability team usually secures approximately 0.5/0.6% of the investment budget for the FWC. 5. Management tools. FIFA has adopted several international standards as management tools. For the 2014 FWC Brazil, ISO 26000 (guidance on social responsibility) and GRI were adopted. For the 2018 FWC Russia, FIFA used more international standards, including ISO 26000:2010, ISO 20121:2012, and AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard (IOC, 2016b). In particular, ISO 20121 has been embedded into its bidding document as follows: “FIFA is fully committed to conducting its activities in connection with hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup based on sustainable event management principles in line with ISO 20121” (FIFA, 2017, p. 5). For energy efficiency of the FWC stadiums, FIFA requires LOCs to comply with a certain level of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol has also been used for carbon management. 6. Actions. Up until early 2010s, there had been a number of charity or social programmes which were far from the competition side. However, a comprehensive sustainability strategy was launched for the 2014 FWC Brazil (FIFA, 2014). According to the informant, FIFA usually starts the “sustainability” plans and operations for the World Cup 5–8 years in advance. For the 2018 FWC Russia, for instance, FIFA and the Russian LOC started delivering sustainability initiatives 5 years in advance. But the sustainability team started it 8 years ahead of the 2022 FWC Qatar. FIFA has been carrying out sustainability programmes in a number of areas, including transport (carbon emissions), waste management, diversity, inclusion, and human rights. For example, there were 25 objectives in three categories for the 2018 FWC Russia as follows: Social—Contributing to human and social development: health and safety, decent work, capacity building, inclusivity, equality, social development, healthy living, and sport legacy; Environmental—Protecting the environment: green-building standards for stadiums, transport, carbon, energy and waste management, risk mitigation, and biodiversity; Economic—Enhancing local economic development: ethical business practices, and local economic development (IOC, 2016b).

Also, FIFA has attempted to ensure a proper transfer of knowledge for the FWC. For instance, the Head of Sustainability of the Russian LOC went to the 2014 FWC in Brazil to learn about all the sustainability-related activities, while the Head of the Sustainability Team in Brazil joined the FIFA sustainability team in Zurich to support the following Russian LOC (FIFA, 2014). 7. Evaluation. Its first sustainability report was published after the 2014 FWC Brazil. Our interviewee said that the FIFA sustainability report is produced in line with the latest version of the GRI framework. In fact, the 2014 FWC sustainability

92

P. Moon et al.

report was compiled in accordance with the GRI G3 guidelines, while the next FWC sustainability report was prepared, according to the GRI Standards (FIFA, 2014, 2018a). 8. Effects. There have been some impacts of sustainability on the FIFA’s structure and management practices. First, sustainability has brought new human resources to FIFA. Creating the dedicated sustainability team (i.e. Sustainability and Diversity Department) can be a good example. Starting with one person, the sustainability team has increasingly become bigger for the last 15 years. There are, today, 10 full-time employees in the team. A human rights manager was also hired in 2016. Second, sustainability has been influencing on its management system. An excellent example is the comprehensive sustainability strategy, launched in 2012 for the 2014 FWC Brazil. In 2015, its Sustainability Strategy (FIFA, 2015a) and Policy (FIFA, 2015b) were also developed for the 2018 FWC Russia. Indeed, sustainability requirements are engraved in its bidding document today (see Guide to the bidding process for the 2026 FWC). Moreover, FIFA amended its statutes because of sustainability issues. In 2016, for instance, a new “human rights” commitment was added to Article 3 of its Statutes as follows: “FIFA is committed to respecting all internationally recognised human rights and shall strive to promote the protection of these rights” (IOC, 2017b, p. 3). It is now more clear what elements may be needed for a strategic sustainability implementation: a willing from top leaders, allocation of financial and human resources, a comprehensive sustainability strategy, and a collective cooperation with internal staff and external stakeholders. Although IFs such as FIFA, IIHF, or WS increasingly demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, many still seem to rely on LOCs’ willingness of sustainability action.4 There is no doubt about the importance of sustainability today, but there seems to be some barriers to the IFs’ proper sustainability actions. The following section, hence, discusses challenges facing them and possible solutions or suggestions, based on the results of in-depth interviews with employees from eight IFs, the IOC, and a UN agency (International Labour Organisation, ILO). In order to assure anonymity of the informants, their position is not included in this paper. The interviewees of FIFA, IIHF, and WS are the same informants for the case studies above.

4 Challenges to IFs’ Sustainability Implementation and Possible Solutions 4.1 Challenges in Implementing Sustainability Practices Each IF has different priorities and unique challenges, depending on the nature of sport, but the results of the in-depth interviews reveal that there have been four main

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

93

challenges and two other obstacles for mega-sporting events, such as the FWC. First, a challenge is the IFs’ limited power of imposing sustainability on LOCs. As a world governing body of each sport, IFs award hosting rights to LOCs via NFs, and they play a role in supervising the organisation of the event. It means that actual event organisers are the LOC and host city/country. The following quote illustrates this fundamental challenge: I totally agree with this. We, you know… we can put requirements on the bid documents and in the event agreement, but the extent to which… the LOC actually implements. As you said, there are often also limited resources and a limited time. They are often working with volunteers with very small staff, so we… I think there is a limit to how strongly we can enforce what they do. So, anything that we do really has to be upfront, you know like... if there is a venue that is impacting the World Heritage sites, then our action should be… not awarding the event to them, you know. Once we are there, we have less power to influence what they are doing. (World Rowing employee, 2018)

Related to this, it was also identified that lack of candidate city is a major challenge. Several of the interviewees stated that because of the lack of bidders, IFs tend to seek a common ground with candidate cities who may already feel pressure to meet a number of requirements for the competitions. Second, it was found that the diversity of local conditions (e.g. different levels of infrastructure, different cultures and government regulations, etc.) is another challenge to embedding sustainability into their sports events. A typical example is the recycling infrastructure in the host region. In some countries, there are recycling stations, whereas the facility is not in place in certain nations. The sport events are organised in different countries and on different continents. Local conditions such as the size of the country, the energy supply networks, infrastructure or existing laws and regulations have a significant effect on the selection of relevant issues and the tools available to achieve a more sustainable event. (Head of FIFA’s Sustainability and Diversity Department, Sustainability Report of the 2014 FWC Brazil)

In this regard, some of the interviewees added that an obstacle is the local event organiser’s different understandings of sustainability between developed and underdeveloped countries. I think it would be easier in general to have sustainability actions in developed countries than in underdeveloped countries simply because there is already a well-accepted understanding of what is sustainability. And obviously when you organise an event, you don’t just talk to the organising committee, but they are also linked to the national orders... local governments. If the local government cares about sustainability, they will hold the organising committee responsible for that. […] The cities themselves they will be worried about it. Then, when we go to places like Avijan or I don’t know… other cities. It will be interesting to ask them because there must be completely different understandings of what is sustainability in the organisation at the event. (World Taekwondo employee, 2018)

Third, it was clarified that limited resources is a main challenge for many IFs, especially for small-sized federations. A number of IFs started to take into account the need of sustainability action; however, a common challenge is the lack of financial and human resources (e.g. no full-time sustainability manager in the organisation). The following interview passage supports the argument:

94

P. Moon et al. I think for us, especially probably for small federations, just resources. We just don’t have resources to dedicate the time… that we need to dedicate to this area, and to have some expert resources. For example, the help that the IOC provides us, you know... it’s excellent. That’s what we need because we are not able to employ sustainability experts ourselves. We need access to expert advice, but generally, I would love to do more sustainability. But I can’t… because I just don’t have time. I am doing too many other things, and I am sure that this is the same for many other federations. (World Rowing employee, 2018)

Fourth, it was revealed that a key challenge is convincing the top leaders in the organisation (e.g. the President, CEO, and Secretary General) to embrace sustainability for their sport. For a strategic sustainability implementation, there needs to be at least an understanding of sustainability from them because integrating it into their core business requires a collective collaboration with not only the internal staff (e.g. operations, marketing, communications, legal, and finance team members), but also various external stakeholders. In addition to the four challenges above, it was identified that there have been two other barriers, particularly for those who govern mega-sporting events: (1) the magnitude of international sport events; (2) the long period of life-cycle of events. Organising a large-scale sport event has become a challenge, as depicted in the following quote: It’s the magnitude of the events, so... the number of athletes, the more disciplines you have. If you take FIFA, the President of FIFA wants to have 48 teams in the tournament, so... imagine. I think now you have 24, and then 32 teams... imagine, from 24, 32 to 48. It’s double… imagine the number of stadiums, the number of hotels, the number of people going to the country, and the number of teams for logistics. It’s even from the point of view of TV show… you have four matches per day, four at the beginning. Now, you are going to have what? Six or eight matches per day. You have… instead having a month, you will have a month and half for the games. (ILO employee, 2019)

Lastly, another challenge is the long period of life cycle of events. In the case of mega-sport events, there is a considerably long period between a hosting agreement and the opening ceremony of the event. On 2 December 2010, for example, FIFA announced Russia and Qatar as a host country of the 2018 and 2022 FWC, respectively (FIFA, 2010). It means that the hosting contracts are to be signed at least 7–10 years in advance. Even if the contract includes terms about sustainability practices, they might become outdated in those years. An interviewee describes this challenge as follows: I think that the long period of life-cycle of the event poses a certain challenge. Why? because we are establishing now requirements for an event which kind of takes place in 10 years, and the situation of the world in 10 years is going to be different from the one we have now. […] We can imagine a little bit of how we can go, but the reality in 10 years’ time is going to be completely different from also the sustainability point of view. In the implementation, you realise that there are new things coming up. There is a new scenario coming up. There are new standards, new challenges… new global challenges, local challenges. […] So, you need how to find sensible ways together with local organisers to adapt. (FIFA employee, 2019)

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

95

4.2 How to Better Integrate Sustainability? Possible Solutions or Suggestions 4.2.1

The IFs’ Limited Power of Imposing Sustainability on LOCs

Sport organisations such as IFs might consider adding the requirements of sustainability implementation in the bidding documents and/or hosting agreements. It is because cost overruns and time pressure inevitably reduce the urgency of environmental and sustainable thinking after winning a bid (Preuss, 2013). Some local event organisers may resist certain sustainability-related requirements. However, some of the interviewees stressed that embedding sustainability principles in the contract can be a way to overcome this intrinsic challenge. Definitely there is some limitation, but I think… honestly, I think that’s a contract issue. If you define the aspects you want to be seen in the LOC, normally they should put it in theory. […] It has to be mentioned. It has to be a part of the organisation itself. (World Taekwondo employee, 2018)

Regarding the lack of host candidates, the IFs may first apply the “sustainability principle” to one of their main sport events. It would be challenging to operate all disciplines of their events (e.g. U-15, U-18, U-21, men’s and women’s world championships) in a sustainable manner. They can gradually expand the scope with another age group tournament or the other gender events.

4.2.2

The Diversity of Local Conditions and Different Understandings of Sustainability

Because standards of sustainability implementation can be varied from country to country, sometimes carrying out certain environmental or social practices might be demanding for LOCs. Related to this, lack of understanding of sustainability was also found as a main challenge. The following suggestions may help reduce the gaps between local conditions as well as local event organisers’ understandings of it (see Table 3). First, IFs may create educational materials (e.g. handbooks, templates, and toolkits) for NFs and LOCs. An excellent example is the FEI Sustainability Handbook for Event Organisers (FEI, 2014) or the IIHF Manual for Sustainable Events (IIHF, Table 3 Possible ways for education on and awareness of sustainability Education

Awareness

• Handbooks/templates/toolkits • Workshops • Knowledge transfer programme

• • • •

Sustainability award Athlete ambassador programme Sponsors Manufacturers

96

P. Moon et al.

2015). In the documents, there are a definition of sustainability, guidelines, checklists, good practices, and so forth. Of course, there are a number of sources about sustainability implementation on the websites of FIFA and the IOC (e.g. sustainability strategies and reports). However, those two would be more useful for small or medium-sized IFs, even though the IOC Sustainability Essentials (IOC, 2018c) can be recommended for all sized IFs for a better understanding of sustainability in the context of sporting events. When developing a handbook, a template (e.g. bid requirements), or a tool-kit, they may consider collaborating with sustainability consultancies or NGOs such as the World Wide Fund for Nature. Second, IFs may organise “sustainability” workshops for NFs and LOCs. As illustrated in the following quote, each topic of sustainability (e.g. transportation, waste management, saving water and energy, inclusion, etc.) can be discussed all together at the workshop: We are thinking of… one day in the future, we would like to have sustainability workshops to have like one topic... how to save water, for example. And then, we invite our member national associations. They can talk to each other, and also, we have a bit of education to them on the topic. (IIHF employee, 2019)

During the educational event, participants may share their experiences, and good practices from other sports federations can be introduced as well. This will provide the NFs and LOCs with the time for a better understanding of sustainability. It can also be a great chance to think together how to promote it to all participants of their events, such as athletes, fans, and tournament officials. Third, IFs may develop the “knowledge transfer programme” to ensure that lessons learned are passed on to the next LOC. As noted earlier, for example, the Head of Sustainability of the Russian LOC attended sustainability-related activities at the 2014 FWC Brazil, while the Head of Sustainability Team in Brazil supported the next Russian LOC afterwards (FIFA, 2014). This programme will help the IFs to strengthen integrating sustainability in their main sports events. In sum, these three ways can be considered by sports’ world governing bodies aiming to reduce the gaps of sustainability implementation in different regions of the world. To increase awareness of sustainability, they may launch (a) the “sustainability award” and/or (b) the “athlete ambassador programme”. Also, (c) sponsors and (d) manufacturers can be their partners for the initiative. Firstly, it can be a way to launch the sustainability award. In fact, there have been a few IFs having introduced their own sustainability award in recent years. These include World Sailing (in October 2018), World Rowing (in November 2018), and the IIHF (in May 2019).5 The award may be announced at the Congress or an annual/biennial conference. Secondly, they may appoint legendary players as sustainability ambassadors, in order to encourage all athletes and sports fans to join their sustainability initiatives. For example, two-time Olympian and the IOC Clean Seas ambassador, Mike Dawson (New Zealand) canoed Africa’s fourth largest river to help raise awareness of the problem of plastics in the world’s waterways (ICF, 2019), and the International Canoe Federation (ICF) introduced this story to the entire canoe community via its press release and social media channels. In the same vein, World Sailing has required

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

97

each NF to appoint an athlete for promoting sustainability to sailors in their country (World Sailing, 2017b). Thirdly, they may promote sustainability in collaboration with their sponsors. If sponsors are keen to support sporting events in a sustainable way, they will benefit from them. The International Ski Federation (FIS)’s case below is a great example of that: One of our sponsors is actually Audi. As you can imagine, they do cars, so... not a sponsor for sustainability. But they are actually using our World Cup now to promote their new electric cars, called e-tron. So, that’s actually really positive for us because they are probably happy to have the outdoor environment to promote their e-cars, and it fits also for us. So, that’s a positive cycle with a sponsor where works well. (FIS employee, 2018)

In addition, they may create special sponsorship deals with respect to sustainability. For instance, World Sailing decided not to enter partnerships with oil corporations. Similarly, FIFA has adopted the tobacco-free policy that includes no sponsorship deals with tobacco companies (Moon et al., 2022). As can be seen, they can promote sustainability through sponsors. Lastly, with their products, manufacturers in the sports industry may contribute to disseminating the sustainability message around the world. Since the IFs set the rules of their sports and choose the official sports equipment, they can ensure using more eco-friendly materials for their sports equipment, sportswear, and/or venue materials, thereby encouraging the manufacturers. IFs write the rules of sports. They basically decide what equipment is used, so... if we look at some of the biggest brands like Nike, Adidas… in surfing, we have Quicksilver, Billabong, Burton, and kinds of things. The products that they design for elite sports… it’s only a very small proportion. But if we international federations push... encourage manufacturers to use sustainable materials to take care about carbon neutral balance, then actually, you know, it might… would be hundreds or thousands of elite athletes using Nike trainers. But the reality is that millions or billions of people would have the same brand. (WS employee, 2019)

To sum up, these four (the sustainability award, the athlete ambassador programme, sponsors, and manufacturers) can be an idea for IFs who would like to increase the awareness about sustainability, especially for NFs and LOCs unfamiliar with the concept yet. To execute those initiatives effectively, however, it would be imperative to secure at least one person dedicated to sustainability in their headquarters.

4.2.3

Limited Human and Financial Resources

To overcome the obstacle of the limited resources, there needs to be top leaders’ understanding of and support for sustainability. Under the prerequisite, there are three possible ways that the IFs may consider: (1) support from sponsors; (2) the volunteer network (support from sports fans); (3) funding from the IOC. First, it might be possible for the IFs to secure some funds, supplies (e.g. electric cars), or

98

P. Moon et al.

expertise from their sponsors. As noted above, for example, World Sailing decided to use 5% of all sponsorship income for its sustainability initiatives. Also, some of its sustainability programmes have been more successful, thanks to some support with expertise from the sustainability team of its official partner, SAP. Second, their sustainability programmes may be assisted by sports fans around the world. Specifically, some sports fans—who are professionals in CSR or sustainability—might help them voluntarily by providing with certain items or services. I think certainly it’s challenging in terms of resources. […] It’s always going to be a challenge. So, we can encourage sports to look across their volunteer network. I mean, if you survey, I don’t know… say tennis, you would probably find a number of sustainability professions. They are massive tennis fans and also play tennis, so… maybe, make assist the federation or national federation implementing some sustainability initiatives because it’s their passion. And if you look across international sports federations, we all rely on volunteers. I think there is a definitely opportunity there. (WS employee, 2019)

Third, Olympic IFs may be able to secure some funding for sustainability from the IOC. For example, a part of the Olympic Solidarity Funding6 might be utilised for sustainability initiatives as well. Yet, this is an area where further research is recommended. Researchers may investigate if some of the Olympic Solidarity fund can be mobilised for the IFs’ sustainability programmes. The IOC may also encourage them to use a certain percentage of the Olympic revenue for sustainable development goals when distributing it. In sum, support from sponsors, sports fans, or the IOC might help the IFs to overcome the fundamental challenge of the limited resources.

4.2.4

Convincing Top Leaders to Embrace Sustainability

To embed sustainability into the planning and operation of sport events, there has to be a willing from the top management. There seems to be no straightforward solution for convincing the top leaders. Some of the interviewees said that it would just take time. They argued that if the whole society cares more about sustainability, the IFs will not overlook it as they are representing millions of sports families across the globe. However, we do not know when it will become mainstream like gender equality today. In this regard, the IOC’s recommendation or evaluation might be a catalyst to change their minds: (a) a call for concrete sustainability actions; (b) making sustainability effort as an evaluation point for next Olympic programmes. First, the IOC President, Thomas Bach may call for the IFs’ tangible sustainability actions as he urged for anti-corruption in 2018 in Lausanne, Switzerland (Diamond, 2018) and in 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (IOC, 2019). The following interview passage supports the idea: If the IOC and the United Nations make some recommendations… a strong recommendation, international federations will definitely follow this recommendation. (World Baseball Softball Confederation employee, 2019)

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

99

Second, an IF’s sustainability effort (i.e. attempts to integrate sustainability into their core business) may become the IOC’s new evaluation point for next Olympic programmes. If this is not feasible for the existing 35 Olympic sports, the IOC might apply it when choosing additional Olympic sports (e.g. five additional sports for Tokyo 2020 Olympics and four new sports for Paris 2024 Olympics). Our interviewee illustrates that as below: You know, it’s like what’s been going on now the ASOIF and IOC… they have been pushing for better governance and higher transparency standards. This is the kind of thing I hope to see with sustainability that should become something mandatory. The IOC would come and say, okay, next federations… next sports are going to be on the Olympic programme. They need to have the sustainability rate or of x %. I don’t know. They will have to figure this out, but it should become an evaluation point, I think… personally. (World Taekwondo employee, 2018)

Indeed, convincing the top-level leaders would also be paramount in overcoming the three challenges, discussed above [(1) The IFs’ limited power of imposing sustainability on LOCs; (2) The diversity of local conditions; and (3) Limited human and financial resources].

4.2.5

The Magnitude of International Sport Events

Every year, there are thousands of international sports events around the world. It would be unrealistic to find a way to make zero impact on the host regions and the environment, since it is inevitable that a mega-sporting event generates an enormous carbon footprint and a high energy consumption from thousands or millions of sports fans, athletes, and other participants travelling from all around the world. For instance, 7.7 million football fans visited the FIFA Fan Fest during the 2018 FWC Russia (FIFA, 2018b). Besides, the scale of international sports events tends to grow increasingly. For example, there will be 48 teams participating in the 2026 FWC instead of 32. There will be a need of a bigger and/or more stadium(s), hotels and logistics for the 48-team tournament. Arguably, the only thing that we can do would be making effort to minimise any negative impact from mega-events. In this regard, in 2019, Professor Martin Müller (Department of Geography and Sustainability, University of Lausanne) emphasised that we should avoid bringing large numbers of people in the same place.7 In a similar vein, some sports event organisers have attempted to host their games in two or more countries, yet there still remains the issue of a large number of (inter-)national transportation and logistics. Interestingly, one of the interviewees argued that because mega-sporting events provide us a wonderful time for reconnection of the communities in the world, we have to keep this kind of events. Certainly, there is the need of international sports festivals for peace and solidarity. However, if there is not much sustainability effort, environmental issues such as climate change may imperil not only outdoor sports but the entire world of sports.

100

P. Moon et al.

5 Conclusion This chapter addresses CSR and sustainability in the context of international sport federations. In particular, it focuses on exploring the recent sustainability movement within the IFs (i.e. the transition from CSR to sustainability; their approaches to the concept of sustainability; the challenges facing them and possible solutions). Social responsibility is, logically, constrained based on resource availability (e.g. human, financial) (Casey et al., 2012; Robertson et al., 2019). The findings of the three case studies confirm that it is crucial to secure the resources and support from the upper management for more strategic sustainability actions. Despite recent advancements with some IFs (e.g. FIFA, IIHF, and WS), sustainability initiatives remain embryonic in many IFs. By cross-checking the data from the documents and the interviews with external experts, we have attempted to understand their communication about sustainability practices. The chapter contributes to gaining a better understanding of the complex nature of sustainability implementation, and practical recommendations are drawn based on the results of 10 in-depth interviews. Furthermore, it provides insights into the ongoing discussion on CSR and sustainability in the sport management literature by illustrating the transition from CSR to sustainability over the years. We hope this provides a basis for further research on the difference and overlap between the two concepts. Given that the research of sustainability in the context of IFs is in its infancy, it is also important for researchers to keep investigating the progress on the measurement of the positive impact of sustainability efforts because it will be a key to overcome most of the challenges by convincing more sports leaders. In closing, it is critical that sports governing bodies consider sustainability not as a short-term or one-off matter. A true sustainability action would require their longstanding commitment to it. We acknowledge that the IFs’ primary goal is to develop their respective sports at an international level and each IF has different priorities and capacities. However, we believe that sustainability is a pressing issue and integrating it into their core business will be a crucial topic for both practitioners and scholars for years to come. Perhaps, it is time for everyone to not only think about sustainable development and social responsibility but make action in practice. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to all the interviewees for their valuable time and insights.

Notes 1. ISO 26000:2010 aims at assisting organisations in contributing to sustainable development. It is intended to encourage them to go beyond legal compliance, recognising that compliance with law is a fundamental duty of any organisation and an essential part of their social responsibility. Source: www.iso.org/standard/42546.html. Accessed 28 Feb 2022

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

101

2. Up until the season 2011/2012, there was only the IIHF Facilities and Environment Committee, which mainly cared about the facility issues, such as synthetic ice, arena guide, or inspection of ice hockey links (IIHF Annual Report July 2011–June 2012, p 58). However, the newly established IIHF Social and Environmental Committee (today, IIHF Environmental and Social Activities Committee) has focused more on environmental and social practices at the event since the 2013–14 season. 3. Source: interview with an IIHF employee and a committee member; http://www.saihf.com/ saihf-wins-first-iihf-sustainability-award/. Accessed 28 Dec 2021 4. “I spoke a few people two years ago… SportAccord Convention. They are all from the cities. They were telling us. They [IFs] don’t… they rarely have any criteria sustainability that they [the cities] have to meet when you have bidding for events. It’s normally the initiative comes from themselves. For example, Amsterdam, Copenhagen… they have high sustainability criteria for any events. But that’s not something that the IFs would call for or ask for in that bid, you know. […] They’re rarely focusing on sustainability criteria, so… how do you do with wastes… which energy are you using for the event… that sort of thing. […] You can’t just expect every host manages by themselves.” (SchweryCade consultant, 2019) 5. Source: http://11thhourracing.org/corpus-christi-yacht-club-wins-sustainability-award/; http:// www.worldrowing.com/news/celebration-marks-2018-world-rowing-awards; http://www. saihf.com/saihf-wins-first-iihf-sustainability-award/. Accessed 17 Jan 2022 6. The aim of Olympic Solidarity is “to provide assistance to national Olympic committees (NOCs) for athlete development programmes, in particular those which have the greatest need of it. This assistance takes the form of programmes elaborated jointly by the IOC and the NOCs, with the technical assistance of the IFs, if necessary” (Olympic Charter: in force as from 8 Aug 2021, p. 16). 7. Source: [Conference] Sport Future Rendez-vous 2019. (5 Jun 2019). Available at: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=90f3RJBHyyE&t=2975s. Accessed 19 Jan 2022

References Anastasiadis, S., & Spence, L. J. (2019). An Olympic-sized challenge: Effect of organizational pathology on maintaining and repairing organizational legitimacy in sports governing bodies. British Journal of Management, 31(1), 24–41. Andreff, W., & Bourg, J.-F. (2006). Broadcasting rights and competition in European football. In C. Jeanrenaud & S. Késenne (Eds.), The Economics of Sport and the Media (pp. 37–64). Edward Elgar. Andreff, W., & Staudohar, P. (2000). The evolving European model of professional sports finance. Journal of Sports Economics, 1(3), 257–276. Babiak, K. (2010). The role and relevance of corporate social responsibility in sport: A view from the top. Journal of Management & Organization, 16(4), 528–549. Babiak, K., & Wolfe, R. (2009). Determinants of corporate social responsibility in professional sport: Internal and external factors. Journal of Sport Management, 23(6), 717–742. Babiak, K., & Wolfe, R. (2013). Perspectives on social responsibility in sport. In J. L. ParamioSalcines, K. Babiak, & G. Walters (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport and corporate social responsibility (pp. 17–34). Routledge. Bayle, E. (2016). Olympic social responsibility: A challenge for the future. Sport in Society, 19(6), 752–766. Bayle, E., & Robinson, L. (2007). A framework for understanding the performance of national governing bodies of sport. European Sport Management Quarterly, 7(3), 249–268. Boykoff, J., & Mascarenhas, G. (2016). The Olympics, sustainability, and greenwashing: The Rio 2016 summer games. Capitalism Nature Socialism, 27(2), 1–11.

102

P. Moon et al.

Cantelon, H., & Letters, M. (2000). The making of the IOC environmental policy as the third dimension of the Olympic Movement. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 35(3), 294–308. Carroll, A. B. (1999). Corporate social responsibility: Evolution of a definitional construct. Business & Society, 38(3), 268–295. Casey, M., Harvey, J., Eime, R., et al. (2012). Examining changes in the organisational capacity and sport-related health promotion policies and practices of state sporting organizations. Annals of Leisure Research, 15(3), 261–276. Clausen, J. (2018). The interrelationship between professionalisation and commercialisation in international sport federations [Dissertation, University of Lausanne]. Clausen, J., & Bayle, E. (2017). Major sport events at the centre of international sport federations’ resource strategy. In M. Dodds, K. Heisey, & A. Ahonen (Eds.), Roultedge handbook of international sport business (pp. 37–53). Routledge. Clausen, J., Bayle, E., Giauque, D., et al. (2018a). Divers of and barriers to professionalization in international sport federations. Journal of Global Sport Management, 3(1), 37–60. Clausen, J., Bayle, E., Giauque, D., et al. (2018b). International sport federations’ commercialisation: A qualitative comparative analysis. European Sport Management Quarterly, 18(3), 373–392. Corpus Christi Yacht Club. (2018). Sustainability report of the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championships. https://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/YSWCSustainabilityReport2018web1-[245 17].pdf. Accessed January 11, 2022. Del Fiacco, A. G., & Orr, M. (2019). A review and synthesis of environmentalism within the Olympic Movement. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 10(1), 67–80. Diamond, J. (2018). Bach calls for quick and effective measures against corruption after Lausanne meeting. https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1066997/bach-calls-for-quick-andeffective-measures-against-corruption-after-lausanne-meeting. Accessed December 2, 2019. European Commission. (2011). A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for corporate social responsibility. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0681:FIN:EN:PDF. Accessed January 20, 2022. FEI. (2014). FEI sustainability handbook for events organisers. https://inside.fei.org/system/files/ FEI_Sustainability_Handbook_for_Event_Organisers_0.pdf. Accessed January 20, 2022. FIFA. (2004). Green goal legacy report of 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. https://www.oeko.de/ oekodoc/292/2006-011-en.pdf. Accessed January 20, 2022. FIFA. (2010). Russia and Qatar awarded 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. https://www.fifa.com/ worldcup/news/russia-and-qatar-awarded-2018-and-2022-fifa-world-cups-1344698. Accessed December 19, 2019. FIFA. (2014). Sustainability report of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. https://digitalhub.fifa.com/ m/3756a3d1bce5e27a/original/educsd2hgasief3yeoyt-pdf.pdf. Accessed January 11, 2022. FIFA. (2015a). Sustainability strategy of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. https://www.icsspe.org/ system/files/FIFA%20-%20Sustainability%20Strategy%20for%202018%20FIFA%20World% 20Cup.pdf. Accessed January 26, 2022. FIFA. (2015b). Sustainability policy of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018. https://digitalhub.fifa. com/m/4b454ee7714641ec/original/uqljxtpujfbpcwjwssvu-pdf.pdf. Accessed January 26, 2022. FIFA. (2017). Guide to the bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. https://digitalhub.fifa. com/m/5730ee56c15eeddb/original/hgopypqftviladnm7q90-pdf. Accessed January 11, 2022. FIFA. (2018a). Sustainability report of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. https://www.fifa.com/ tournaments/mens/worldcup/2018russia/news/sustainability-report-of-the-2018-fifa-world-cuprussia. Accessed February 22, 2022. FIFA. (2018b). 7.7 million football fans visit FIFA Fan Fest during Russia 2018. https://www.fifa. com/worldcup/news/7-7-million-football-fans-visit-fifa-fan-fest-during-russia-2018. Accessed January 5, 2022.

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

103

François, A., & Bayle, E. (2015). CSR: A new governance approach for regulating professional sport? The case of French professional sports clubs. Sport Management International Journal, 11(2), 21–42. François, A., Bayle, E., & Mutter, O. (2019). CSR and sports-event organisers: State of play, controversies and perspectives. In M. Desbordes, P. Aymar, & C. Hautbois (Eds.), The global sport economy: contemporary issues (pp. 89–115). Routledge. François, A., Ferrand, A., & Bayle, E. (2020). Towards a shared Olympic responsibility: Paradoxes and challenges. In D. Chatziefstathiou, B. García, & B. Séguin (Eds.), Routledge handbook of the Olympic and Paralympic games (pp. 149–159). Routledge. Geeraert, A. (2015). Sports governance observer 2015: The legitimacy crisis in international sports governance. Play the game/Danish Institute for Sports Studies. Gold, J. R., & Gold, M. M. (2013). “Bring it under the legacy umbrella”: Olympic host cities and the changing fortunes of the sustainability agenda. Sustainability, 5(8), 3526–3542. ICF. (2019). ICF to underline commitment to environment with expanded sustainability program. https://www.canoeicf.com/news/icf-underline-commitment-environment-exp anded-sustainability-program. Accessed January 5, 2022. IIHF. (2013). IIHF annual report July 2012-June 2013. http://webarchive.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_u pload/BigFiles/AnnualReport/2013AnnualReport.pdf. Accessed January 20, 2022. IIHF. (2014). IIHF annual report July 2013-June 2014. http://webarchive.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_u pload/BigFiles/AnnualReport/2014AnnualReport.pdf. Accessed January 20, 2022. IIHF. (2015). IIHF manual for sustainable events. https://iihfstorage.blob.core.windows.net/iihfmedia/iihfmvc/media/downloads/sustainability/iihf_manual_social-environment.pdf. Accessed January 20, 2022. IIHF. (2017). IIHF annual report July 2016-June 2017. http://webarchive.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_u pload/BigFiles/AnnualReport/2017AnnualReport.pdf. Accessed January 20, 2022. IIHF. (2018a). IIHF annual report July 2017-June 2018. https://blob.iihf.com/iihf-media/iihfmvc/ media/downloads/annual%20report/annualreport2018.pdf. Accessed January 20, 2022. IIHF. (2018b). IIHF sustainable event profile. http://wiki.iihf.com/2019tlbx/18.%20Sustainability/ 2019%20IIHF%20Sustainability%20Event%20Profile.pdf. Accessed January 20, 2022. IOC. (2014). Olympic marketing fact file. https://library.olympics.com/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/ 355212/olympic-marketing-fact-file-2014-international-olympic-committee-marketing-depart ment. Accessed January 20, 2022. IOC. (2016a). IOC sustainability strategy: Executive summary. http://large.stanford.edu/courses/ 2016/ph240/liautaud2/docs/ioc-sustainability-strategy.pdf. Accessed January 20, 2022. IOC. (2016b). IF sustainability project—development of the sustainability strategy for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. https://olympics.com/ioc/sustainability/ioc-as-leader-of-the-olympicmovement/case-studies. Accessed January 20, 2022. IOC. (2017a). IF sustainability case study—sustainability strategy (World Sailing). https://olympics. com/ioc/sustainability/ioc-as-leader-of-the-olympic-movement/case-studies. Accessed January 20, 2022. IOC. (2017b). IF sustainability case study—respect for human rights (FIFA). https://olympics. com/ioc/sustainability/ioc-as-leader-of-the-olympic-movement/case-studies. Accessed January 20, 2022. IOC. (2018a). IOC sustainability report. https://sustainability.sport/ioc-sustainability-report/. Accessed January 20, 2022. IOC. (2018b). IOC teams up with UN environment for its clean seas campaign. https://www. olympic.org/news/ioc-teams-up-with-un-environment-for-its-clean-seas-campaign. Accessed December 28, 2021. IOC. (2018c). IOC sustainability essentials: A series of practical guides for the Olympic Movement. https://olympics.com/ioc/sustainability/essentials. Accessed January 14, 2022.

104

P. Moon et al.

IOC. (2019). IOC President reaffirms commitment to fight against corruption, calls for governments to join the effort ahead of UNODC conference. https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-president-rea ffirms-commitment-to-fight-against-corruption-calls-for-governments-to-join-the-effort-aheadof-unodc-conference. Accessed December 16, 2019. IOC. (2020). IOC supports launch of GAISF sustainability portal. https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ ioc-supports-launch-of-gaisf-sustainability-portal. Accessed February 28, 2022. IOC. (2021a). IOC sustainability report. https://olympics.com/ioc/sustainability. Accessed June 20, 2022. IOC. (2021b). Olympic marketing fact file. https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Int ernational-Olympic-Committee/IOC-Marketing-And-Broadcasting/IOC-Marketing-Fact-File2021.pdf. Accessed January 18, 2022. IOC. (2022a). How to be a sustainable champion. https://olympics.com/ioc/news/how-to-be-a-sus tainable-champion-ideas-and-inspiration-for-protecting-onlyoneearth. Accessed June 21, 2022. IOC. (2022b). Over 125 years of Olympic venues: Post-games use. https://olympics.com/ioc/oly mpic-legacy/over-125-years-of-olympic-venues. Accessed June 21, 2022 Kott, A. (2005). The philanthropic power of sport. Foundation News & Commentary, 46(1), 20–25. Littig, B., & Griessler, E. (2005). Social sustainability: A catchword between political pragmatism and social theory. International Journal of Sustainable Development, 8(1/2), 65–79. McCullough, B. P., Orr, M., & Kellison, T. (2020). Sport ecology: Conceptualizing an emerging subdiscipline within sport management. Journal of Sport Management, 34, 509–520. McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. (2000). Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: Correlation or misspecification? Strategic Management Journal, 21(5), 603–609. Misener, L., Sant, S. L., & Mason, D. S. (2013). Engaging communities through sport: Sustainability as a means of enacting CSR. In J. L. Paramio-Salcines, K. Babiak, & G. Walters (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport and corporate social responsibility (pp. 198–208). Routledge. Moon, P. (2020). The discourse on CSR and sustainability in international sport: Influences on the structure and management practices of international sport federations [Dissertation, University of Lausanne] Moon, P., Bayle, E., & François, A. (2022). Assessing international sport federations’ sustainability practices: Toward integrating sustainability in their main sports events. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3, 1–15. Phelps, S., & Kent, A. (2010). Isomorphism and choice in the creation and development of an international sports federation: A review of the International Triathlon Union. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 8(3/4), 277–295. Preuss, H. (2013). The contribution of the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games to the green economy. Sustainability, 5(8), 3581–3600. Robertson, J., Eime, R., & Westerbeek, H. (2019). Community sports clubs: Are they only about playing sport, or do they have broader health promotion and social responsibilities? Annals of Leisure Research, 22(2), 215–232. Robinson, R. (2005). Sports philanthropy: An analysis of the charitable foundations of major league teams. Master’s thesis, University of San Francisco. Santini, D., & Henderson, H. (2021). The winners and losers in the race to environmental sustainability: A ranking of summer Olympic international federation progress. Emerald Open Research, 3(12), 1–24. Smith, A. C. T., & Westerbeek, H. M. (2007). Sport as a vehicle for deploying corporate social responsibility. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 25, 43–54. Sport Industry Group. (2016). The big interview: FIFA on sustainability. https://www.sportindustry. biz/features/big-interview-fifa-sustainability%C2%A0. Accessed January 2, 2022. Szymanski, S. (2006). A theory of the evolution of modern sport. http://college.holycross.edu/ RePEc/spe/Szymanski_Evolution.pdf. Accessed January 20, 2022. van Marrewijk, M. (2003). Concepts and definitions of CSR and corporate sustainability: Between agency and communion. Journal of Business Ethics, 44(2), 95–105.

Challenges and Limitations of the Implementation of Sustainability …

105

Walters, G., & Tacon, R. (2010). Corporate social responsibility in sport: Stakeholder management in the UK football industry. Journal of Management & Organization, 16(4), 566–586. Waters, R. D., & Ott, H. K. (2014). Corporate social responsibility and the nonprofit sector: Assessing the thoughts and practices across three nonprofit subsectors. Public Relations Journal, 8(3), 1–18. Watts, P., & Holme, R. (1999). Corporate social responsibility: Meeting changing expectations. World Business Council for Sustainable Development. WCED. (1987). Our common future. Oxford University Press. World Sailing. (2016a). World Sailing sustainability strategy (November 7, 2016). https://www.sai ling.org/news/41202.php. Accessed September 30, 2017; site inactive on January 11, 2022. World Sailing. (2016b). World Sailing’s sustainability strategy—Andy Hunt, keynote speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syreSZIENmE&t=126s. Accessed December 31, 2021. World Sailing. (2017a). The 2022 Sailing World championships: Information for bidders. https:// sailing.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SailingWorldChampionships2022AW-23181.pdf. Accessed January 11, 2022. World Sailing. (2017b). World Sailing sustainability agenda 2030. https://www.sailing.org/tools/ documents/SustainabilityAgenda2030-[23247].pdf. Accessed January 11, 2022. Zeimers, G., Lefebvre, A., Winand, M., et al. (2021). Organisational factors for corporate social responsibility implementation in sport federations: A qualitative comparative analysis. European Sport Management Quarterly, 21(2), 173–193.

Philjoo Moon graduated from the University of Lausanne in 2020 by obtaining a PhD in Sport Sciences and Physical Education. He is currently a lecturer at the department of Sports Business in Namseoul University in South Korea. His research areas include governance and management of sports organisations. He is particularly interested in studying social responsibility of sport organisations (e.g. CSR and sustainability). He is the corresponding author. Aurélien François is a lecturer in the department of Sports Sciences at the University of Rouen, France. He is an author of several publications such as book chapters and articles both in sport management and sport economics. His current research is mainly focused on CSR in sport. Emmanuel Bayle is a professor in Sports Management and currently director of the Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL). He has published several books and articles in Sports Management. He is a specialist of governance, management and performance of sport organisations and events. He has several experiences in Executive Education and as expert mission in this area. He manages currently a research project on professionalisation of international sports federation.

Marketing, Technology and Innovation

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons in an Uncertain World? Michel Desbordes

1 Introduction Ticketing was for a long time the only element of sports financing. At the beginning of the twentieth century, football matches in Europe or baseball matches in the United States were only financed by spectators. The show was produced for them, in a commercial logic: the players, when they were professional, were paid almost directly by spectators. Cycling was the only exception: as a free sport, it had to develop alternative means of financing very early on, such as sponsorship (Desbordes, 2006). In the 1990s, the more commercial-oriented approach of sport contributed to change the situation. As a result, processional sport has now four sources of income: ticketing, television (media) rights, sponsorship and other income (mainly merchandising) (Table 1). We can therefore see that, for modern events, ticketing never exceeds 40% of total financing. This is similar in football: considering the central role played by television in the system and the large number of indirect spectators (television viewers) compared to the number of direct spectators (in the arena), ticketing became a minority in the financing of clubs (Table 2). We can notice that ticketing has become a minor revenue, especially if we take into account the fact that Deloitte includes income from public relations programs (VIP boxes, business seats) in its calculation. Ticketing for general admission therefore represents less than the 15% calculated here (as a reminder, it was 17.1% in 2016). The globalization of major sporting events has further increased this domination of television, which is a real link between the consumer and the brands investing in sport as sponsors. Today, players are paid by television, the Internet model having not yet been able to replace it, although things are changing rapidly, with the positioning

M. Desbordes (B) Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_6

109

110

M. Desbordes

Table 1 How are major sport events financed? Sport event

TV rights (%)

Sponsorship (%)

Public vicinities (%)

Ticketing (%)

Others (%)

Budget (million e)

Football World Cup (1998)

38

24

0

38

0

370

ASO events (2001) 43

40

5

0

12

90

Salt Lake City Winter Olympics (2002)

41

47

0

10

2

2100

Paris-Dakar rally (1988)

39

60

0

0

1

76

Roland-Garros – tennis French Open (2001)

38

24.4

0

28.9

11

82

Athens Summer Olympics(2004)

37.5

27.7

12

9.3

13.5

1960

Tour de France (1998)

28

65.5

6.5

0

0

42

Rugby World Cup (1987)

20

50

0

30

0

9

The Race - sailing 15 (2004)

65

15

0

5

23

Athletics World 0 Championships in Paris (2003)

22

50

21

9

56.8

Sources: Bourg and Gouguet (2004), Halba (1997), data provided by organizers (investments costs are excluded)

of “FANG” (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google) on the sports rights market since 2016. In general, watching an event on a television, computer, smartphone or tablet does not fundamentally change the purpose. We are talking about an “indirect” spectator, the “direct” spectator being the one who is in the stadium.

2 Sport and Television: Historical Relationships 2.1 General Principles of Financing Professional Sport See Fig. 1 and Table 3. Revenues generated by television are almost three times higher than those from box office. In this context, one can ask the question of whether it is useful to be

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

111

Table 2 «Matchday» revenues of the 20 richest football clubs in Europe (season 2019–2020) Club

«Matchday» revenues/global revenues (in %)

Club

«Matchday» revenues/global revenues (in %)

FC Barcelona

18

Arsenal

23

Real Madrid

15

Borussia Dortmund

13

Bayern Münich

11

Atletico Madrid

15

Manchester United

17

Inter Milan

19

Liverpool FC

15

FC Zenit

Manchester City

9

Schalke 04

PSG

17

Everton

Chelsea FC

13

Olympique Lyonnais

Tottenham Hotspurs

24

SSC Napoli

Juventus FC

11

Eintracht Frankfurt

Average

6 16 6 18 8 22

15%

Source: Deloitte Football Money League, 2021

Fig. 1 Role of television in the sport system, Source: Desbordes (2008)

interested in the spectator, when his financial contribution is marginal in modern sport-business? Answering “No” would be serious nonsense, which would hide a number of specificities of the marketing of the sports service, in which the sporting event is part. Televisions pay television rights that are all the more important as the audience is there, but also seek to broadcast quality shows. However, a quality sporting spectacle is a competition where the stadium is full and the atmosphere festive. This atmosphere is produced by the spectator himself, which is very specific to sports marketing:

112

M. Desbordes

Table 3 Part of broadcasting revenues in the global budget of the top 20 football clubs in Europe (2019–2020) Club

Broadcasting revenues/global revenues (in %)

Club

Broadcasting revenues/global revenues (in %)

FC Barcelona

35

Arsenal

35

Real Madrid

31

Borussia Dortmund

46

Bayern Münich

32

Atletico Madrid

60

Manchester United

28

Inter Milan

47

Liverpool FC

42

FC Zenit

20

Manchester City

39

Schalke 04

43

PSG

28

Everton

53

Chelsea FC

44

Olympique Lyonnais

54

Tottenham Hotspurs

35

SSC Napoli

72

Juventus FC

42

Eintracht Frankfurt

52

Average

42.5%

Source: Deloitte Football Money League, 2021 «Broadcast revenue includes revenue from distributions from participation in domestic leagues, cups and European club competitions»

whoever pays produces the service (Eiglier & Langeard, 1987; Tribou, 2007). But this spectator needs help: he will be delighted to “get out his hinges” all the more easily if he feels well in the stadium, and if the service provider gives him the means to produce this atmosphere. A comfortable and high-capacity stadium, with optimal security so that families can visit it and feel good there, is therefore adapted to a good atmosphere, which makes the sporting spectacle all the more rewarding to broadcast, and therefore increases mechanically the market value of this television product for broadcasters. Similarly, a widely broadcast sporting event automatically generates an increase in sponsorship contracts, since the brand seeks for an increase of awareness and capitalizes on the values of the event if there are more people on site, but also watching on TV (Tribou, 2007) (Fig. 2).

Bigger stadium, modern and comfortable

Increase of TV (media) rights revenues

Fig. 2 «Virtuous circle» of financing professional sport

Increase of sponsorship investemnts

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

113

Table 4 Comparison of the revenues on the «big 5 markets Country

England Germany Spain Italy France

Average revenues of football clubs in 1st division 272 (2017/2018)—million e

176

154

111

85

Source: Deloitte Football Money League (2020)

Thus, the issue of sports arenas is crucial and goes far beyond that of the “4 Ps” of the marketing-mix.1 The stadium cannot be conceived solely as a place of distribution that would adapt to the three “other Ps”: living space, a real showcase that magnifies the product, it influences all the elements of the mix. But, to grasp its full scope and complexity, this variable must be apprehended in a “neo-marketing” logic (Badot & Cova, 1992). It is with this in mind that we will structure our chapter: after having detailed the main theoretical models that have been interested in the concepts of consumer, fan and spectator, we will see how these contributions can be integrated into a dimension of managerial optimization of sports venues.

2.2 International Differences The American and European systems coexist, with different approaches and perspectives: while the revenues of Euroleague clubs, i.e., the best European basketball clubs, reach 511 million US dollars or 28 million per club on average, the total revenues of NBA franchises amounted to 6.3 billion US dollars during the 2017/2018 season, an average of 209 million dollars per franchise.2 The differences are therefore extremely large and only European football clubs are able to compete with American franchises in terms of turnover3 (Table 4). These figures showing the disparities between sports should not, however, make us forget the differences between the clubs inside the same championship, as in Liga Santander where FC Barcelona and its 875 million euros remain far from the 55 million income of Leganés (Samb, 2020). These varied turnovers also hide various sources of income that do not always ensure financial stability for sports clubs. In the early 1990s, in addition to revenue from player transfers, ticketing was the main source of income for professional clubs. This part then gradually decreased in favor of other types of income, so that today professional clubs see their turnover segmented into three main sections:

1

The marketing mix refers to the coherent set of decisions relating to the product, price, distribution (place), and communication policies (promotion) of a company’s or brand’s products. 2 Source: Forbes Releases 20th Annual NBA Team Valuations. https://www.forbes.com/sites/for bespr/2018/02/07/forbes-releases-20th-annual-nba-team-valuations/#3725818434e6 3 The part that begins here up to Sect. 2 is largely inspired by the chapter of Gauthier Rousse and Alexandre Vernier in Desbordes and Hautbois (2020) on the optimization of sports arenas.

114

M. Desbordes

Table 5 TV rights/global revenues (average for each club) Country

England

Germany

Spain

Italy

France

Average % age for TV rights/global budget

59%

39%

52%

58%

47%

Sources: web sites of the leagues; DFML 2020 and 2021

• Matchday revenues, including all revenue generated during matches, i.e., catering (food, drinks), ticketing for the general audience and hospitality programs; • Revenue from television rights and public subsidies; • Commercial revenue, including revenue from sponsorship, merchandising and other commercial activities. This split is similar in all championships: however, they represent different percentages in their business models. Thus, European clubs excluding football have a fairly similar economic model based half on revenue from private partnerships, i.e., on average 47% of revenue for Top 14 clubs (rugby) and 49% in Jeep Elite (basketball).4 On the other hand, European football clubs are much more dependent on television rights with, however, some disparities. Indeed, while the very big clubs manage to have more or less diversified sources of income across the three main income sections, the majority of clubs are more than 50% dependent on broadcasters (Table 5). Regarding American franchises, the distribution of revenue allows them to have better balanced and shared income. Coming mostly from national and local broadcasters for the NFL, they are 40% fan-driven in the NBA, according to league commissioner Adam Silver. These different economic models remain for the majority of clubs too dependent on a single source of income, which requires an economic restructuring of the clubs that can be carried out thanks to an optimization of the sports arenas.

3 Theoretical Aspects: The Stadium is the Place Where the Service is Delivered (Neo-Marketing Approach) 3.1 Consumer Behavior and Fans Desires Traditionally, the solvent consumer is defined as an individual having a need to satisfy and having the financial capacity to do so by purchasing a good or service. The sports consumer can be the spectator or the practitioner. The “classic” spectator is little studied. We are more interested in the supporter, who is called “fan” (in Anglo-Saxon international literature) and has the following characteristics: 4

Source: Rapport de la DNACG - 2019. Ligue Nationale de Rugby.

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

115

• He (she) identifies with a team or a player and follows the team on and off the pitch; • He (she) owns merchandises products; • He (she) regularly buys tickets; • He (she) spends a significant amount of time in his social life discussing club life with people who share the same passion. According to Pooley (1978), this difference between fan and spectator is thus expressed: Whereas a spectator of sport will observe a spectacle and forget it quickly, the fan continues his interest until the intensity of feeling toward the team becomes so great that parts of every day are devoted to either his team or in some instances, to the broad realm of sport itself.

But a sports spectator does not frequent a stadium in a logic of “classic” consumption. The founding work of Holt (1995) applied to baseball spectators at Wrigley Field in Chicago (Chicago Cubs stadium), with a two-year observation, has determined four ways of consuming: • Consumption as an experience: consumption is considered as a personal psychological state; everyone refers to a certain number of rules to interpret what they consume, then evaluates the object or service consumed and appreciates it or not. In a performance (spectacle), the emotional reaction is one of the main signs of evaluation; • Consumption as integration: in this perspective, the object or service consumed is for the consumer a constituent part of his identity; • Consumption as a game: it is a framework that allows interaction with others, based on common rules. Holt distinguishes two types of games: communion and socialization. Through communion, consumers share a consumption experience; this experience lived in a group can be centered around a totem. “Viewers influence each other, in a spiraling interaction that elevates the level of emotional intensity”. With the aspect of socialization, the consumer experience generates communications between consumers, who in this way affirm their tastes and values; • Consumption as classification: in this latter perspective, consumers use objects to classify themselves in relation to others. Here, we find the duality of affiliationdistinction. Fans who wear the jersey of the team they support affiliate with their team by distinguishing themselves from opponents by this means. Alongside Holt’s work, other researchers have looked at fans by trying to measure the level and intensity of their attachment to their team. It is no longer just a question of differentiating consumers, but of classifying them on the basis of their beliefs and behaviors. Wann and Branscombe (1993) developed the Sport Spectator Identification Scale (SSIS) by working on four variables (reading/sport, speaking sport, knowledge of sport, attachment to players and the team), whereas other works (Kahle et al., 1996) highlighted the influence of identification with the team, self-investment, the search for emotion, loyalty indexed on sports results and the search for social interactions.

116

M. Desbordes

These patterns show that sports consumers have different relationships with the team. Consumption is not only oriented by attachment to the team but also by “entertainment” or the search for social interactions. In conclusion, the consumption of sports shows is affected by: • The attractiveness of the match: the players, the teams, the ranking, the challenge, the rivalry, the league…; • Economic factors: income from spectators, ticket prices, the club’s commercial policy, etc.; • Environmental factors, i.e., schedule, weather, infrastructure, etc.; • Demographic factors such as gender and age; • Emotional factors such as identification with the team and motivation. The consumption of a sporting event is therefore a complex phenomenon; not all spectators are passionate or core fans, not all use their team as a vehicle for asserting their identity, not all are loyal to their team: there is a wide variety of behaviors and therefore consumption. From a marketing point of view, establishing a typology of spectators can help to identify products likely to appeal, to redefine promotional campaigns, to adapt prices (tickets, products) or even to generally adapt “the sport experience” to the needs of each segment. It is this consumption experience that will be at the center of the motivation of potential customers. A study of 2,215 NBA fans is classified fans into three categories (Mullin et al., 2007) (Fig. 3). • Level 1: Light Users: those who come for the first time, got the ticket for free, take advantage of an opportunity. They are influenced by the following factors: the opponent, the weather, the day of the week, the performance of the team, meeting other people. • Level 2: Medium Users: they attend 10–30% of matches. You have to make sure to plan their arrival by offering different options that play on the calendar and the price. • Level 3: Heavy Users: those who attend the entire season (or half). They sometimes have a VIP box. The escalator is a graphic representation of consumer movement to higher levels of involvement in a sport, as player or a fan. The escalator suggests that sport organizations should invest more in nurturing existing consumers than they should in trying to create new ones (p. 42).

We must put in place an attractive strategy that rewards loyalty: comfort, service, interaction and promotion. However, it is the stadium that is ultimately the essential variable likely to make the consumer climb the steps of this escalator. For example, the construction and renovation of stadiums for the organization of the 2006 World Cup enabled Germany to increase its attendance by 50% between 2004 and 2007, and to increase the number of subscriptions, all other things being equal. Germany

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

117

Fig. 3 Sport consumer escalator. Source: Mullin et al. (2007)

had built 5 stadiums and renovated 7, for a total investment of 1.411 billion euros. By way of comparison, for the 1998 World Cup, France built only one arena and renovated 9, for a total budget of 612 million euros. In 2019, things changed little. The German Bundesliga remains the benchmark for European football clubs with an average of over 43,000 spectators per match, compared to just over 38,000 for the English Premier League (see Table 6). The German and English domination over the rest of Europe is even more impressive when we look at the Top 100 attendances where these two countries place 44 clubs in 2020. If we can invoke the size of the population of these two countries (compared to small European countries), this argument is not sufficient, since France or Italy is very populated. The attractiveness of the national championship does not explain everything, the Spanish League has a higher awareness than the German Bundesliga, and yet Spain places only 8 clubs in the Top 100. It is the infrastructure, its quality, its modernity, its accessibility and its comfort, which play a major role, even though we should not underestimate the sociological and historical dimension which largely explains German or English supporterism.

Japan

USA

Spain

Association football

American football

Association football

Baseball

Association football

Association football

NCAA Division 1 football

Premier League

Nippon Professionnal Baseball (NPB)

Major League Baseball Baseball (MLB)

Association football

Fussball-Bundesliga

LaLiga

SerieA

Ligue 1

2018–2019

2018–2019

2018–2019

2019

2019

2018–2019

2018

2018–2019

2018

Season

20

20

20

30

12

20

130

18

32

Teams

380

380

380

2430

856

380

877

306

256

Games

41.474

39.532

43.103

36.166

38.519

48.791

69.800

Average capacity

22.799

25.237

26.811

28.199

30.928

38.181

41.856

43.449

67.100

Average attendance

60.15

67.90

66.47

82.36

99.36

91.50

96.13

Occupation rate %

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attendance_figures_at_domestic_professional_sports_leagues (last access on March 17th 2022)

France

Italy

UK

USA

Germany

USA

American football

National Football League (NFL)

Countries

Sport

League

Table 6 Top men’s leagues in total attendance with a minimum of 8 million

8.663.784

9.590.166

10.188.198

68.494.895

26.536.962

14.508.981

36.707.511

13.295.405

17.177.581

Total attendance

118 M. Desbordes

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

119

Going into the Top 100 in more detail, we find roughly all the big European clubs, even if Dortmund’s 1st place, Schalke 04’s 7th, West Ham’s 11th or Celtic Glasgow’s 9th could surprise a non-fan. Here again, it is the loyalty of the spectators and their attachment to the club, in a legendary stadium, which explains these figures. Several other elements are interesting in the Top 30. We note in particular that two clubs who played in the second division appear there: Hamburg SV and its 46,949 average attendance at the Volksparkstadion (28th place) and VfB Stuttgart with its average of 51,847 fans per game at the Mercedes-Benz Arena (19th place). Also curious, Juventus Turin, champion of Italy and several times finalist of the Champions League, is not in the Top 30. The Juventus Stadium with its 41,507 places available has hosted an average attendance of 39,576 spectators this season in Serie A (42nd place). If the occupancy rate is exceptional (95.3%), we cannot avoid thinking that the Turin club was “a bit shy” when choosing the capacity of its new stadium.

3.2 The Stadium: An Experiential and Community Living Space5 The experience of a stadium or a sports venue has become one of the priorities of promoters and organizers of sports events (Apostolopoulou et al., 2006; Van Uden, 2004). In this perspective, the media and specialists evoke “entertainment” to describe the content of a sports show. According to Robert Johnson, owner of the Charlotte Bobcats NBA franchise in 2004, «There is no separation between sports and entertainment… merge them together and create something unique». This uniqueness makes certain sports organizations, clubs or events extremely attractive and above all expressive through the fans’ eyes, the media and the general audience in general. The first to introduce this experiential mode of event production were the managers of the North American franchises NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and even, in an extreme way, the wrestling match promoters of the famous World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). This way of producing, even of scripting the sports spectacle, has become professionalized, until it has many similarities with the production of live shows, such as concerts or entertainment for the general public in general. Indeed, certain suppliers such as stage managers, specialists in the rental or installation of audio, video and pyrotechnic equipment are increasingly in demand, and work for both the production of a Rihanna, Taylor Swift or Arianne Grande concert, for example, and that a basketball or tennis game. The consumer of sports entertainment has thus become extremely demanding; he is no longer only attracted by sporting performance, but also by what will make his experience unique around a match or a competition. For Van Uden (2004), 5

This part on experiential marketing comes from a reflection and discussion with Lionel Maltese, a lecturer at Paul Cézanne University in Aix-Marseille, France, and a sports marketing consultant. For more information, see the article by Caru et al. (2008), “A Dual Approach to Experiential Marketing: Fun and Deepening in Immersion”, Mercati & Competitività, 4, pp. 17–40.

120

M. Desbordes

who studies the Dutch football club Vitesse Arnhem, this is a radical change in terms of management, for an organization which is now redefining itself as a “multi-entertainment football company”. The experience of sports consumption thus combines many aspects revolving around the sports performance offered on a field. This performance (a match between two teams or two individuals) is the heart of the offer and represents the major part of the production cost of an organizer or a manager of a professional sports organization. However, this offer is now significantly “magnified” through extremely varied event production techniques, reinforcing and broadening the sports consumption experience. The most famous examples of sports event production linking sports performance and entertainment are the unmissable events of American sport such as the All-Stars Games (especially in basketball) and the championship finals (especially the Superbowl). The All-Star Game consists of a weekend organized in the middle of the season and designed as an exhibition, where the best players from the eastern and western United States compete, selected by the public and the coaches of NBA franchises, for example. The entertainment aspect has become the heart of the show’s offer, with sports performance becoming secondary since the competitive interest is relatively low. These All-Star weekends offer spectators the opportunity to take part in the show through numerous activities and demonstrations. This type of production is above all designed as an extremely powerful lever of communication, which originated in the meetings organized by the famous Harlem Globe Trotters team, which favored the show and the demonstrative aspect of their sport through world tours. Many exhibitions, without much sporting interest in terms of competition, are developing and favor spectacularization over pure sporting performance. This is the case, for example, of the matches organized in Asia and New York between the two tennis legends Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, or even the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the victory in the World Cup by the French team of football at the Stade de France, July 12, 2008. In these cases, the consumer experience culminates in the nostalgia associated with the spectacle on offer. In a more competitive perspective in terms of sporting confrontation, the deployment of a production combining high level and sporting interest with peripheral scripting making the consumption experience even more unique and entertaining, the Superbowl (final of the North American football championship American) remains the indisputable reference. Apostolopoulou et al. (2006) analyze the Superbowl from the perspective of experiential marketing, relying in particular on the reference texts of Holbrook and Hirschman (1982), Pine and Gilmore (1999) and Keller (2003). Through a study aimed at identifying and classifying the various entertainment media offered during the Superbowl, these same authors show in particular that around the competitiveness of the match and the identity of the teams who compete for the title of champion, which remain the dimensions most popular with respondents, the commercial advertisements produced exclusively for this event as well as the show, such as the concerts and shows offered, especially at half-time, are the most attractive and the most entertaining for consumers. Thus, for such an event, a panel of experiential supports is deployed along two axes:

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

121

• Reinforcement of the sports spectacle: presentation and entry of the teams, presentation of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the end of the match, statistics, expert comments, audio feedback from referees and coaches, replays, live interviews, etc.; • Expansion of the sports spectacle: pre-match show (jugglers, artists, tightrope walkers, mascots, etc.), concert and presentation of sports celebrities at half-time, exclusive advertisements, post-match fireworks, cheerleaders at time out… The stadium or arena must therefore be designed to promote this search for consumer experience. The time is over for “transactional” marketing, individuals consider sports entertainment as a competitor to Disneyland/Universal/Netflix, and that is why the show implemented must promote this unforgettable consumer experience. A manager is essential, and we change jobs: we enter entertainment (Desbordes & Falgoux, 2017). In Europe, however, where, unlike North America, sporting performance is still the main motivation of spectators and organizers, this change from “classic” sport to spectator sport is not without problems. Max Guazzini, former president of Stade Français Rugby in Paris and organizer of the famous Stade de France “shows” in the 2000s, has often been criticized by traditional rugby “purists”. From an economic and media point of view, things are going in the right direction. But it is not certain that the Parisian glitter and show-biz side of the French Stadium will not ultimately distort the identity of rugby6 said Jean-François Bourg in 2010.

Despite everything, this mutation seems inevitable in European sport and there will be no turning back.

4 Some Recent Trends in the Ecosystem of Professional Sport In 2020, Desbordes and Hautbois coordinated a book produced with their Master 2 SLEM (Sport Leisure and Event Management) students from Paris-Saclay University. This book is organized into two main parts. The first is entitled “Recent trends in sports marketing” and is composed of two sub-sections: “Activation and optimization of the fan experience in sports arenas” and “Strategies of sports brands and sponsorship 2.0”. It contains the main trends that show the evolution of revenues generated by the sports business ecosystem. This book was a unique opportunity to see at work the heavy trends developed over the past 20 years and to which this book proposes to return. This is made up of 15 chapters. Working in pairs, the students examined one aspect of the current sports economics market. To do this, they carried out an important inventory of 6

Source: citation of JF Bourg in: http://www.lexpansion.com/economie/le-rugby-show-biz-demax-guazzini-tourneboule-l-ovalie_25447.html?pg=2.

122

M. Desbordes

the literature relating to the field studied before conducting several interviews with key players. In total, 189 interviews were conducted for the writing of this book. Beyond the academic exercise as such, this book offers an up-to-date inventory of the main trends in the global sports economy. It will therefore be of interest to teacher-researchers involved in the field of sports management as well as all students currently engaged in training in this sector or simply curious to know more about a universe that fascinates them.

4.1 The Optimization of Sports Venues as a Lever for Sustainability and Revenue Growth for Professional Sports Clubs The first chapter, written by Gauthier Rousse and Alexandre Vernier, deals with the optimization of sports venues as a lever for sustainability and revenue growth for professional sports clubs. Various information obtained thanks to 22 experts allowed them to grasp the depth of this reflection and the importance of the sports arena for professional clubs. The latter thus represents a complex tool, which must be thought out upstream, analyzed and finally, structured in a thoughtful way for each club or franchise wishing to increase and sustain its income. The strategic objectives of each sports entity to obtain a suitable, efficient and profitable enclosure must have been defined following numerous introspective reflections. Outsourcing their research on the practices developed by leading players in the field completes their project. The mode of ownership and operation represents the keystone of the economic dynamism of the sports arena from which the competitiveness of professional clubs emanates. Although the latter does not all have the possibility of becoming an owner, it seems necessary to obtain more control of the enclosure. By thinking of developing it with the aim of reducing charges or fees, they thus give themselves the possibility of economic success. • Historically, all major European stadiums have been built and then managed by public authorities since the nineteenth century. It is the cities that manage them: the City of Paris for the Parc des Princes, that of Marseille for the Stade Vélodrome, that of Lyon for the Stade Gerland, etc. • But, during the 1990s, the clubs wanted to be more involved in the construction and especially the mode of ownership of the stadiums. We have therefore seen more and more projects with more private money. This has been one of the main reasons for motivating the listing of football clubs on the stock market, and particularly in England (since 1983 with Tottenham Hotspurs), or for finding new modes of ownership, with solid shareholders (Bayern Munich is held in 75%

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

123

Table 7 American stadiums The economic power governed by the closed league system is located at the level of the sports arenas of the North American franchises which choose to invest their wealth exponentially in sometimes edifying infrastructures. Many stadiums have indeed been built in recent years at very high cost, as evidenced by the new NFL stadiums all exceeding one billion US dollars: Dallas Cowboys Stadium (1.2 billion dollars in 2009), MetLife Stadium ($1.6 billion in 2010), Levi’s Stadium ($1.3 billion in 2014), and Mercedes-Benz Stadium ($1.5 billion in 2016). These figures demonstrate the real desire to improve the stadium as a tool. Today, the average capacity of the 31 stadiums in the North American league is 69,444 seats for an average attendance of 67,405 people per game. The NFL (National Football League) championship has the particularity of having few matches, but this in no way detracts from the attractiveness that these sports venues represent Major League Baseball has not experienced this level of inflation for the construction of its stadiums, but it has nevertheless seen the construction, in recent years, of its three most expensive fields in its history with SunTrust Park in $622 million in 2008, Citi Field at $900 million in 2009, and Yankee Stadium at $1.5 billion In a sport show policy, the Americans are therefore very advanced in the development of their sports venues, real show venues, very much driven toward the fan experience. This gives them a real advantage, allowing them to diversify their sources of income, which not all European clubs can claim Sources: Rousse G. et Vernier A. (2020), « L’optimisation des enceintes sportives comme levier de pérennisation et de croissance des revenus des clubs sportifs professionnels», in Desbordes and Hautbois (2020, pp. 19–20)

by club members, the remaining 25% by Adidas, Allianz and Audi: this efficient management enabled him to repay the Allianz Arena in 2014, 16 years in advance!).7 • However, it is difficult for a club to manage to be totally financially independent, especially if we take into account the fact that a stadium generally only opens 30 days a year on average in football. This is why many European stadiums are now managed in the form of PPP (public–private partnerships) as in Lille, Bordeaux or Nice for the French case. Be careful not to believe, however, that American stadiums are 100% private and that, in Europe, the role of the state is more important. Data from the remarkable thesis of Boris Helleu, lecturer at the University of Caen Basse-Normandie and specialist in professional sports, reveal that, from 1990 to 2010, 51% of the construction budget for NBA halls was provided by public money; for the NFL, this figure reached 61% between 1992 and 2011. Some stadiums are even 100% publicly funded (Table 7).

7

https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-services/services-conseils/football-le-bayern-munich-un-mod ele-de-gestion-financiere-en-europe-1234617. https://sportmagazine.levif.be/sport/foot-international/qui-se-cachent-derriere-les-plus-grandsclubs-europeens/article-normal-494073.html

124

M. Desbordes

Table 8 New Tottenham stadium, the ultimate fan experience tool Although there is still considerable room for improvement to achieve the experience offered in American stadiums, European football seems to be integrating this fan experience development strategy more and more, like the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium, inaugurated in 2019, which caused an incredible enthusiasm. This stadium, with a capacity of 62,000 seats and whose cost is estimated at around 1.17 billion euros, has everything to offer an incredible experience to spectators. First of all, it is one of the most technologically advanced in Europe. In addition, this new stadium offers a superb quality of service insofar as it includes: a 65-m bar—the largest in Europe—serving almost 10,000 beers per minute, a 2100-m-squared meters store, a hotel, a museum, and an art gallery. In addition, with a view to adapting to the supporters and in order to meet the expectations of the general public, the club decided to build a sloping stand with 17,500 seats in the bend of the stadium in order to get closer to the “yellow wall” from Borussia Dortmund. This grandstand then allows total immersion and a fantastic experience for the fans. To top it off, the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium has a multi-sport use since the field is retractable to NFL standards. Sources: Manon Angelica et Mathieu Capitao, chapitre 2, p. 53, in Desbordes et Hautbois (2020) https://www.lequipe.fr/Sport-et-style/Design/Actualites/Tottenham-15-choses-a-savoir-sur-le-nou veau-white-hart-lane/1005394 https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Les-doutes-des-economistes-sur-le-nouveau-grandstade-de-tottenham/1005230

4.2 Fan Experience as a Lever for Public Loyalty The second chapter is written by Manon Angelica and Mathieu Capitao and analyzes the fan experience as a lever for public loyalty, from a theoretical point of view, but also from a managerial point of view, with 13 interviews of high-level professionals carried out. How to fill the stadiums? How to attract new people to the stadium? And above all, how to retain a new audience? The fan experience is a means of answering these questions. Indeed, the goal of the fan experience is to make the fan coming back, by offering them quality services and original entertainment, in addition to the single sporting spectacle. The “fan experience” or spectator experience is the process of interaction between the club and the supporter from the beginning of the event until the end of it. In other words, it is about the way in which the club will interact with the spectator from the moment the latter leaves his home to go to the event, until he returns back home (Table 8).

4.3 Sponsorship Activations Specific to Sporting Events In the third chapter, Jeanne Chartier and Robin Terry examine sponsorship activations specific to sporting events. There are many ways to promote and activate a sponsoring company. Today, the most common way is communication, whether digital or not. In the sports world,

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

125

Table 9 Different types of activations There are four main activation processes: visibility, relationship, participation, and involvement. In order to be visible, brands can use billboards, printed materials, naming or branding. The objective is to develop the notoriety of partners. Companies maintain their relationships, in particular by organizing seminars or by offering privileged moments in hospitality areas and private boxes. The aim of these operations is to win or retain customers on BtoB or BtoC markets through a relationship marketing strategy. The participation aims at integrating the partners in the production and promotion of the events in order to promote and place their products and services; this is illustrated through games or animations. The objective is to involve the consumer and create links with the brand. Finally, the involvement consists in integrating the partners from their own competences by proposing contents, technologies, and actions Source: Chartier J. et Terry R. (2020), « Les activations de sponsoring dans le milieu sportif», in Desbordes and Hautbois (2020, pp. 74–97)

it is also frequent to use the supply of sports equipment, or even the events themselves which allow to hold the attention of the spectators thanks to activities or advertisements. This is why the authors are interested in this specific part of sports sponsorship: activations in sports events. In France, they represent 1 billion of the 2.03 billion of sports sponsorship (Scheffer, 2017). With the duration of sports events increasing, the numerous digital tools and connectivity in sports arenas developing, the awareness of men of the unifying character of sports, and the power of sports marketing, activations are decisive for a large number of sports actors and notably companies (Table 9). Through 12 interviews with top professionals, Chartier and Terry reach the following conclusions. • A successful activation can help gain credibility and awareness, increase sales, and generally, achieve objectives. • Innovation is one of the ways to make a mark through an activation. Some clever brands do not need big budgets to stand out from the competition, they show originality. It is essential today for any company to include the CSR aspect in the creation of activations, at the risk of damaging its brand image.

4.4 Sports Service Innovations and Their Role in the Spectator Experience Chapter 4 proposed by Yoann Lepetit and Maéva Petiot studies innovations in sports services and their role in the spectator experience (Fig. 4). Through 15 interviews with professionals, the authors come to the following conclusions. Closed sports venues today consider the customer experience as a major development axis. First of all, they find themselves in a competitive context that pushes them to innovate. However, the services offered remain more or less the same in the

126

M. Desbordes

Classsic

Visibility

• Communication - Advertisement • Emotion, memorization, congruence

Relationnal

• Relational - CRM • Direct marketing B to C or B to B

Hospitality

• Marketing of services • Servuction, socialisation

Entertainment Experiential

• Experiential marketing • Participation of clients, event appropriation, diversification of offer

Innovating

Fig. 4 4 axes of sports event activations. Source: Maltese and Danglade (2014)

different venues. Nevertheless, we can see that they are implementing strategies to differentiate themselves and improve their customers’ experience. • In order to do this, closed sports venues seek to adapt to a multitude of factors (environment, customer behavior) in order to implement their differentiation strategy. Each structure has its own issues and innovations to respond to them. • Innovation is therefore achieved through the implementation of content (or services) that will enrich the customer experience. The investments must be compensated by an increase in traffic to make the investments profitable. The economic perspective behind this experiential context implies a serious consideration by the structures to make these services profitable and optimize their performance. • The innovation of sports services has a serious impact on the spectator’s experience. Through the simplification of procedures, the speed and ease of access, as well as the personalization of the offer, the services of closed sports venues tend to make the spectators’ experience evolve in a profound way. However, it leads us to believe that there will always be a gap between this type of venue and ultra-modern stadiums due to constraints specific to closed venues. Nevertheless, on their own scale, the latter manage to generate additional revenues thanks to the implementation of new services, such as those aimed at companies (low investment—fast ROI) not taken into account by the Lepetit and Petiot study because they do not concern the general public.

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

127

4.5 The Place of Women’s Sponsorship as a Development for Brands In Chap. 5, Lauria Fontaine and Pauline Vernier analyze the place of women’s sponsorship as a development relay for brands. Thanks to a very solid methodology (32 interviews with professionals representing all the stakeholders concerned: agencies, athletes, brands, clubs, federations, local authorities, associations, media, event organizers, sponsors), the authors arrive at the following conclusions. Women’s sports sponsorship is now an integral part of the strategy of many sports entities (Fig. 5). The study carried out allowed them to identify key elements regarding the strategic interests of companies in sponsoring women’s sports, through two different angles: differentiation and brand image; cost rationalization. • These results are based on economic considerations, but also on commercial ones, and constitute an interesting panorama of the impacts of the implementation of a women’s sponsoring strategy. It is a sponsoring that is not only based on economic profitability, it is a thoughtful sponsoring with values. Sponsoring women’s sports seems to be an excellent strategy for brands in search of meaning. • The majority of players seem optimistic about the development of women’s sports and hope to see an increase in the number of brands investing in women’s sports in the next few years. Women’s sports will probably become more important in the long term because it is a strong sponsorship axis. All the actors agree that real changes will appear in a few years. However, in order to develop the economy of women’s sport, a real collective awareness is necessary. First of all, it is necessary to put more light on the performances of sportswomen as well as the sportswomen themselves. This craze for international female icons would lead to a better media coverage and a higher visibility, as well as an increase in sponsoring contracts for women’s sports and their valuation.

High media visibility

Low media visibility

Few companies invest

Few persons interessted

Companies invest

Fig. 5 Vicious circle/virtuous circle of the women’s sports business

A lot of persons are interested

128

M. Desbordes

4.6 Sports Brand Strategies Gabriel Ernault and William Le Guel study the strategies of sports brands in Chap. 6. Professional sports clubs are gradually understanding the importance of branding and its influence on consumers. According to Bauer et al. (2005), the brand is even “the most important asset of a sports club and its identity provides both direction and meaning”. This awareness is the consequence of the adoption of a business-like operating mode, forced by an increasingly financialized sports sector. Thus, sports organizations and professional clubs are increasingly interested in building and developing their brand, a process more commonly known as “branding”. And this with several objectives: the identification of their organization’s products and services, the construction of the brand’s personality through attributes and associations, the delivery of the promise of an experience to the fans and finally the growth of brand equity (notoriety, loyalty, perception of quality…) (Fig. 6). In order to strengthen their brand and give it a recognizable personality that differentiates them from their competitors, clubs have had to create their own brand identity, “a set of tangible and intangible values, symbols, and attributes [that] provide both direction and meaning” (Giroux et al., 2017), which relies on the organization’s own history in order to preserve a legacy and maintain continuity with the present. This link with the past seems essential in order to deliver a coherent and credible message to fans (Michel, 2011). The sports structures then value and promote their historical heritage through a certain number of marketing actions such as the creation Brand equity

Time Fig. 6 Strategic construction and management of the brand. Source: Adapted from Desbordes and Richelieu (2018)

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

129

of memory spaces or the development of collections and derivative products with historical connotations. Through 13 interviews with high-level experts, Ernault and Le Guel arrive at the following conclusions. • Valuing heritage allows sports organizations to associate authenticity and credibility to their brand. The degree of use of the heritage axis in brand communication and the resulting marketing actions depends on the organization’s attitude toward its past and the strategic will to make it a differentiating asset. • As for innovation, it is now considered as a real strategic pole by sports organizations. Perceived as a broad concept, it nevertheless seems to affect the sports sector through four major axes strongly linked to new technologies: fan experience, digitalization, improvement of sports goods and eSports. In addition, it will be interesting to observe the evolution of innovative practices that move away from the technological domain, such as the adaptation of structures to environmental and social issues, the introduction of new distribution channels and the creation of new sports practices. • Heritage and innovation, which at first sight are opposite, are seen as complementary in the marketing strategy of sports organizations. Even if the current trend in the sports sector is to privilege innovation, a strategy based only on one or the other aspect would not be viable for the brand. A balance must be found between heritage and innovation, in accordance with the identity of the structure and its positioning in the market. In order to enrich our work, it would be wise to conduct research on the attitude of consumers toward brand images that incorporate both associations with the past and with modernity.

4.7 Influence Marketing Strategies Carried Out by Sports Organizations In Chap. 7, Axelle Cuveille and Alexandre Ollé propose an analysis of influence marketing strategies carried out by sports equipment manufacturers specialized in running. Consumers now prefer the opinion of family, friends or other consumers such as influencers. Faced with this new mode of consumption, companies understand that they are no longer the only ones issuing information and decide to adapt their strategy accordingly (Kotler et al., 2017; Schivinski et al., 2016). Thus, the explosion of these new tools has forced companies to adopt new communication strategies and in particular to invest in the influencer marketing sector. Because of the community they represent, influencers are of increasing interest to companies, which are now integrating them into their marketing strategy. Influencer marketing represents an important lever in a digital strategy. The sports field is particularly sensitive to these new means of communication. Social networks have become a natural reference in all fields. Sports brands are

130

M. Desbordes

turning more and more to influencers in order to take advantage of the affinity that the influencer has with his community. Thus, sports brands are no longer content to talk about themselves, and they use their own content and their ambassadors to talk about them with striking images, slogans and mini-videos. Thanks to social networks, sports brands tell their story and share content that consumers can identify with. All of this is done to achieve one major goal: to increase sales and generate more revenue for the company, whether it’s a sports club that wants to sell tickets to a game or merchandising or a sportswear brand partnering with different sports to connect with consumers who follow those sports, and therefore using influencer marketing to help increase their sales as a result. The work of Brown and Fiorella (2013) states that marketing strategies should be consumer-centric, not influencer-centric, with the latter serving only to attract the attention of the end buyer. Thus, the influencer must be able to attract substantial attention from as many communities as possible (Brown & Fiorella, 2013). The customer must be at the heart of the influencer marketing strategy (Fig. 7). Influencer marketing is therefore based on the networking of users in which information, ideas, messages and all other types of content can be shared instantly without geographical limits. Through 9 interviews, the authors come to the following conclusions: • First of all, it is important to come back to the necessity for brands to build their campaigns around a well thought-out storytelling. Influencer marketing is not limited to the publication of an influencer on his Instagram account with the brand’s running shoes. • In a second step, brands need to showcase the influencers. All influencers hold skills in the use of social media and in the art of showcasing themselves. A brand must take advantage of these skills and trust the influencers in the content they

Fig. 7 Marketing focused on consumer and the role of influencers. Source: Brown and Fiorella (2013)

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

131

can produce. On the other hand, they are the first interlocutors that brands must convince of the quality of their products. It is therefore necessary to create a relationship of trust and to offer them new experiences such as community events to introduce them to the products and build their loyalty to the brand. • Finally, through this study, we were able to realize that influencer marketing was going to become a full-fledged communication tool for brands. All the players we met agree that influencer marketing will become more and more important in the years to come. For the moment, in terms of human resources and budgets, influencer marketing is often associated with the overall marketing or communication budget, and the same is true for the missions that these campaigns involve. The second part is entitled “Sports events: between business and social issues”. It is divided into two sub-sections: “sports events and service innovation” and “sports events, managerial, social and territorial issues”.

4.8 The Role of Digital in the Success of Sporting Events Chapter 8, written by Mathilde Roy and Manon Guiomar, examines the role of digital in the success of mega-sports events. The power of sport is omnipresent on a global scale, so it is not surprising that the different stakeholders involved in the organization of major sporting events wish to make the most of it and associate their image with it in the eyes of the greatest number. In this sense, according to Horne and Manzenreitter (2006), the extent of the partnerships established during mega-events allows them to be differentiated from other sporting events. The rise of digital technology is a factor that amplifies this phenomenon. Indeed, this technological revolution has rapidly proliferated in the organization and promotion of major international sporting events. Geographical borders have disappeared, to the benefit of the immediacy of information, which has allowed these events to develop their image, their values and their heritage. The relationship between the event itself and the use of digital is so close that “a sports event without digital is a sports event without visibility. Digital culture is an integral part of its organization both for its promotion and notoriety, as well as for the intra or extra-sporting experience associated with this same event” (Morgan Taldir, Associate Director at Infiniment Sport, quoted by Monier, 2018) (Table 10). Through 12 interviews with high-level experts, the authors concluded the following: • The advent of digital and its deployment in the communication strategies of major sporting events has had a symbolic impact on their awareness, image and consumption. • Indeed, digital has enabled sports and non-sports brands associated with these events to strengthen their fan communities by reaching new targets, especially international ones. The digitization of promotional strategies for these events

132

M. Desbordes

Table 10 Rate of change in the percentage of the population using the Internet and social networks Geographical 2012 area Percentage of population using the Internet (%)

Percentage of population using social media (%)

2019 Percentage of population using the Internet (%)

Percentage of population using social media (%)

Rate of change in the percentage of population using the Internet (%)

Rate of change in the percentage of population using social media (%)

WORLD

30

22

57

45

90

105

North America

77

50

95

70

23

40

Central and South America

36

25

68

64

89

156

Africa

11

4

37

21

236

425

Western Europe

70

36

94.5

60

35

67

Middle East

39

18

66

54

69

200

Central and Eastern Europe

45

47

84

53

87

13

Asia

24

20

54

42

125

110

Oceania

57

36

69

57

21

58

Source: Reports We Are Social «Global Digital Overview» from 2012 to 2019

makes it possible to precisely target the communities that these brands wish to reach by sending them personalized messages. This personalization allows organizers and sponsors to create a long-lasting and close relationship with fans. In return, fans are looking to be closer to the competition, with immersive content and unique experiences. These new expectations illustrate what is known today as affinity marketing. • Sports mega-events have become more complex with the digital revolution, bringing the marketing market to the forefront. Indeed, it is no longer just a sports gathering, but also the co-construction of a highly influential global brand. This brand is made up of a rich ecosystem (sponsors, media, players, teams…), allowing it to assert its identity and its image, in the eyes of the greatest number of people. This ecosystem forms a unit whose players wish to stand out and remain in the minds of spectators in a lasting and positive way.

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

133

4.9 The Role of Digital in the Sports Spectator Experience In Chap. 9, Ekaterina Glebova and Pierrick Desfontaine examine the role of digital technology in the experience of sports spectators. In the highly competitive context of sports entertainment in the digital age, offering a fluid, personalized, immersive spectator experience is proving to be a decisive issue. To understand this process at work, it is important to address the logic of the television spectacle, which values digital innovations based on image and information (Wille, 2015). Digital technology is gradually reshaping fan habits and sports consumer culture in general. It is the present and future of the sports spectacle, the major axis of progress for events, brands and clubs. In short, a new competitive battlefield for marketing experts, who will be able to and should get to know fans better to better segment the offer (Klaus & Maklan, 2012). Connected objects and Wi-Fi, in the stadium and around (fan zone), facilitate the purchase of tickets, help to find a parking space or to order food. The game day experience is transformed; made easier for some and digitized to the max for others. But for innovations to become consumer opportunities for fans, and therefore an advantage for sports managers, the latter have to perform a thorough analysis of all aspects of the technological impact. In other words, it’s not just a matter of installing an innovation, it’s a matter of having a complex long-term strategy that makes it possible to deploy technologies in a sustainable and evolving way, in other words, an optimal implementation. Following the formula “to adopt it is to adapt it”, this type of device cannot evolve and impose itself in the social world without reflection on its implementation and without making possible adjustments.

4.9.1

The Role of Immersive Technologies in Sport

Ekaterina Glebova also analyzes in Chap. 10 the role of immersive technologies in sports. Table 11 presents the key concepts of XR including AR, VR and MR. AR characterizes a technology that combines virtual elements generated by a computer with elements of the real environment, some dimensions of which it perceives, allowing the user to interact with this content in real time (Pribeanu et al., 2017). AR “augments” the user’s visual perception by superimposing virtual data on the real world (Azuma, 1997). The author arrives at the following conclusions through 10 expert interviews. All the experts interviewed unanimously highlight the following points. (1) The current state of the art of XR (Extended Reality) still requires improvements to allow its massive deployment, bringing a high quality of immersion experience, with a consistent feeling of presence and without negative side effects. (2) XR is developing very quickly.

134

M. Desbordes

Table 11 Key concepts of immersive technology Immersive technology (ImT): Technology that mixes the real, virtual and simulated worlds and therefore creates a certain feeling of immersion Virtual Reality (VR): technology involving an interactive virtual environment designed to simulate a real-life experience

Immersive VR: users wear a headset and are completely immersed in the virtual environment. In a virtual and immersive environment, users’ actions can be recorded in a controlled situation Non-immersive VR: the virtual content is displayed via a computer screen. The usual controllers such as the mouse or keyboard are used as a means of interaction. The user does not wear any special equipment

Augmented Reality (AR): technology that allows a user to interact with virtual data superimposed on the physical world. This semi-immersion places digital resources inside the real world, thus enhancing the user’s experience and interactions Mixed Reality (MR): space in which the real and virtual worlds coexist; the real and virtual elements are displayed together through the same device Source: Glebova (2020), «La réalité étendue dans le sport», in Desbordes and Hautbois (2020, pp. 271–293)

(3) XR will probably be deployed massively in the next few years, and the sports entertainment experience will be able to replace real experiences, in terms of comfort or quality for example. Extended reality has several advantages: • • • •

The opportunity for a new level of experience; A new type of sports content and a new way to communicate messages; Increased mobility and flexibility for fans (Glebova et al., 2020a, 2020b); New opportunities for spectators with special needs (e.g., disability).

4.9.2

The Staging of the Sports Show Organized by Sports Media

Antoine Nechelis and Johnny Pace study in Chap. 11 the staging of the sports show organized by the sports media for the purpose of recruiting and developing viewer loyalty (Table 12). Through 10 expert interviews, the authors address the following topics in a meaningful way. • Today, we do not watch sports on television like any other entertainment program. The consumption of sports has been increasing over the last decade, during which the hourly volume of sports programs has increased by a factor of 2.5. This increase can be explained by the rise in the broadcasting of women’s sports events, which has increased the number of broadcasts, but also by the increase in the number of disciplines broadcast (54 in 2019), which encourages broadcasters to change

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

135

Table 12 Evolution of the customer experience in sports and storytelling Several articles (Richelieu et al., 2013; Maltese & Danglade, 2014) have addressed the customer experience in sports venues. More and more connected stadiums are appearing (Levi’s Stadium in Santa-Clara is considered as “the most connected stadium in the world)”. In March 2015, during Wrestlemania, 4.5 tons of data were consumed by fans. The “Kiss cam” appeared in the 1980s during basketball games, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by the new screens installed in stadiums. The spectator is offered a different experience when he comes to the stadium. This kind of experience is not possible during the retransmission. Indeed, we try to determine what the channels put in place for the viewer. The channels go from being broadcasters of sports events to offering experiences. The objective of this approach is to include the viewer in the event. The strategic interest of offering these experiences is to incite the consumer to take out a subscription in order to follow the desired sports event and to live these experiences from home We have therefore moved on to a tele-spectacularization and scripting of sports, which have become a pretext for telling stories and adopting the tools of “storytelling”: this is a narrative structure that will tend to reinforce the adhesion of the target audience, often constructed in the manner of a tale, suggesting the stakes for the audience and placing the audience in an active position where it can identify itself through the story. The increase in the number of channels offering paid sports content is a strong incentive for the various broadcasters to offer these different experiences and to use this storytelling principle. The goal is to show the ability to innovate, to maintain suspense in the stories told and to become the customer’s preference Source: Nechelis A. et and Pace J. (2020), «Télé-spectacle sportif ou importance de la technologie dans l’expérience du téléspectateur», in Desbordes and Hautbois (2020, pp. 294–326)

the way they broadcast sports. According to Carù and Cova, it is now a question of giving the viewer an experience, of engaging consumers in unforgettable processes, offering them an experience or transforming them through the experiences in which they are guided. The realization and success of this experience represent a kind of ideal to be reached in a strategy of consumer excitement. This is how Carù and Cova define experiential marketing, which was built through the development of an optimized management framework for the production of experiences by the company. We speak of “embodied” experiences because they appeal to all the senses of the individual. • The same is true for the television market, which wants to provide its viewers with an experience during the broadcasting of sporting events. The broadcasting of sports on television is a virtuous circle for the different actors. On the one hand, television transfers a financial contribution via sports rights, as well as a window of exposure to the sport. On the other hand, sport allows broadcasters to achieve high ratings, attract and retain subscribers or improve their brand image. The broadcasting rights and the increase in subscription systems offer a wider choice to the viewer who, in the case of pay-TV channels, must show a preference by selecting the offer of his choice. This creates competition between broadcasters but also against streaming, a new entrant in the sports broadcasting market. Indeed, the increase in the cost of television rights has consequences for the consumer as well as for the broadcasters. According to Maes, “with the multiplication of players,

136

M. Desbordes

the consumer has to pay more and has to juggle between different subscriptions. He is therefore disempowered and regains power by turning to piracy, streaming”. • The multitude of broadcasters offering sports content leaves the consumer undecided about the choices available to them, so innovation becomes necessary to ensure survival and loyalty. Technology plays a key role in making the broadcast an experience for the viewer. Conclusion of part 3: what lessons for emerging countries in this evolution of the sports ecosystem? From the perspective of professional sport, as we have seen in this chapter on the sports ecosystem, the context is changing. The stadium and ticketing, which were once the pillars of revenue generation in professional sports, are now giving way to a multitude of new tools where the fan and digital are taking their place. Today, we cannot do sports business as we did in the 1980s and 1990s. If we consider the life cycle of the sports product, Europe and the United States have already entered a phase of maturity, or even decline, for many activities, which has led them to have to internationalize in order to maintain their level of revenue (see Figs. 6. and 8). • Ticketing revenues are stagnating because many stadiums are full and increasing the number of games or ticket prices is difficult, if not impossible; • Similarly, sponsorship and media rights revenues are stagnant in developed countries because populations are not growing and fan communities are well established. • There is still hope for increased merchandising revenues, which still seem to be extremely promising, and without limits for the time being.

Fig. 8 PLC (product life cycle) theory. Source: https://studiousguy.com/product-life-cycle/

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

137

Table 13 Real Madrid, the most followed club on social media Real Madrid is the club with the most followers, in the world, on social networks. On Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, the club of the white house has 248 million cumulative followers. It is ahead of Barcelona (242 million) and Manchester United, at 140 million The power of a soccer club also passes through the popularity on social networks, which are omnipresent in the lives of footballers Source: https://www.sportune.fr/sport-business/football/real-madrid-300-000e-claques-pour-con trarier-le-barca-sur-les-reseaux-sociaux-254123 (Données établies en date du 25 février 2021)

• The powerful European and American sport/club/league brands are therefore driven to go international, to Asia or South America to try to develop in new markets, which are new product cycles for them. This process of internationalization is carried out as shown in Fig. 6. The brands are gradually entering new markets, to varying degrees and with very different means, depending on their internationalization potential and needs. For example, Bayern Munich is much less inclined to internationalize than Real Madrid or Barcelona, because the German market, where the Bavarian club is dominant, is twice as populous and much richer than the Spanish market. Both Spanish clubs are among the few brands in the world that have reached the so-called conceptual phase, where the general public forgets their nationality, just like Apple, Starbucks or Manchester United (Table 13). General conclusion: How is the model of value chain in sport changing in an uncertain environment? We have seen in this chapter that the value chain of sport has been changing for the last 20 years, with different balances between revenues, depending on the level of development of sport in each country. Media rights and sponsorship progressively replaced ticketing and public subsidies. This “smooth” change can also be influenced by “crashes” or “violent transformations”. For example, in 2020–2021, COVID-19 was a major issue and created a lot of uncertainty that totally changed the way to think about the system of sport events. We can analyze this on a financial point of view, on a management point of view (the transformation of the system) and finally, think about the practice of sport through digitalization. We could seriously consider long-term consequences of the current sanitary crisis on a financial point of view, because the system has been on the tightrope for 10 years: bankruptcies, budget overruns, indebtedness, …, were frequent. • We saw a huge increase in football budgets: the average turnover was 465 M euros in the European Top 20 in 2019 (only 100 M e in 2000, 60 million e in 1997); this does not seem to be sustainable. • Ticketing has become a minority and only represents 15–20% of the budget of the big clubs.

138

M. Desbordes

• Nowadays, salaries represent more than 80%/85% of a club’s turnover !!!!! This is not sustainable at all again. • Therefore, we could think that football will have to reinvent itself: wages could (should) be potentially divided by 2 or 3 on a long-term perspective? For now, this does not seem to be the case… • It has become obvious that Europe needs to get closer to the American regulation governance where expenditures are indexed to income, not the other way around (salaries = 50% of turnover in the US system). • As a conclusion on the financial consequences of COVID-19, this situation should give a greater importance of regulatory systems (UEFA financial fair play for example) The COVID-19 crisis also forced the sporting events sector to transform, adapt and avoid sinking. Indeed, the particular situation in 2020 has brought some new challenges for sport event organizers (Table 14): • First, they had to ask themselves if sport without an audience: could be viable? That this is easier for certain activities. • The evolution of sport has unquestionably brought the system toward a more important digitalization. Finally, the 3rd topic that is interesting to study after the COVID-19 crisis is the potential transformation of sport practices on a long-term perspective. Table 14 Some examples of digitalization of sports events organizers in 2020 during the 1st lock down • Cycling: with the Zwift platform and the 2020 Tour of Flanders, 600,000 spectators watched the virtual event on the Sporza channel (56% audience share) • The Bundesliga behind closed doors. The German League has developed sound applications to restore the atmosphere developed at home in the stadium. An application, MeinApplaus.de, allowed fans to virtually invite themselves into the stadiums to support their team. The model is clearly the NBA All-Star Game (audience decibel measurement) • F1 and eSport: Other sports have taken the path of eSport. Faced with the impossibility of maintaining a competition, they have created online competitions. The FIA has created a new eSport competition called “F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix”. This competition has hosted several F1, F3 or team academies drivers. Among them are Leclerc, Russell, Albon, Norris, Latifi or Giovinnazzi • Football: Some team sports continued the championships virtually. In soccer, Liga Santander organized a tournament where each club was represented by a player “controller in hand” on the video game FIFA. Only one team was not present. The Top 14 hoped to do the same on the game RUGBY20, but they couldn’t do it, so they just simulated, each week, the end of the season with the game • NBA finals 2020: The National Basketball Association (NBA) is using Microsoft Teams to place basketball fans courtside in a virtual experience during live games. It uses AI to segment your face and shoulders and place you together with other people in a virtual space

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

139

We saw that sustainable changes of the sport practice could be observed, and they can be summarized here: • We know for ages that sport can be an answer to many needs (health, mental health, social ties, psychic balance, anti-stress, etc.), but most of the sport clubs were closed during the sanitary crisis; • Therefore, a lot of online fitness courses emerged everywhere in the world: this it is paradigm shift, behaviors change, a of course a new funding model. • The potential losers of this new situation could be the followings: gyms or organizers of classic running races. • The winners are also known as: eSport, online games, virtual reality… The risks of terrorism have also increased over the last twenty years. September 11, 2001, was a global shock, even though the Munich Olympics had already shaken the world. On September 5, 1972, members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and murdered by members of the Palestinian organization “Black September”. Eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team were murdered, and one West German policeman was killed. On July 7, 2005, four explosions hit London’s public transport system, killing 56 people and injuring 784. The first three attacks occurred within a 50-s interval. The Boston Marathon Double Bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on Monday, April 15, 2013, at 2:50 p.m. in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, during the 117th running of the city’s marathon, during which two bombs exploded. The bombs were placed near the finish line on Boylston Street and detonated 13 s apart killing three people and injuring 264 others. The November 13, 2015, attacks in France, claimed by the terrorist organization Islamic State, were a series of Islamist shootings and suicide attacks carried out in the evening in and around Paris by three separate commandos. The death toll will be 131 and 413 injured. It is in this context that France had to organize the Euro 2016 a few months later, having to welcome 2.5 million spectators and 6 million tourists in total, many of whom attended games in the fan zones. Fortunately, the competition took place without major security concerns, but its organization and especially that of the fan zones were potentially questioned before the event, while the country had been preparing for this event for 7 years. The unstable geopolitical situation in the world is also an important point of tension that can call into question the stability of the system. In recent years, the controversies surrounding the organization of the World Cup in Qatar, both from the social point of view (6500 deaths on the construction sites in the construction of stadiums according to an article published in the Guardian in 2021) and the environmental disaster related to the organization of a competition in a country without soccer culture, where it would be “necessary” to air condition the stadiums, have given rise to a movement in favor of boycotting this event. Similarly, the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022 were highly criticized for ecological reasons (no snow and massive use of artificial snow), political (the persecution of the Muslim Uighur minority by the Chinese regime) and sanitary (the

140

M. Desbordes

treatment of athletes with the COVID-19 was almost inhumane and anti-social). Calls for a boycott, at least diplomatic, were also considered by many countries. Finally, the sad war between Russia and Ukraine that began in February 2022 has generated a number of movements calling for a boycott of Russian athletes, teams, federations or sporting events. Finally, ecological problems and global warming obviously affect the organization of sports events: the giant fires observed in Australia in January 2020 almost caused the cancelation of this huge event, and this should undoubtedly have been the case to protect the health and physical integrity of the athletes, but the financial stakes took priority. In conclusion, the organization and the value chain of sports events are greatly threatened by several health, political, geopolitical, ecological or security phenomena, which greatly complicates the balance of the system and increases uncertainty.

Bibliography Academic references Apostolopoulou, A., Clark, J., & Gladden, J. M. (2006). From H-Town to M-Town: The importance of Super-Bowl entertainment. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 15, 223–231. Azuma, R.T. (1997). A survey of augmented reality. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 6, 355–385. Badot, O., & Cova B., (1992). Le Néo Marketing. ESF Éditeur, Paris, France. Bauer, H. H., Sauer, N. E., & Schmitt, P. (2005). Customer-based brand equity in the team sport industry. European Journal of Marketing, 39(5/6), 496–513. Bourg, J.-F., & Gouguet, J.-J. (2004). Analyse économique du sport. PUF. Brown, D., Fiorella, S. (2013). Influence marketing: How to create, manage, and measure brand influencers in social media marketing, Que. Desbordes, M. (2006). The economics of cycling. In W. Andreff, S. Szymanski, & J. Borland (Eds.). The Edward Elgar companion to the economics of sports, pp. 645–662. Desbordes, M. (2008). Le marketing du sport en question. Revue Française Du Marketing, No, 219–4(5), 5–9. Desbordes, M., Falgoux, J. (2017). Les événements sportifs, 4e édition. Les Éditions d’Organisation. Desbordes, M., Hautbois, C. (Eds.). (2020). Management du sport 3.0. Economica, 2020. Desbordes, M., Richelieu, A. (2018). Marketing du Sport, une vision internationale. Louvain-laNeuve, DeBoeck Supérieur. Eiglier, P., Langeard, É. (1987). La servuction. Le marketing des services. McGraw-Hill. Giroux, M., Pons, F., & Maltese, L. (2017). The role of perceived brand personality in promotion effectiveness and brand equity development of professional sports teams. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 18, 180–195. Glebova, E., Desbordes, M., Geczi, G. (2020a). Changes in Stadia sports spectators customer experience. Physical Education, Sport, Science (PSS). Glebova, E., Desbordes, M., Geczi, G. (2020b). Relocations of sports spectors’ customer experiences. Physical Education, Sport, Science (PSS). Halba, B. (1997). Économie du sport. Economica.

Analysis of the Sport Ecosystem and Its Value Chain, What Lessons …

141

Holbrook, M. B., & Hirschman, E. (1982). The experiential aspects of consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 9(2), 132–140. Holt, D. B. (1995). How consumers consume: A typology of consumption practices. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(1), 1–16. Horne, J., Manzenreitter, W. (2006). An introduction to the sociology of sports mega-events. The Sociological Review. Kahle, L. R., Kambara, K. M., & Rose, G. M. (1996). A functional model of fan attendance motivations for college football. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 5(4), 51–60. Klaus, P., Maklan, S. (2012). Towards a Better Measure of Customer Experience. International Journal of Market Research, 55(2). Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H., Setiawan, I., & Vandercammen, M. (2017). Marketing 4.0, le passage digital. De Boeck. Maltese, L., & Danglade, J.-P. (2014). Marketing du sport et événementiel sportif . Dunod. Michel, G. (2011). Au cœur de la marque, les clés du management de la marque. 3e édition, Malakoff, Dunod. Mullin, B. J., Hardy S., & Sutton W. A. (2007). Sport Marketing. 3e édition, Human Kinetics, Champaign. Pine, B. J., & Gilmore, J. H. (1999). The experience economy. Harvard Business School Press. Pooley, J. (1978). The sport fan: A social psychology of misbehaviour. CAPHER Sociology of Sport Monograph Series, Calgary, Canada. Pribeanu, C., Balog, A., & Iordache, D. D. (2017). Measuring the perceived quality of an ARbased learning application: A multidimensional model. Interactive Learning Environments, 25, 482–495. Richelieu, A., Lopez, S., & Desbordes, M. (2008). The internationalization of a sports team brand: The case of European soccer teams. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 9(4), 29–44. Scheffer, N. (2017). Sponsoring : quatre stratégies à la loupe. Les Échos, 19 juin. Schivinski, B., Christodoulides, G., & Dabrowski, D. (2016). Measuring consumers’ engagement with brand-related social-media content: Development and validation of a scale that identifies levels of social-media engagement with brands. Journal of Advertising Research, 56, 64–80. Tribou, G. (2007). Sponsoring sportif. 3e édition, Economica, Paris. Van Uden, J. (2004). Organisation and complexity: using complexity science to theorise organisational aliveness. Universal-Publishers. Wann, D. L., & Branscombe, N. R. (1993). Sports fans: Measuring degree of identification with the team. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 24, 1–17. Wille, F. (2015). Pour une approche communicationnelle du sport. Hermès, La Revue, 71(1), 153– 159.

Webography and Reports Deloitte Football Money League, 2010 to 2021. https://www2.deloitte.com/bg/en/pages/finance/art icles/football-money-league-2021.html https://www.lenouveleconomiste.fr/lesdossiers/levenementiel-ne-sest-jamais-aussi-bien-portegrace-au-numerique-66124/ - Data from the article “L’évènementiel ne s’est jamais aussi bien porté grâce au numérique,” written by Nicolas Monier and published on Le Nouvel Économiste on November 22, 2018.

142

M. Desbordes

https://geoshen.com/posts/mlb-stadiums-ranked-by-seating-capacity. Data from the article “MLB Stadiums ranked by seating capacity” published on Geoshen on November 12, 2018. Nielsen Sports, The rise of women’s sport, 2018. https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/ sites/3/2019/04/the-rise-of-womens-sports.pdf Reports WE ARE SOCIAL Global Digital Overview, We Are Social, 2012–2019. https://weares ocial.com/fr/

Michel Desbordes is a Full Professor at the Université Paris-Saclay, France. He is a specialist in sports marketing with a research focus on the management of sports events, sports sponsorship and marketing applied to football. He has published 34 books and 58 academic articles (International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship; European Sport Management Quarterly; International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, among others) in this field. From January 2009 to 2019, he has been the Editor of the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship.

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology Bhaskar Basu

1 Introduction “Even before the pandemic had struck, football was facing an increased level of competition for attention, competing with streaming services, video games, OTT providers, and other stakeholders in the entertainment industry. This extremely competitive field has mandated that clubs’ operations adapt to a more entertainment-focused business model, which is vastly different from how football clubs operate traditionally” Andrea Sartori, KPMG’s Global Head of Sports (2021).1

The meaning of leisure changed entirely with the outbreak of the pandemic (COVID-19) in 2020. COVID-19 curbed sporting activities and travel as governments worldwide imposed lockdowns and restricted domestic and international movement, leading to the cancelation of sporting events across the globe. Amid the worldwide lockdowns, where any form of outdoor gatherings was restricted, and people were starved of spectator sports, they embraced indoor, digital entertainment. The global pandemic posed challenges to sports federations and clubs at an unprecedented level and indirectly gave a fillip to “technological innovation” in sports. During times of crisis, levels of uncertainty rise can have positive or negative consequences. From an optimistic view, uncertainty brings opportunities for new sports products or technologies to enter the marketplace that caters to specific needs. A negative view of uncertainty is the shortage of required resources such as finance or capital necessary for sports innovation and entrepreneurship. Sports organizations are dependent on external sources for funding and have a certain bias to establish operational relationships with such external entities. During adverse situations or 1

https://home.kpmg/uk/en/blogs/home/posts/2021/04/the-evolution-of-gaming-and-esports-bus iness.html B. Basu (B) Xavier Institute of Management, XIM University, Bhubaneswar, India e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_7

143

144

B. Basu

Fig. 1 Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports industry revenue worldwide in 2020 (in billion US dollars) (Source: Statista, twocircles.com, Apr 2020)

uncertainties, the existing sponsors might think of investing their money elsewhere, thereby affecting the sports organizations (Pieters et al., 2012). The pandemic was an abnormal situation for the whole world and forced sports entities to change their original market strategies to survive. The period of uncertainty following the outbreak of COVID-19 created a significant impact on the rapidly growing sports industry globally. Figure 1 shows the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on sports industry revenue worldwide in 2020. The global sports industry revenue projection for 2020 (pre-COVID-19) was 135.3 billion US dollars, over and above the revenue of 129 billion US dollars in 2019. However, the uncertainty of the duration of the pandemic saw the actual figures plummet to 73.7 billion US dollars, an unprecedented fall of nearly 50% from the previous year. National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and National Basketball Association (NBA) are the top three professional leagues in the world, in terms of revenues2 (Wikipedia, 2019 season). The potential revenue loss from ticket sales in selected sports leagues in the United States in 2020 due to the pandemic is shown in Fig. 2. It may be noted that the revenue loss on ticket sales was pegged at around 5.13 billion US dollars if the entire season of the MLB were to be canceled.

2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_professional_sports_leagues_by_revenue

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

145

6 5.13 Loss in billion U.S. dollars

5 4 3 2

1.69 1.12

1

0.64 0.26

0 MLB (Full Season)

NBA (Regular Season + Playoffs)

NHL (Regular Season + Playoffs)

MLS (Full Season)

NCAA Tournament

Fig. 2 Potential loss (ticket revenue) in selected sports leagues due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in 2020 (in billion US dollars) (Source: Statista, ticketiq.com, July 2020)

2 Sports and Technology The classical definition of a sport in academic literature can be derived from the seminal work of Guttmann (sports sociology) and Suits (sports philosophy). A sport must (i) “include play (voluntary, intrinsically motivated activity),” (ii) “be organized (governed by rules),” (iii) “include competition (outcome of a winner and loser),” (iv) “be comprised of skill (no chance),” (v) “include physical skills (skillful and strategic use of one’s body),” (vi) “have a broad following (beyond a local fad),” and (vii) “have achieved institutional stability where social institutions have rules which regulate it, stabilizing it as an important social practice” (Frevel et al., 2020; Guttmann, 1978; Suits, 2007).3 Hatfield (1992), when describing the goal of management, defines “sport as a product, with that product considered to be the feature that leads to consumer satisfaction” (Bryant, 1993). Sport has today evolved into “a demanding and complex activity, which includes both professional and voluntary work, the public and private sector, and includes the creation of sports goods and services, marketing, servicing, and on the other hand, the organization of entertainment” (Houlihan, 2008). Sport has evolved across the world “as a ceremony, a celebration, a physical pursuit, a leisure activity, and now, increasingly, a business” (Chadwick, 2009). Sports management theory and practice are grounded in both business and leisure, which in turn are derivatives of sociology, psychology, economics, and law (Shilbury & Rentschler, 2007). Neale (1964) stated that the essence of sport is the uncertainty of outcome among two individuals or teams participating in a game and this suspense or uncertainty till 3

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-50801-2_2

146 Advanced materials, sensors, devices, internet of things, and biotech

B. Basu Advanced/new materials Composites Coatings/adhesives/sealants/elastomers Fibers/textiles Wearables

Data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning

Information, communication, and extended reality

Big data Synthetic data Cloud (Advanced) analytics Artificial intelligence Machine learning Augmented reality Virtual reality Mixed reality Mobile 5G

Advanced manufacturing Digital fabrication 3D printing Robotics Automation Internet of things Blockchain Decentralized web Quantum computing Cognitive computing Computer vision

Sensors Smart dust Chips Near- field Communication Drones Biotech

Applications Voices Audio Bolts

Fig. 3 Tech categories and technologies4 (Frevel et al., 2020)

the last moment is what draws a fan to the sport (Chadwick, 2009; Downward & Dawson, 2000). Hence, uncertainty of outcome constitutes the fundamental underpinning of sport, while preserving the strength of this emotion becomes the essence of sports management (Chadwick, 2009). While the skill of the participating individuals or teams is on display on the field, the role of technology cannot be underestimated in the business of sports today, both on and off the field. Extensive player or team performance analysis, innovative training routines, monitoring player fitness, and reaching out to a larger fan base are the major takeaways in this aspect. The term Technology has various connotations among scholars and practitioners. However, the definition proposed by Van De Ven and Rogers (1988): “knowledge that is contained within a tool for accomplishing some function; the tool may be a mental model or a machine,” seems apt considering the encompassment of both tangible and intangible elements. New ICT devices and a more comprehensive range of existing technologies, such as the Internet, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), podcasts, interactive whiteboards, virtual reality, wearable systems, and pervasive technologies, are changing the way we work and how we perceive the outer world. The way technology is used in sports has changed due to increased computing power (Hutchins & Rowe, 2013). In addition, the number of technology services being provided related to the sport has substantially increased in recent years (Kim & Ko, 2019). Westerbeek and Smith (2003) identified technology as one of the pillars essential for sports and business relationship success. Technology and sports have a dynamic, but symbiotic relationship: Sport is a testing ground for emerging technologies, which is a significant source of disruption in sports (Schmidt, 2020).

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

147

Fig. 4 Opportunities in the sports industry to increase revenues as per survey results in August 2020 (Source: Statista 2022, PwC, olympic.org, September 2020)

Frevel et al. (2020) provided a categorization of technologies that is relevant in the field of sports and future of Sportstech (Fig. 3). A PwC worldwide survey among sports industry leaders in August 2020 provided exciting insights into opportunities to increase revenues in the sports industry. Enhanced technology offers opportunities to increase revenues in the sports industry through various applications, as demonstrated in Fig. 4. The applications could range from in-stadia experiences for the players, officials, and fans to the off-site digital experience for the fans and other partners. Sports and technology have been associated for hundreds of years, but the term “Sportstech” came into limelight only in the past few years. Sportstech is a term coined in the larger sphere of sports where technology provides a ready solution (Loland, 2009). To put it simply, Sportstech can be used interchangeably as the intersection of sports and technology. Hence, Sportstech encompasses broadcasting, digital media, marketing, ticketing, smart venues, and fan engagement, besides technology aids in enhancing athletic performance. North America is undisputedly the biggest region for Sportstech, accounting for more than half the funding from 2021. Within this continent, United States accounts for 86% and Canada for 14% of investment, so there is nothing much to talk about rest of the countries. Asia–Pacific region has the highest growth rate, on the back of big investments in India, China, and Hong Kong.5 The impact of emerging technologies is most significant for ordinary sports fans worldwide as per a survey conducted by Capgemini in 2019, shared in Fig. 5. 4

Adopted from “Taxonomy of Sportstech”, Frevel et al. in twenty-first century Sports by Sascha Schmidt, Springer ed. 5 https://medium.com/sportstechx/sportstech-in-2022-A-global-overview-c5dcfd657585

148

B. Basu

Fig. 5 Share of fans worldwide with enhanced viewing experience due to emerging technologies in sports as of December 2019, by country (Source: Statista, Capgemini, January 2020)

Despite the excitement surrounding the growth of the sports industry, the literature on sports technology is currently still in theoretical development and an embryonic stage (Ratten, 2020). Emerging technologies are in various stages of maturity, and there are safety and ethical issues to contend in the sporting world. Risks range from harm to the athlete (Dyer, 2015; Hemphill, 2009; Loland, 2002), unfair advantage (Dyer, 2015; Hemphill, 2009; Loland, 2002; Murray, 2010), and disrepute to the game (Dyer, 2015; James, 2010; Miah, 2000). Sports business leaders must anticipate and judge the applicability of technologies that will affect their business in the coming years and take pragmatic decisions about whether to invest in a particular technology or not.

3 Technology and the Business of Sports in an Uncertain Environment The uncertain outcome is one of the critical reasons for the sustained popularity of spectator sport. This particular feature provides a unique sporting experience as there is no control over the outcome of the competition; a poor result on-field may translate to a largely disappointing experience for the spectators (Bamford et al., 2018). Moreover, the concept of resource dependence by sporting organizations does not mean that they are entirely at the mercy of their environment. Instead, “it means they must develop strategies for managing both resource dependence and environment uncertainty” (Saks & Johns, 2011). This chapter projects technology as an instrument to cope with environmental uncertainty in the sporting arena. The

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

149

exploratory study examines emerging technologies’ role in on-field and off-field engagements to mitigate uncertainty and better control over the sporting experience. Innovation is defined as “a process of introducing and applying new ideas, processes or procedures, designed to significantly benefit the individual, group, organization or wider society” (Cabrilo & Dahms, 2018) and is a vehicle to mitigate uncertainties in any domain. New technologies have improved on-field gameplay by adding safety features (helmets, pads) or the intensity of play, modifying gear within tightly prescribed limits (the size of a bat in cricket or baseball) (Chadwick, 2009; Potts & Thomas, 2018). In professional sports, firms depend on live game attendance and online content consumption to generate local revenue. The ability to manage and drive these two revenue streams depends on a franchise’s competencies in marketing, relationship management, and brand building (Hayduk & Walker, 2021). Only the National Basketball Association (NBA) has achieved record attendance in recent years among the four major professional leagues in the United States. One reason for this decline in physical game attendance is that more people are using technology to view games and other sports content (Gunnion, 2015). Physical game attendance might decrease, but games and sports content remain overwhelmingly popular. Technology usage has created new opportunities for marketers to serve sports consumers (Rynarzewska, 2018). Typical outdoor sports, like skiing, surfing, rowing, and skydiving, which used to be practiced in a natural environment of mountains, oceans, rivers, and the air, are now being offered for consumption in safe, predictable, and controlled indoor centers (van Bottenburg & Salome, 2010). Watching English Premier League (EPL) on television during the pandemic was a strange experience: football stars lining up for a top-notch game in a bubble where you had eerie silence instead of the usual pre-match excitement from the stands. There were no mascots, no pre-match routines of handshakes, team photos, and the coin toss. Moreover, some innovations from the sporting world which come to mind during the challenging pandemic times are as follows: • IPL (Indian Premier League), the world’s wealthiest and most popular T-20 cricket league, was hosted outside India, in United Arab Emirates (UAE) within empty stadiums. It whetted the appetite of cricket-starved fans across the globe while ensuring the Board of Cricket Committee in India (BCCI) and IPL franchisees still made money, thanks to sponsors and broadcasters. • The NBA partnered with Microsoft Teams, and watching the games in a bubble seemed pretty normal, thanks to the basketball association wrapping the arena with seventeen-foot LED screens displaying virtual fans. Many professional sports organizations have adopted big data and analytics to improve performance and decision-making on and off the field (Fried & Mumcu, 2016; Mondello & Kamke, 2014). There is a natural alignment between sports and analytics, as data forms the basis for the industry’s popularity and evolution (Watanabe et al., 2021). Technology-driven sports tend to experience significant variations in the early stages of introduction through examination that leads to gradual adoption or natural extinction due to major drawbacks (Klepper & Graddy, 1990; Klepper & Simons, 2005).

150

B. Basu

Fig. 6 User preferences for an optimal sports media experience on OTT services worldwide (Source: Statista, PwC’s Sports Survey 2020, published by Olympic.org, Sep 2020)

The business dimension of sports has become far more pronounced today, as evident from the globalized market for players, clubs/franchisees as brands, and hostile takeover bids. Wide-ranging organizations involved in the private, public, and voluntary provision of sports services, goods, and programs make up the sports industry. All sports that are watchable today have the potential for commercial exploitation. An online sports survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers in 2020 dispels the myth that non-millenials6 are passive users of over-the-top (OTT) services worldwide (Fig. 6). Sports and entertainment have converged, but the debate about whether the business of sports should be treated differently continues today. The business model is expanding with new players becoming part of the industry-agents, lawyers, sponsors, and broadcasters. The primary revenue source may not be the ticket buying fans attracted to the game. But, the cycle of making money starts days before the actual sporting event and continues post the event by target-driven data decisions revolving around the game, fan, venue, owners/franchisees, and brands participating in the extravaganza. To gain a competitive advantage over their competitors on and off the stadium, it has been recommended for the sporting organizations to build, maintain, and strengthen mutual productive relationships with their fans (Fathy et al., 2022).

Millennials 18–34 years of age (n = 4,612), Non-Millennials 35–65 years of age (n = 16,655); 18–65 years; https://www.statista.com/statistics/1192768/ott-sports-preference/

6

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

151

4 Understanding a Sports Fan The emerging technologies transforming sports make it easier for athletes to optimize their performance and for fans to get involved into the game. Typically, a sports fan today can be categorized in the age group 18–51 (Fig. 7), wielding a smartphone and likely to be a member of a fan community or group. Thanks to the widespread adoption of smartphones by this community worldwide, an individual fan can be considered as the targeted customer of the spectator sports industry, A peep into the “customer journey” for a live sporting event could yield lots of insight for the organizers, sponsors, franchisees, or other stakeholders involved in staging the event. This can be leveraged using appropriate technologies to generate data about the “fan behavior” and used for marketing campaigns and promotions by the brands involved. The “fan experience” is influenced not only by the performance of the athletes, staff, and the venue (Grove et al., 2012), but also by fan engagement (both face-to-face and digital) with sports organizations before, during, and after the sporting event. The challenge is to offer an adaptive solution that enriches the event experience, while aligning with the brand experience of the sporting franchise and this is where the smartphone can be used as a vital tool for communicating with the fans. “Innovation in sport can be seen in new technologies, equipment and clothing, in new strategies and training, in new consumer products and services, in new media and formats, and in the development of new sports” (Pottsa & Ratten, 2016, p. 233). This leads to three broader areas of impact that can have a profound impact on sports in the next few years amid turbulent environment: fan engagement, sports training, and alternate sports. It revolves around two core sports consumer behaviors: spectating events in person or on media devices (Yoshida et al., 2013) and participating in sports (Hyysalo, 2009).

Fig. 7 Share of sports fans regularly visiting a stadium worldwide as of 2019, by age (Source: Statista, Capgemini, 2019)

152

B. Basu

5 Fan Engagement While technology encompasses a vital role in athlete performance, the fan engagement offers a significant opportunity in terms of brand value and growth for the industry. Sports clubs and stadiums are increasingly using technologies that transform the overall fan experience. A survey conducted by Capgemini in 2019 reiterates that emerging technologies have enhanced the viewing experience of sports fans across the continents of the world (Fig. 8). Although individuals supporting a sports team are extremely committed to their preferred team, professional sports establishments find it difficult to translate fans’ behaviors into monetary spending and to establish enduring relationships with their supporters (Buhler & Nufer, 2012; Fathy et al., 2022; Wang, 2021). An empty seat is a missed commercial opportunity and hence sports organizations and marketers always look for avenues to fill their stadiums as close to maximum capacity as possible to maximize revenue generation. The possibilities of reaching out to fans not able to get a seat in the stadium have moved beyond expectations with digital media and XR capability.

5.1 In-Stadia Fan Engagement A stadium is one of the most popular platforms for fan engagement and is rapidly transforming into a technological and commercial platform for sports federations

Fig. 8 Influence of new technologies on sports fans’ experiences worldwide (Source: Statista, Capgemini, December 2019)

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

153

and franchisees. The primary value proposition for a stadium is to deliver a worldclass experience associated with an in-stadium event. The present-day stadium is a technological marvel, with thousands of access points and miles of networking cable installed in a complex building footprint. It necessitates Wi-Fi access points as also distributed antenna systems to activate mobile devices and enable locationbased service to fans. Enabling technologies that teams and venues provide to fans, partners, and sponsors to access the core infrastructure includes audio, and video feeds that capture fan-created content for integration into social media, in-stadium promotions, and game broadcasts. Venues and teams have created a host of different touchpoints to enhance the fan experience on mobile devices like mobile commerce and payment solutions for food and beverage delivery and in-stadium retail.7 The global smart stadium market is expected to reach $22.49 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 24.8% (Smart Stadium Global Market Report 2022). Furthermore, the growing pressure to enhance fans’ experience by providing information about the game, parking options, and seat upgrades is shaping the smart stadiums market scenario. Major market players in this region are focusing on integrating advanced technologies to provide an immersive viewing experience. The smart stadium market consists of sales of integrated technologies, such as IoT, artificial intelligence, 5G, virtual reality by entities (organizations, sole traders, and partnerships) engaged in providing on-premises and cloud-based services, while the smart stadium software includes building automation, crowd management, stadium and public security, and digital content management.8 Typical smart stadium touch points include Digital Signage, Wi-Fi/LTE, social media touchpoints, gift shops, POS terminals, loyalty/rewards programs, ticketing, restrooms, and parking. Europe dominates the global smart stadium market, witnessing the rapid adoption of IoT solutions for crowd management and enabling effective network and connectivity. North America is the second-largest market for smart stadiums. A survey taken among sports fans worldwide in 2019 to understand their experiences using new technologies inside a sports stadium yielded interesting results shown in Table 1.

5.2 Out-Stadia Fan Engagement A study by telecom company Cisco revealed a worrying trend over the last decade: 57% of sports fans now prefer to watch matches at home. Since 2019, pay-tv subscriptions for sports channels have dropped 9% globally, while 65% of sports fans are paying for online streaming services, compared with 46% in 2019, according to a

7

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consumer-business/us-cb-thestadium-as-A-platform-final.pdf 8 https://www.globenewswire.com/fr/news-release/2022/03/21/2407025/0/en/Smart-Stadium-Glo bal-Market-Report-2022.html

154

B. Basu

Table 1 Most popular in-stadium experiences using emerging technologies according to sports fans worldwide as of December 2019 Stadium experience

Share of respondents (%)

Regular live match updates on mobile app

50

Access to high-speed Wi-Fi to share updates

48

Online food and beverages ordered delivered at your seat

48

Wearable devices like hand bands acting as electronic access tickets to the event

47

Listen to live commentary using earphones inside the stadium while 47 watching the match Live stats regarding player information and insights during a match

47

Source: Statista, Capgemini, January 2020 https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Report-%E2%80%93-Tech-in-Sports. pdf

survey of 15,000 people across 14 countries, including the United States, Japan, Italy, and the UK.9 Also, the young consumers prefer highlights over a real game. This leads to forming alternate business models by clubs or franchisees to reach out to a global audience that is not venue-specific. Most sports events are from the point of view of being telecast on TV, which is a linear platform. As a fan, one can watch a sporting event from one angle. Sports engagement will significantly change with augmented reality, virtual reality, and non-linear streaming. Globally, leagues like the National Basketball Association (NBA) allow fans to watch matches from multiple angles on their devices. The Real Madrid Fan Engagement mobile application’s primary objective is to increase the franchise’s customer base and deliver personalized advertising to its fans at any given time. Omni channel purchase apps and geo-fencing assist in marketing logo products to diverse tech-savvy fan bases. A survey taken among sports fans worldwide in 2019 to understand their experiences using new technologies outside a sports stadium yielded fascinating results shown in Table 2.

5.3 Sports Collectibles and Allied Industries Sports memorabilia has been a massive business for decades. Now, sports collectors have a novel and exciting avenue to explore, one that can let them take an active part in what is trending and maybe even profit in the long run. NFT holders can get access to virtual and real-life experiences like playing one-on-one with their favorite player or winning VIP tickets to events and games. Digital tickets, fan tokens, digital collectibles, and loyalty programs bring fans closer to their favorite clubs and sports 9

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/most-fans-prefer-watching-sports-via-stream ing-than-pay-tv-survey-shows-2021-07-21/

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

155

Table 2 Share of sports fans who have experienced emerging technologies outside the stadium worldwide as of December 2019 Sports experience

Share of respondents (%)

Simulate in-stadium experience outside the stadium by streaming live matches on VR headsets

40

Ability to choose different camera angles to watch the match

39

Match predictor game where fans compete with an AI bot during the match

38

Watch parties online with friends along with live reactions and comments

36

Voice/chat assistants for game previews, player insights, and behind-the-scenes action

36

Source: Statista, Capgemini, January 2020 https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Report-%E2%80%93-Tech-in-Sports. pdf

events. When it comes to implementing fan vouchers in sports federations, it is on the increase due to increased adoption of blockchain technologies. FC Barcelona, Juventus F.C., Atlético Madrid, and PSG are just a few of the world’s most famous clubs that have already chosen to use tokens in their communities. According to a Comprehensive Research Report by Market Research Future (MRFR),10 the “Licensed Sports Merchandise Market” is projected to expand at a 6.45% CAGR from 2020 to 2030, thanks to a proliferation of international sports leagues and a rising number of sports enthusiasts. Products, such as jerseys, tracksuits, socks, and t-shirts, displaying the logos of major sports teams, have gained immense traction among consumers who prefer fashionable casual and gym wear. Alongside, the development of innovative breathable, lightweight, and waterproof sports apparel and accessories is another growth-inducing factor. The global market of the sports allied industries like apparels and footwear is set to jump to more than 600 billion US dollars by 2023 (Fig. 9). Brands like Adidas, Nike, and Li Ning have seen impressive growth in revenues in this category lately. Merchandising ultimately transforms fans and members into walking billboards when they proudly wear their team’s jersey or advertisement posters when they place a logo sticker on their car, signaling that they are part of a sport-based tribe.

6 Sports Training Emerging technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, sophisticated wearable technology, and mediated sport consumption, are fundamentally changing sport 10

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/05/03/2434299/0/en/Licensed-Sports-Mer chandise-Market-to-Expand-Substantially-at-6-45-CAGR-by-2030-Report-by-Market-ResearchFuture-MRFR

156

B. Basu

Fig. 9 Size of the global sports market by product category, in 2018 and 2023 (billion US dollars) (Source: Statista, Gartner, 2019)

consumer experiences (Funk, 2017). One of the major beneficiaries is the sports training industry, not only for the athletes, but also for the trainers or coaches. Technology is revolutionizing sports training by perfecting athletic movements, live-tracking performances, enhancing communication, and virtually eliminating injuries.11 Sensors, lasers, and GPS have been integrated into various aspects of the sports training world to track and measure performance in real time. A precise and realtime data of an athlete, ranging from heartbeat to hydration and temperature can help them understand their body better, leading to improved performance and better injury management. Body movements and ergonomic data are very useful for athletes like cyclists, swimmers, and divers as they map movements like rotational speed, dive angle, leg movement, and hydrodynamics. An incremental improvement in performance may make all the difference in today’s cut-throat competitive sports. Alongside common fitness trackers and mobile apps for various sports activities, novel wearables, VR/AR/XR, and robotics are driving this market worldwide.

6.1 Wearable Technology Advancements in sensor technology and higher accuracy have revolutionized the fitness tracker industry, making wearable tech one of the most popular technology accessories relative to sports. Global wearable devices include smart watches, head mounted devices, wristbands, and smart clothing. The end-user spending for these categories of products have steadily increased over the last few years (Fig. 10). 11

https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/how-technology-is-revolutionizing-sports-training/

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

157

Fig. 10 End-user spending on global wearable devices by category, 2019–2022 (in billion U.S. dollars) 2021 (Source: Statista, Gartner,)

Today, smart glasses for cyclists build and show routes in real-time, sensor-enabled shoes for athletes and football players track speed, force, motion, and traction, while goggles for swimmers collect important metrics on the go.12 Full-body suits enable performance and muscle coordination monitoring during training and help enhance the experience for professional athletes, amateurs, and those who undergo rehabilitation after traumas. Smart athlete technologies (such as wearables) allow the franchise to track team members in a facility, whether as part of training or during an event. Athletes’ use of wearables enables coaches or trainers to collect biometric data and have a better understanding of their abilities and potential for improvement. Tracking data such as distance run, calories burned, speed (acceleration), and body temperature can help coaches adapt their strategies to maximize successful outcomes for athletes.13 Athlete tracking devices that include global positioning systems (GPS) have been utilized to understand better the physical strains imposed on soccer players during training and match-play, ultimately enhancing training. Sports teams track and analyze performance data, determine opportunities, detect weak points, tune training programs and, eventually, achieve their goals.14 Athlete tracking platforms like STAT Sports are gaining popularity, and major football clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal use this platform to their advantage.

12

https://www.digiteum.com/IMPACT-OF-TECHNOLOGY-SPORTS-FITNESS/ https://wiprodigital.com/2017/02/23/whitepaper-connected-stadium-solutions/ 14 https://www.digiteum.com/IMPACT-OF-TECHNOLOGY-SPORTS-FITNESS/ 13

158

B. Basu

6.2 VR (Virtual Reality)/AR (Augmented Reality) There is more to technology adoption than just technology efficacy. VR technology and the likes are increasingly influencing modern society and aspects of people’s daily lives, none more than the gaming industry (Fig. 11). A case in point is the acquisition of Oculus by Facebook (now Meta) and increased sales of VR headsets. Virtual reality (VR) is defined as a computer-generated simulation of a situation whereby the user perceives it through vision, hearing or touch and interacts with it in a supposedly real manner (Wedel et al., 2020). A distinct type of VR is augmented reality (AR), in which digital devices are used to overlay supplementary objects, avatars, labels, etc. and provides contextual information that enhances the interactive experience. Mixed reality (MR) merges VR and AR (Wedel et al., 2020). In fact, extended reality (XR) is an umbrella term encapsulating all real and virtual environments that are generated by computer technology and wearables (Ludlow, 2015). To validate the use of XR tools and minimize the probability of negative transfer effects, it is essential that XR tools are assessed for their level of representativeness before they are used during training (Le Noury et al., 2022). Sport-specific training platforms are available for professional and collegiate teams to help their players improve their practice routines. The NBA has also been proactive in integrating virtual reality content into their programming. The term “immersive experience” encompasses a range of formats of VR, AR, or XR, where the physical and virtual worlds converge and offer even more compelling experience

Fig. 11 Investment in AR/VR technology by use case basis worldwide in 2024 (in billion US dollars) (Source: Statista, IDC, 2020)

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

159

for a sports fan. VR/AR/XR market size is poised to be around 250 billion USD in 2028 (Statista, March 2022).15

7 Alternate Sports The emergence of blockchain technology has spawned many startups which play on the emotion-driven sport industry and generate a parallel industry comprising betting, fantasy sport, and eSports. Some of these companies are 1XBit, Bethereum, Decent.bet, Pay2Play, Stox, ZenSports (betting); Digital Fantasy Sports, Football Coin, Dream 11(Fantasy Sport); and PlayVS, Winzo (eSports). The reason I call it “alternate sports” is because these games do not involve skills akin to spectator sports and are more a game of chance, akin to gambling. Sports betting is currently the fastest-growing sector in the global gaming industry despite legal challenges, thanks to easy access of sports betting apps via smartphones. As per Statista, it is expected to account for a huge market share of $92.9 billion by 2023, with a CAGR of 6.9%.16 eSports can be defined as the organized competitive playing of video games (Ansgar & Jennika, 2018; Jenny et al., 2017). eSports are becoming very popular and competitive among youth. A large number of eSports championships at regional and international level are organized today in which professional and amateur players compete against one another. Social betting apps (Tedbets, Youbetme, and BuddyBet) are new mobile platforms that promote wagering among friends by providing an avenue through which the parameters of the bet are established and a payout guaranteed (Albarrán-Torres & Goggin, 2017). Fantasy sports are activities in which fans simulate ownership, management, and coaching aspects of a select group of players in that sport (Carlson, 2013). Fantasy sport is often played using the Internet, where participants assemble fictional or virtual teams composed of proxies of actual players of a professional sport.

7.1 eSports In the context of the most recent sports technology advancements, there is the emergence of a new market, thanks to digital technologies. Competitive gaming is a widely accepted description of eSports (Reitman et al., 2020). eSports, which includes eRacing, fighting games, shooters, etc., is a rapidly growing sector built around mobile and video gaming, AR and VR, AI technologies, and even autonomous vehicles.17 eSports was one of the few mediums that was able to flourish under the strain of the global pandemic with outdoor sports severely affected. Many viewers turned 15

Theinsightpartners.com https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/online-gambling-market 17 https://www.digiteum.com/IMPACT-OF-TECHNOLOGY-SPORTS-FITNESS/ 16

160

B. Basu

Fig. 12 Revenue of the global eSports market 2019–2024 (in million US dollars) [Source(s): Statista, Newzoo; Website (dotesports.com)]

online to get their competitive fix since professional sports leagues worldwide were either postponed or canceled. Indeed, the level of interest in eSports has increased across the board post-pandemic, with younger fans, in particular, joining the bandwagon in droves. The expected revenue of the global eSports market is expected to reach around 1618 million US dollars by 2024, with China as the dominant contributor (Fig. 12). Free Fire World Series 2021, Singapore was the most-watched eSports tournament worldwide as of May 2021 (peak viewership 5.41 million: ESC),18 while DOTA 2 was the leading eSports game worldwide by cumulative tournament prize pool (47.73 US Million Dollars: e-Sports Earnings).19 PUBG Mobile was the highest-grossing mobile game worldwide in 2021 (2014 million US dollars: Appmagic).20 The advent of the pandemic along with economical emerging technologies has disrupted the traditional sports market and accelerated the growth of alternate digital sports like eSports. The fans can expect further innovation due to advances in simulation technology and convergence of disparate technologies.

7.2 Mobile Betting The world’s largest online sports betting operator, Draft Kings, estimates the global legal gambling (lotteries, casino, gaming machines/slots, and sports betting) 18

Escharts.com (May 2021). Esportsearnings.com (February 2022). 20 https://appmagic.rocks/ (June 2022). 19

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

161

Fig. 13 Brand value of leading global gambling companies 2021 (billion US dollars) (Source: Statista, Brand Finance, 2022)

market size to be USD 456 billion, wherein sports betting as a segment represents 16% of that global market at USD 72 billion.21 From 2021 to 2022, legal sports betting spread from 19 states to 32 in the United States. Millions of millennials already addicted to their mobile phones and familiar with the interfaces of fantasy sports apps proved an ideal market for a new legal form of gambling. Just a few months into the pandemic, Colorado and Michigan legalized sports betting, followed by Louisiana, Maryland, and South Dakota in November 2020 (Lahut, 2022). Expanding to mobile sports betting ensures the highest payouts for sports teams and states looking to increase revenue. In October 2021, New Jersey became the first state in United States to cross $1 billion in annual revenue from online sports gambling.22 The brand value of leading global gambling companies in 2021 is provided in Fig. 13. The convenience of mobile electronic devices is understood to be a major contributor to the increase of online betting, which in turn has been implicated in the growth of sports betting. Furthermore, it is anonymous and can provide immediate gratification. The anonymous and secret nature of mobile betting has contributed largely to its growing popularity as for a lot of people there is still stigma attached to betting in places like betting shops and casinos. Mobile betting is also well suited to personal (i.e., one-to-one) betting, where users bet against each other rather than bookies. Sport betting, however, continues to be prohibited in most countries of the Asia– Pacific region except Australia, and with a limited exception in Singapore, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, and Taiwan.23 21

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40318-021-00198-8?code=6b0c7072-451c-4b86ba41-4cad5e275019&error=cookies_not_supported#Fn6 22 https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/a-frictionless-gold-rush-how-online-sportsbetting-swept-the-nation-in-less-than-4-years/articleshow/90000940.cms 23 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40318-021-00198-8?code=6b0c7072-451c-4b86ba41-4cad5e275019&error=cookies_not_supported#Fn6

162

B. Basu

7.3 Fantasy Sports Although it has been around for a long time, the internet and emerging technologies have made fantasy sports increasingly accessible and attractive to large segment of sports fans. Fantasy sports offer a form of proxy sports bet since betting in professional sports is strictly regulated worldwide. Sports analysts estimate fantasy sports to be a USD18 billion global industry projected for exponential growth and become a USD 48 billion market by 2027 (Allied Analytics LLP).24 Fantasy sports is a way to circumvent sports betting regulations by forming fantasy teams and competing with other such teams in fantasy leagues for cash prizes. Their fantasy teams’ performance depends on the actual field performance of these real-life players (Das, 2021). In the professional sport context, sport league brands make use of gamification to increase interaction and forge deep relationships with their fans by providing them easy access to Fantasy Sports applications. “Fantasy sports activity is interesting in that it can provide brand-owned (e.g., fantasy playoff challenge from NFL.com), partner-owned (e.g., DraftKings as the official and exclusive daily fantasy sports partner of the MLB), customer-owned (a commissioner crafting the fantasy sports experience for everyone in the league), or social/external (e.g., friends and family members engaging in fantasy sports) touchpoints” (Yuksel et al., 2021). Dream11 is an Indian fantasy sports platform that allows users to play fantasy cricket, hockey, football, kabaddi, handball, and basketball. It has over 150 million users and became the first Indian gaming company to become a unicorn in April 2019. Dream11 won the title sponsorship rights for the 2020 Indian Premier League in UAE for US$29.96 million after VIVO pulled out of the season.25 India has emerged as the world’s biggest Fantasy Sports market with a user base of over 13 crores, which is expected to further grow at a CAGR of 32% in the coming years.26 The popularity of fantasy games by sport in India (2019) is provided in Fig. 14.

8 Sports Metaverse The metaverse represents a highly interactive three-dimensional virtual world where users can trade land, buildings, and other digital assets just like the real world and explore the space using their personalized avatars. The market for metaverse applications is expected to grow from $47.69bn in 2020 to $828.95bn in 2028, as per the analysts at Emergen Research.27 24

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40318-021-00198-8?code=6b0c7072-451c-4b86ba41-4cad5e275019&error=cookies_not_supported#Fn6 25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream11 26 https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/research/indias-fantasy-sports-marketprojected-to-reach-rs-1-65-lakh-crore-by-2025-fifs-deloitte-report/90224932 27 Emergen Research (2021).

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

163

Fig. 14 Popularity of fantasy games in India by sport (Source: Statista, KPMG-IFSG, 2019)

It is expected that almost every company will have a presence in the metaverse in the future like Amazon designing digital malls and Netflix digital movie halls in the metaverse. Hence, we can expect a virtual sports arena in the metaverse where fans can interact with their favorite players or watch the game from different vantage points from the comfort of their home. Similarly, athletes can train with the best sports trainers in the world through mixed realty holograms created in the metaverse, even though they might be on the other side of the world. Manchester City has become the first soccer club to announce that the Etihad Stadium will be virtually recreated in the metaverse and their fans can watch matches live without entering the stadium. They will also be creating and marketing digital fan merchandise. The Metaverse Sports Arena would open significant new opportunities for content creation, from the fans and sports stars themselves. Metaverse rests on progress in four areas: immersive realism, ubiquity of access and identity, interoperability, and scalability (Dionisio et al, 2013). While multi-view and simultaneous playback options are integrated, the rights-holders have the chance to interact with fans in a creative way and drive user-generated content. However, the legal implications of a ubiquitous metaverse have ramifications on contracts between metaverse enterprises and customers, ranging from copyright protections, competition restraints, and protection of biometric and other private data.

164

B. Basu

9 Conclusion “Leading organizations will lean on the emerging technologies in this year’s Hype Cycle28 to build trust and new growth opportunities against a background of continued strategic change and economic uncertainty”. Brian Burke, research vice president at Gartner (2021).29

Identifying emerging technologies will allow sports policymakers to prepare for disruptions in the sporting calendar due to constantly evolving and uncertain environments. The chapter highlights the importance of technology in sports and how the combination can be leveraged for the sustainability of sports in an uncertain environment characterized by disruptions like global economic recession, geopolitical conflicts, ecological imbalance, and pandemic situation. The chapter has additional implications for scholars and practitioners in sports management. It identifies promising areas of further research in this field like sports education, NFTs, sports accessibility, sports consumption, sports training, immersive experience for fans, betting, and e-sports, among others. It also highlights the risks and limitations of the emerging technologies in terms of adverse health effects, viewing experience, and affordability. The summer Olympics in Tokyo was postponed to 2021 amid the worldwide COVID-19 wave prevailing in 2020 and finally held with severe restrictions in place. Naturally, the number of foreign visitors was restricted, but sports broadcasting through various technological mediums ensured record viewership of the games. Similarly, ecological reasons threatened the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022, where electric vehicles (EVs) and intelligent and connected vehicles (ICVs) were successfully tested for a more sustainable environment and safer transportation. The upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar poses significant challenges to maintaining aero-thermal comfort conditions within the sport facilities using technology while maintaining carbon neutrality commitment. Hence, sports will persist despite environmental uncertainties, and technology will evolve and adapt for sustainability. Conflict of Interest The author declares no conflict of interest.

28

The Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies is unique among most Gartner Hype Cycles because it distills insights from more than 1,500 technologies into a succinct set of “must know” emerging technologies and trends that show promise in delivering a high degree of competitive advantage over the next five to 10 years. 29 https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-08-23-gartner-identifies-key-eme rging-technologies-spurring-innovation-through-trust-growth-and-change

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

165

Bibliography Academic references Albarrán-Torres, C., & Goggin, G. (2017). Mobile betting apps: Odds on the social. In Smartphone cultures (pp. 25–38). Routledge. Ansgar, T., & Jannika, M. J. (2018). Is eSport a ‘real’ sport? Reflections on the Spread of Virtual Competitions, European Journal for Sport and Society, 15(4), 311–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 16138171.2018.1559019 Bryant, J. E. (1993). Sport management and the interdependence with sport sociology: Sport as a social product. Journal of Sport Management, 7(3), 194–198. Buhler, A., & Nufer, G. (2012). Relationship marketing in sports. Routledge. Buser, M., Woratschek, H., & Ridpath, B. D. (2021). Gamification through fantasy sports—empirical findings from professional sport leagues. Sport, Business and Management, 11(5), 575–597. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-08-2020-0080 Cabrilo, S., & Dahms, S. (2018). How strategic knowledge management drives intellectual capital to superior innovation and market performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 22(3), 621– 648. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-07-2017-0309 Carlson, C. (2013). The reality of fantasy sports: A metaphysical and ethical analysis. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 40(2), 187–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/00948705.2013.785422 Chadwick, S. (2009). From outside lane to inside track: Sport management research in the twentyfirst century. Management Decision, 47(1), 191–203 Das, M. (2021). Fantasy sports and gambling regulation in the Asia-Pacific. Int Sports Law J, 21, 166–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40318-021-00198-8 Bamford, D., Hannibal, C., Kauppi, K., & Dehe, B. (2018). Sports operations management: Examining the relationship between environmental uncertainty and quality management orientation. European Sport Management Quarterly, 18(5), 563–582. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742. 2018.1442486 Dionisio, J. D. N., III., & W. G. B., & Gilbert, R. (2013). 3D virtual worlds and the metaverse: Current status and future possibilities. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), 45(3), 1–38. Downward, P., & Dawson, A. (2000). The economics of professional team sports. Routledge. Dyer, B. (2015). The controversy of sports technology: A systematic review. Springerplus, 4, 524. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-015-1331-x Fathy, D., Elsharnouby, M. H., & AbouAish, E. (2022). Fans behave as buyers? Assimilate fanbased and team-based drivers of fan engagement. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 16(3), 329–345. Fried, G., & Mumcu, C. (Eds.). (2016). Sport analytics: A data-driven approach to sport business and management. Taylor & Francis. Frevel, N., Schmidt, S. L., Beiderbeck, D., Penkert, B., & Subirana, B. (2020). Taxonomy of sportstech. In 21st century sports (pp. 15–37). Springer. Funk, D. C. (2017). Introducing a sport experience design (SX) framework for sport consumer behaviour research. Sport Management Review, 20(2), 145–158. Grove, S. J., Pickett, G. M., Jones, S. A., & Dorsch, M. J. (2012). Spectator rage as the dark side of engaging sport fans: Implications for services marketers. Journal of Service Research, 15(1), 3–20. Gunnion, L. (2015). Behind the numbers: Professional sports and the merits of being big and connected. Competitive advantage Insights, 7. Guttmann, A. (1978). From ritual to record: The nature of modern sports. Columbia University Press. Hatfield, B. D. (1992). The role of sport science in sport management: An integrative perspective. Paper presented at the Sport Management Theory-Conference, New Orleans, L.A.

166

B. Basu

Hutchins, B., & Rowe, D. (Eds.). (2013). Digital media sport: Technology, power and culture in the network society. Routledge. Hayduk, T., & Walker, M. (2021). The effect of ownership marketing expertise on MLB attendance and digital consumption. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 30(1), 30–46. Hemphill, D. (2009). Performance enhancement and drug control in sport: Ethical considerations. Sport in Society, 12(3), 313–326. Houlihan, B. (2008). Sport and society. SAGE Publications. Hyysalo, S. (2009). User innovation and everyday practices: Micro-innovation in sports industry development. R&D Management, 39(3), 247–258. James, D. (2010). The ethics of using engineering to enhance athletic performance. Procedia Engineering, 2(2), 3405–3410. Jenny, S. E., Manning, R. D., Keiper, M. C., & Olrich, T. W. (2017). Virtual(ly) athletes: Where eSports fit within the definition of ‘sport.’ Quest, 69, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297. 2016.1144517 Kim, D., & Ko, Y. J. (2019). The impact of virtual reality (VR) technology on sport spectators’ flow experience and satisfaction. Computers in Human Behavior, 93, 346–356. Klepper, S., & Graddy, E. (1990). The evolution of new industries and the determinants of market structure. The RAND Journal of Economics, 27–44. Klepper, S., & Simons, K. L. (2005). Industry shakeouts and technological change. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 23(1–2), 23–43. Lahut, J. (2022, March 5). A ‘frictionless’ gold rush: How online sports betting swept the nation in less than 4 years. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/a-fricti onless-gold-rush-how-online-sports-betting-swept-the-nation-in-less-than-4-years/articleshow/ 90000940.cms Le Noury, P., Polman, R., Maloney, M., & Gorman, A. (2022). A narrative review of the current state of extended reality technology and how it can be utilised in sport. Sports Medicine, 52(7), 1473–1489. Loland, S. (2002). Technology in sport: Three ideal-typical views and their implications. European Journal of Sport Science, 2(1), 1–11. Loland, S. (2009). The ethics of performance-enhancing technology in sport. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 36(2), 152–161. Ludlow, B. L. (2015). Virtual reality: Emerging applications and future directions. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 34(3), 3–10. Mallen, C. (2019). Emerging technologies in sport: Implications for sport management. Routledge. Miah, A. (2000). “New balls please”: tennis, technology, and the changing game. Michelman, P. (2019). Why sports is a great proving ground for management ideas [Online]. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-sports-is-a-greatprov ing-ground-for-management-ideas/ Mondello, M., & Kamke, C. (2014). The introduction and application of sports analytics in professional sport organizations. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 6(2), 11. Murray, T. H. (2010). Making sense of fairness in sports. Hastings Center Report, 40(2), 13–15. Naraine, M. L. (2019). Follower segments within and across the social media networks of major professional sport organizations. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 28(4), 222–233. Neale, W. C. (1964). The peculiar economics of professional sports. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 78(1), 1–14. Pieters, M. W., Knoben, J., & Pouwels, M. (2012). A social network perspective on sport management: The effect of network embeddedness on the commercial performance of sport organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 26, 433–444. Potts, J., & Thomas, S. (2018). Toward a new (evolutionary) economics of sports. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal. Pottsa, J., & Ratten, V. (2016). Sports innovation: Introduction to the special section. Innovation: Management, Policy & Practice, 18(3), 233–237.

Perspectives on the Intersection Between Sports and Technology

167

Ratten, V. (2019). Sports technology and innovation: Assessing cultural and social factors. Palgrave Macmillan. Ratten, V. (2020). Sport technology: A commentary. Journal of High Technology Management Research, 31, 100383 Ratten, V. (2021). Introduction: Innovation and entrepreneurship in sport management. In Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Sport Management. Edward Elgar Publishing. Reitman, J. G., Anderson-Coto, M. J., Wu, M., Lee, J. S., & Steinkuehler, C. (2020). Esports research: A literature review. Games and Culture, 15(1), 32–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/155541 2019840892 Rynarzewska, A. I. (2018). Virtual reality: A new channel in sport consumption. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 12(4), 472–488. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-02-2018-0028 Saks, A. M., & Johns, G. (2011). Organizational behaviour. W. Ross MacDonald School Resource Services Library. Schmidt, S. L. (2020). How technologies impact sports in the digital age. In S. L. Schmidt (Ed.), 21st century sports: Future of business and finance (pp 3–14), Springer Nature. Shilbury, D., & Rentschler, R. (2007). Assessing sport management journals: A multi-dimensional examination. Sport Management Review, 10(1), 31–44. Suits, B. (2007). The elements of sport. In W. J. Morgan (Ed.), Ethics in sport. Human kinetics (pp. 9–19). Champaign, IL Van Bottenburg, M., & Salome, L. (2010). The indoorisation of outdoor sports: An exploration of the rise of lifestyle sports in artificial settings. Leisure Studies, 29(2), 143–160. Van de Ven, A. H., & Rogers, E. M. (1988). Innovations and organizations: Critical perspectives. Communication Research, 15(5), 632–651. Wang, C. (2021). New frontiers and future directions in interactive marketing: Inaugural editorial. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 15(1), 1–9. Watanabe, N. M., Shapiro, S., Drayer, J. (2021), Journal of Sport Management, Big Data and Analytics in Sport Management, 35(3), 08884773. Wedel, M., Bigné, E., & Zhang, J. (2020). Virtual and augmented reality: Advancing research in consumer marketing. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 37(3), 443–465. Westerbeek, H., & Smith, A. (2003). Sport business in the global marketplace. Palgrave, Macmillan. Yoshida, M., James, J. D., & Cronin, J. J., Jr. (2013). Sport event innovativeness: Conceptualization, measurement, and its impact on consumer behavior. Sport Management Review, 16(1), 68–84. Yuksel, M., Smith, A. N., & Milne, G. R. (2021). Fantasy sports and beyond: Complementary digital experiences (CDXs) as innovations for enhancing fan experience. Journal of Business Research, 134, 143–155.

Webography and reports https://home.kpmg/uk/en/blogs/home/posts/2021/04/the-evolution-of-gaming-and-esports-bus iness.html (last accessed September 30, 2022) https://medium.com/sportstechx/sportstech-in-2022-a-global-overview-c5dcfd657585 (last accessed September 29, 2022) https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/press-release/smart-stadium-market-2022 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sports-global-market-report-2022-301500432.html (last accessed September 30, 2022) https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-08-23-gartner-identifies-key-eme rging-technologies-spurring-innovation-through-trust-growth-and-change (last accessed September 30, 2022) https://www.proquest.com/wire-feeds/smart-stadium-global-market-report-2022/docview/264103 8705/se-2?accountid=38934 (last accessed September 30, 2022)

168

B. Basu

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/most-fans-prefer-watching-sports-via-stream ing-than-pay-tv-survey-shows-2021-07-21/ (last accessed September 29, 2022) https://www.globenewswire.com/fr/news-release/2022/03/21/2407025/0/en/Smart-Stadium-Glo bal-Market-Report-2022.html https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/online-gambling-market https://draftkings.gcs-web.com/static-files/f973bec8-59cb-43d5-9681-676566ea5c6e https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/527803935/fantasy-sports-market-expected-to-reach-48-6-bil lion-by-2027-allied-market-research https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream11 https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/research/indias-fantasy-sports-marketprojected-to-reach-rs-1-65-lakh-crore-by-2025-fifs-deloitte-report/90224932 https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consumer-business/us-cb-the-sta dium-as-a-platform-final.pdf Emergen Research (2021), “Technology explosion causing super ripples in Metaverse market Emergen research”, www.prnewswire.com, available at: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ technology-explosion-causing-super-ripples-in-metaverse-market%96emergen-research-301 418513.html Gartner. (2019, 2020, 2021). Gartner hype cycle for emerging technologies. Stamford, CT: Gartner Inc. KPMG. (2016). The business of sports: Playing to win as the game unfurls. KPMG.com/in. MarketsandMarkets. (2022). Sports technology market—global forecast to 2026. Retrieved from https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/sports-analytics-market-35276513.html Olympic World Library—Sport industry: System rebooting: PwC’s sports survey 2020/PricewaterhouseCoopers—Detail (olympics.com). theinsightpartners.com. www.statista.com www.wiprodigital.com www.capgemini.com www.businessinsider.com www.reuters.com

Dr. Bhaskar Basu is a Professor in Information Systems at Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB), XIM University, India. He has a PGDBM (equivalent to an MBA) from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta, a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur (Industrial Engineering and Systems Department), and a gold medalist from Jadavpur University (Department of Production Engineering). He has around 30 years experience in industry and academia. His research interests are in the area(s) of Knowledge Management, Industry 4.0, Sports Management, and AI applications in Business. He also has several book chapters and edited books to his credit, besides multiple newspaper/magazine articles. His research work has been published in reputed refereed international journals like VINE, Facilities, etc. Dr. Basu is also a member of the Association of Information Systems (AIS) and the Institution of Engineers (IE). His hobbies are reading and watching spectator sports, especially cricket, hockey and football.

The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events Ekaterina Glebova, Anna Gerke, and Robert Book

1 Introduction Today, different types of technological advancement are employed across the world by all sports spectators, teams, athletes, brands, associations, and coaches. Consequently, the adoption of these innovative tools gives an opportunity to sport management professionals to gain a competitive advantage. Technologies are ready to offer to all stakeholders new ways to manage and experience sports events. Nowadays, the world constantly stays in the condition of uncertainty, affecting many industries, including sport. It is facing numerous changes, challenges, and, consequently, opportunities. However, in a complex environment, even with relevant skills and experiences, often it is difficult to identify and use these opportunities, and, then, turn them into a competitive advantage. In the modern globalized world, we see technology, in a broad meaning, as key instrument for negotiating uncertainty in the rapidly changing business environment. In this chapter, we discuss in detail how various technologies may help all the stakeholders to mitigate crisis and ambiguity, straightening different aspects of the sport industry. Back in 2009 in an “A Brief History of the Future” Attali (2009) has predicted the return of nomadism coupled with sedentary behavior, and, according to him, it is supposed to have a direct impact on sports entertainment and events: “New E. Glebova (B) University Paris Saclay, CIAMS, Orsay, France e-mail: [email protected] A. Gerke Audencia Business School, Nantes, France e-mail: [email protected] R. Book Department of Sports, Physical Education and Outdoor Studies, University of South-Eastern Norway, Notodden, Norway e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_8

169

170

E. Glebova et al.

technologies will make it possible to gain access to them on all media, two- or threedimensional, and even use them in order to self-monitor their own emotions. The spectators will be able to join in soccer matches involving thousands of players. The major competitions in these sports (and especially the most popular of them, soccer) will open broad markets for the ‘business circuses’ that manage them” (Attali, 2009, p. 183). To this end, the “future” described by Attali seems to be right nowadays, and the role of technologies in sports entertainment is crucial. Later, in 2017, Fouché explained in detail the groundbreaking role of technologies in sports in a book with a meaningful and explicit title “Game Changer: The Technoscientific Revolution in Sports” (Fouché, 2017). Many digital, technical, and social aspects of today’s sports marketing environment have served as a contextual frame for this chapter on the emergence of new mobile applications (apps), the Internet of Things, (IoT), Immersive technologies (XR), 5G, hardware and software, which demonstrates the emergence of new forms of sports marketing, management and consumption. The current chapter focuses on the drastic role of technology in modern sports events, explaining in detail different aspects of impact, and contributing to understanding how technologies change and will change sports events.

1.1 As a Result of This Chapter, the Readers Will • Understand the nature, trajectory, and roles of technologies in sport events • Be aware of developing issues and trends that affect the present and future technologies deployment in sports entertainment • Appreciate factors that contribute to transforming and enhancing sports performance, analytics, and spectating • Recognize the importance of technologies’ wide dissemination and their effect on event management • Recognize the need for research, data analysis, and accountability when planning, deploying, and managing technologies in spectators’ experiences (SSCX) • Understand how sports events are transforming through technology • Comprehend the importance of emerging technologies in terms of nowadays sports • Disclose the role of the metaverse and digital twins in future sport events • Understand what an NFT is, what is its’ value and how it is applicable in sport • Foresee the future research and development paths and directions.

2 Theoretical Background and Key Constructs Recent academic research focuses mostly on the intersection of technologies and sports performance and exercising, but the understanding of the role of technologies

The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events

171

in sports spectacle and event management attracts attention as well (Glebova & Desbordes, 2021b; Glebova & Desfontaine, 2020). There is a large array of technological innovations and tools available to fans, brands, coaches, and sports performers. This paired with the increased desire to collect and process information rapidly and at minimum cost to the user leads toward the growth of technologically highly sophisticated products. Hence, fundamental transformations happen in sports ecosystems, more specifically in the interactions of the provider with the user. The role of technologies in the sports ecosystem is constantly growing, including for events at all levels and scales. Glebova and Desbordes (2021b) see technology as the main driver of improving the customer experiences of sports spectators. Moreover, technologies change the way how sports events are organized and managed (Rai, 2011). At the same time, with the influx of technologies being adapted to the sport, there is a critical need in addressing the issues arising from the integration of these innovations (Mallen, 2019). Technology was defined as the most dramatic change and a “Game Changer” in the service field (Fouché, 2017; Glebova & Desbordes, 2021b; Ostrom et al., 2015). Merriam-Webster Dictionary simply defines technology as 1a: the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular problem 1b: a capability is given by the practical application of knowledge 2: a manner of accomplishing a task, especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge 3: the specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavor. According to Rotolo (2015), all emerging technologies share five key attributes: radical novelty, relatively fast growth, coherence, prominent impact, uncertainty, and ambiguity. Thus, all technologies we discuss in the current chapter may be considered emerging. The theoretical construct “technology” is unclear in literature and sometimes it is used misleadingly. Often “technology” conveys “technology-based products/services.” For this chapter, it seems to be important, because technology is a manner of accomplishing a task, but a technological product/service is a product/service based on this technology. For example, AI is a technology, but an AI-based service robot is a technological product, the Internet is a technology, but a mobile phone connected to the internet is a technology-based product (Glebova & Desbordes, 2021a). In order to define the nature, courses, and impact of technologies in sports, Glebova and Desbordes (2021a) have developed a typology of technology innovations in sports, based on the three aspects: context, consumer, and innovation nature. Furthermore, it explains the circle (evolution continuum) of the interrelation of sport technology innovation and cultural aspects of the sport, embracing the key elements: cultural perspectives of sports business, ecosystem, innovation, and sport technology innovations. Sport technology innovation often can be directed specifically toward the cultural perspective of a sport business, such as its traditional values, rules, norms and policies, and innovations affect the culture and shape the ecosystem; all

172

E. Glebova et al.

cultural characteristics influence innovation (Skinner et al., 2018), evolving through the evolution continuum (Glebova & Desbordes, 2021a). All sports events are different in many terms. Gammon (2012) distinguishes the following types of sports events: (1) special, (2) mega, (3) hallmark, (4) sports heritage, (5) parades and festivals, and (6) small-scale/community. Any kind of sports event involves a number of stakeholders (a person or entity with an interest or concern related to a particular event or business process; Glebova & Desbordes, 2021b). In a sporting event, typically, there are key stakeholders: spectators/fans, athletes/teams, sports organizations, sponsors, sports brands, and employees/volunteers, among others. The development and roles of stakeholder relationships pass through three phases: pre-event, event time, and post-event (Kristiansen et al., 2021). Each stakeholder has its own role(s), often overlapping. For example, there are a few stakeholders, who can be defined as a consumer in the framework of a sporting event. Notably, Shank (2005) stated that the sports industry seeks to satisfy the needs of three distinct types of consumers: spectators, participants, and sponsors. Hypothetically, a technological development and impact can be seen through two contrasting theories: social constructivism and technological determinism. Notably, the social constructivism theory (Lombardo & Kantola, 2021) opens a perspective where social factors contribute to the success or the failure of technology. Thus, according to social constructivism, society influences technology, and its’ development, in the opposition to technological determinism theory (Table 1), where technology inevitably influences society (Winner, 2001; Wyatt, 2008).

3 Technologies in Sports Events Different technologies play different roles in sporting events for different stakeholders. Subsequently, to define a role of a particular technology in modern sport event management, the function of technology and its impact from the stakeholders’ perspective matters (Friedman & Miles, 2006). Particularly, the transformation can be seen in terms of security, fan engagement, efficiency and effectiveness of resources use and allocation, sustainability, accessibility and inclusion, and sport video broadcasting (Figs. 1 and 3). Table 1 Social constructivism and technological determinism Social constructivism

Technological determinism

Society influences technological development

Technology influences society

Only social factors may determine the success or failure of a technology

Only technological factors may determine the success or failure of a particular technology

Recursive technological development

Linear technological development

The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events

173

Fig. 1 Technologies in sport events in the contemporary context

3.1 Security It is difficult to underestimate the importance of security and safety in sporting events at all levels. Security includes a complicated, specialized, long-term preparation process and planning, involving all stakeholders directly or indirectly. Nowadays, with digital technologies, many security tasks become simplified and automatized (Scarpi et al., 2022). However, it also raises new issues: ethics and cyber security. The majority of the modern security technologies are based on data: camera surveillance, identification, profiling, and analytics involving pieces of personal data. A technology of radio-frequency identification (RFID) can tag in tickets, personal devices, or apps to identify and track attendees in a venue. This type of information helps with security in the venue but also assists venue operators to deploy additional resources when needed to handle long lines, medical issues, find lost children, and

174

E. Glebova et al.

numerous other uses. On the one hand, it can be seen as a powerful tool for security management and control, but, on the other hand, it is not in compliance with legislation in terms of data collection and proceeding (David & Kirkhope, 2004; Quach et al., 2022). By way of illustration, in France, the president of the CNIL (fr: Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés1 ) has issued a warning to the sport society which was assessing the use of a system of facial recognition in order to automatically identify people subjected to commercial prohibition into the stadium (CNIL, 2021). This system aims to detect lost objects and recognize people subjected to commercial ban into the stadium, among other security purposes. The technology is based on biometric data processing, precisely physical or biological human characteristics (e.g., DNA, footprints, hand contour). Sure enough, according to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act, any collection and management of human personal data are forbidden. Thus, the implementation of facial recognition and other personal identity technologies by sports associations are illegal without special legislative disposals or a regulation.

3.2 Fan Engagement Fan engagement is the process of delivering an end-to-end customer experience (throughout the duration of the customer–product interaction, re-entering at various touchpoints) to a sport spectating audiences at all stages of their customer journey (before, during, and after an event). Beyond sport events, fan engagement involves all types of fans’ networking and communications. It is often confused or mixed up with “involvement,” which implies “doing to,” while “engagement” means “doing with” (Harrigan et al., 2018). By leveraging the new technological innovations in data analytics, sport managers can enhance the emotional experience and take fan engagement to exciting new levels. Today, it seems difficult to make an exhaustive list to outline the full vast multiplicity of various technologies integrated with the sports industry: big data, immersive technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, social media, mobile applications (apps), service robots, digital assistants, Artificial Intelligence (AI), among others. All these technologies (and technology-based products and services) are often linked to each other, overlapping in terms of nature, deployment, and usage. That’s why in today’s sports marketing context technologies should be considered holistically, inseparable one from another. The proliferation and infusion of rapidly advancing technologies have attracted much attention from both research and industry, and fundamentally changed the way customers and the service field communicate and interact in the following points: 1

The CNIL is an independent French administrative regulatory body whose mission is to ensure that data privacy law is applied to the collection, storage, and use of personal data: https://www. cnil.fr/en/cnils-missions.

The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events

175

• Interactive and engaging ways to deliver experiences • Delivering “smooth” experiences becomes easier for sport management professionals • Easily accessible information, anytime from anywhere • Improving the quality of content • Personalization • Transformation of the social aspect of fandom in terms of an opportunity to virtually reach people at a physical distance • Sports spectating becomes more and more inclusive, embracing female fans, kids, disabled people. Principally, the advancements in data collection and analysis lead to a personalization of experiences. Today, we observe an unprecedented growth of immersive technologies (common abbreviation: XR for eXtended Reality) development, particularly, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and immersive environments (IE) alongside gaming and e-sport. The video gaming industry is massive and does not appear any signs of slowing down, even the opposite. While there were almost two billion video gamers across the world in 2015, it is expected to surpass 3.3 billion gamers by 2024 (Clement, 2022). Immersive can be seen as the main tool or as a supplementary channel to enhance SSCX and deliver a piece of information to an end-user. For example, the Minnesota Vikings museum invites sports fans to experience virtual competitions with professional players through VR. Indeed, it illustrates a trend of gamification of fan experiences as a part of the engagement strategy. In the framework of IoT and internet coverage technology helps fans to buy tickets, find their seats, check toilets’ availability, find parking, and order food, making SSCX more comfortable. However, the term “Connected Stadium” is not embracing technology or infrastructure only. For example, Postmates is the exclusive on-demand food delivery partner of the Yankees Stadium. Implementation of this concept means that food and beverage choice is no longer limited by an in-stadium offer. A fan may choose and order any restaurant they want and order delivery right to the stadium. Obviously, Food and Beverage (F&B) is an essential part of the basic in-stadium experience (Parry et al., 2017). And Postmates illustrates the smart and simple solution to a complicated problem. By the way, as a part of technological transformation, the evolution of additional in-stadium services opens many questions. For example, how it may impact stadium attendance, in-stadium sales, and customer satisfaction? Nowadays, this question does not have any univocal single answer, it always depends on a particular case. The majority of technological advances in terms of user experiences (UX) are integrated through mobile apps, consolidating all user data. Smartphones have taken over the traditional laptops and tablets, and are becoming more and more versatile in terms of usage (Glebova & Desfontaine, 2020; Zandt, 2022). Accordingly, the mobile app industry is evolving and uptake all possible fields of life and activity, for

176

E. Glebova et al.

example, reservations, gaming, gambling, paying bills, ordering tickets, communications, broadcastings, search, and leisure time. Consumers’ use of mobile applications (apps) poses multiple challenges for research in consumer behavior and companies have seen them as a new way to communicate with customers. The sports industry and event management have been benefiting from this development. Nowadays, athletes, sports teams, and organizations employ App Marketing (i.e., development and management of marketing campaigns that communicate with fans at every stage of their customer journey; (Glebova & Desfontaine, 2020; Guo et al., 2019; Lee, 2018) which is showing great marketing results (Sung, 2021). In terms of sports events, a mobile application is a multi-purpose technologybased product. It is supposed to connect a customer with absolutely all aspects of the event. For example, in terms of safety, through a mobile application, stadium visitors can anonymously report safety concerns, suspicious activity, and unattended packages directly to the stadium’s security officials. Thus, it is a way to seek medical assistance, find informational support in critical moments, and check parking and toilet availability in real-time. Fans are also able to interact with security officials through two-way communications and send photos, videos, and audio to provide specific details. The mobile application essentially allows fans in the venue to be the eyes and ears for security. An application can also be used to enter the stadium with mobile tickets, order in-seat F&B delivery, order merchandise express pickup and watch instant replays, follow analytics, and do shopping (e.g., fans memorabilia). As such, not only is the mobile application helping to improve the venue security, but it also helps to leverage a fan experience, since all the information and services become easily accessible. Events, brands, organizations, and venues are developing their mobile app(s) because it’s the “place” for all services and customer interactions. Access to all information and services is structured in a single system, easily accessible for consumers. For example, a sport event may include its mobile stores as an online-commerce option in an app. It would help offer an inclusive mobile experience for fans, allowing users to buy club memorabilia through their mobile devices. From all these points of view, mobile apps are versatile powerful marketing tools for sports managers and a useful information source for fans as well. According to the Statista Research Department (2022), social media usage currently is among the most popular pastimes worldwide. If in 2020, over 3.6 billion people were active social media users globally, furthermore the number is projected to grow to almost 4.41 billion in 2025. Thus, nowadays, online social networking is one of the most popular digital activities and, consequently, its’ penetration across all parts of the world and social groups is constantly increasing, affecting all demographics. In fact, most of the social media’s global growth is driven by the increasing usage of mobile devices, notably, smartphones. Mobile-first market Eastern Asia topped the global ranking of mobile social networking penetration, followed by established digital powerhouses such as the Americas and Northern Europe (Omnicore, 2022; Statista Research Department, 2022). The Facebook was the first social network to surpass one billion registered accounts and currently boasts approximately 2.7 billion monthly active users, making

The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events

177

it the most popular social network worldwide, constantly developing tools for users. In June 2020, the top social media apps in the Apple App Store included mobile messaging apps WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, as well as the ever-popular app version of Facebook. Social media is an integral part of daily internet usage, including sport content consumption. On average, internet users spend 144 min per day on social media and messaging apps, an increase of more than half an hour since 2015. On average, internet users in Latin America had the highest average time spent per day on social media (Statista Research Department, 2022). Social media and communication platforms expand fan experience in the direction of social interactions and information exchange. It is a root of numerous forms of nowadays social media influence at an intersection with sport events: fans’ online communities, formation of public opinion, user-generated content, influencer marketing, and CRM (customer relationship management), among others. Customer relationship management (CRM) can be defined as the technology itself for establishing and maintaining relationships with current and potential customers. Undoubtedly, it involves plenty of technological tools, for example, digital communication, analytics software, algorithms, and communication techniques. Notably, it allows for building customer engagement and intimacy with behavior-based CRM with a featured mobile app front end (Jaysinghe, 2021). Furthermore, it is not only allowing for the building of data-driven marketing strategies and conducts enhanced interactions with customers but also puts forward efficiency and effectiveness.

3.3 Efficiency and Effectiveness of Resources Use and Allocation Modern technologies allow managing events effectively and efficiently. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in sports are continuously emerging all over the industry, covering operations management, financial aspects, advanced performance analysis, and fan experience. Among these tools, there are sensors, wearables, and computer vision-powered cameras to collect data, whereas, natural language processing devices can leverage speech and text recognition to gather insights regarding the audiences (Fouché, 2017). This volume of work is difficult, even impossible, to be done by a human employee. Thus, all these technological tools can be used for the optimization of costs and resources in sport event management to create forecast models, help stakeholders through their decision-making, and automatize operations and processes related to broadcasting and fan experience. However, replacing a human, AI raises ethical issues like, for example, unemployment. Human work can be automatized for many functions, being replaced by AI, robots, and machines. Representing AI tools, Virtual Assistant Referees (VAR) have been used in football for years to provide slow-motion highlights to human umpires, but with the disadvantage of slowing down the game. The new algorithms are addressing this problem by improving VAR to be faster and more accurate in detecting game

178

E. Glebova et al.

violations. Content creation can be the next example, since using machine learning and deep learning algorithms, broadcasters can automate numerous content creation functions, including camera position and zoom in on key field actions in real-time. Another function to be automatized is stadium cleaning. Often, stadiums are crowdy and busy spaces, thus, they require special attention to effective and efficient cleaning, sometimes with a help of technologies. For example, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the first in the world to utilize a new robotic cleaning technology Eco Bot 75’s (ICE Co-Botics, 2022). The Eco Bot 75 is environmentally friendly and able to work six hours in a row on a single power charge. This cleaning robot possesses a four-stage filtering system that ensures 70% of its water usage is safely filtered and recycled without affecting the standard of cleaning, thus, it can be seen as an opportunity to save large volumes of water (taking into account huge stadium space). Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected requirements and standards for cleaning in public places. The University of New Mexico had zero at-home games in 2020 due to pandemic restrictions. Since 2021, the “breezy one” from Build With Robots technological company has been using autonomous disinfection to improve their cleaning methods (Buildwithrobots, 2022). For performance evaluation and judging, technologies provide real-time analytics, making the process unbiased and informative. However, according to Collins et al. (2016), the Hawk-Eye system used in tennis and cricket and the goal-line technology used in English football—introduced to correct “bad calls” sometimes get it right and sometimes get it wrong, but always undermine the authority of umpires. Thus, the “Bad Call” is presented by authors as a situation when advanced technologies bring referees to wrong decisions in sports with further consequences. Then, Collins et al. (2016) point out: “What matters in sports is not computer-generated projections of ball position but what is seen by the human eye—reconciling what the sports fan sees and what the game official sees.”

3.4 Sustainability Generally speaking, sustainable sport events seek to reduce the sport’s ecological footprint on the environment. How can sporting events be sustainable (Jensen, 2021)? Sustainable events are supposed to address (entirely or partially) 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): (1) no poverty, (2) zero hunger, (3) good health and well-being, (4) quality education, (5) gender equality, (6) clean water, (7) affordable and clean energy, (8) decent work and economic growth, (9) industry, innovation and infrastructure, (10) reduced inequality, (11) sustainable cities and communities, (12) responsible consumption and production, (13) climate action, (14) life below water, (15) life on land, (16) peace and justice strong institutions, and (17) partnerships to achieve the goal. Thus, in terms of a sport event, sustainable goals may embrace many overlapping components, for example, carbon awareness, low waste policy, and innovative energy solutions. All the sustainable solutions for sport events are primarily based on technology. Event organizers, hosts, consumers,

The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events

179

and suppliers share responsibility for implementing and communicating sustainable practices between all stakeholders and technological advancements help in this mission. For example, the Helsinki International Horse Show (the largest indoor sporting event in Finland) has taken part in zero-waste measures, since in 2021 it was fully maintained by electricity generated from horse manure (Helsinki Horse Show, 2021). Another example is the cricket stadium Chinnaswamy in the Indian city of Bangalore, which has implemented a zero-waste policy for its spectators, by involving volunteers to sort waste and directly teach spectators to behave sustainably during the Indian Premier League matches. The environmental ambitions of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games convey the commitment of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to become a climatepositive organization by 2024 and further have solitary climate-positive Olympic Games in the future, from 2030 onwards (Fig. 2).

3.5 Accessibility and Inclusion With constant improvements in digital entertainment systems and internet connectivity occurring all the time, sport fans can build themselves a spectating experience that fits their preferred specifications without any limitations in time, place, or services. Sport is available to be watched in full digital clarity anytime from anywhere, bringing all sport fans to the “Global Stadium,” embracing social media and OTT platforms (“Over The Top”, any streaming service that delivers content over the internet). It makes the event accessible for a wide range of people, regardless of their physical location, age, social and financial status, health condition, and disabilities: Everyone and everywhere can watch sports events by joining the stream/recording watching provided by modern technologies. Also, connectivity gives more opportunities to disabled people to enjoy visiting a stadium: digital navigation, parking, and toilet accessibility real-time check, food delivery to a seat. Particularly, for inclusive and universal mobility, mobile applications like Evelity (2022) guide people with disabilities through complex places of everyday life, including sport stadia, providing a step-by-step guidance like a pedestrian navigation, both indoors and outdoors. Evelity proposes routes and indications and user-friendly interfaces, customized for each profile (disabled or not). TEQ sports and culture are the perfect examples of new innovative sports development and their inclusion in the global sport industry. “The word is curved,” this motto of TEQ company attracts attention and reflects the nature of their key product: a curved sport table, universal for all five TEQ sports: (1) teqball (Németh, 2021), (2) teqis (Ujszászi, 2021), (3) teqpong (Koppán, 2021), (4) teqvoly (Dégi, 2021), (5) qatch (Binnenbruck, 2021), and, in addition to para-sports based on all these five games. TEQ table is a new, innovative, high-quality sports equipment, which is suitable for professional athletes, and amateur enthusiasts; and keeps the population fit and active. It’s designed for indoor and outdoor use, it’s disabled-friendly, and has numerous advantages for rehabilitation training.

180

E. Glebova et al.

Fig. 2 Sustainability becomes central to the Olympic Movement’s vision of “building a better world through sport”2

The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events Fig. 3 Technological transformation of sport events

181

Engage ment

Broad casting

Security

Sport Events Tech Transform ation

Inclusion

Efficiency

Sustain ability

Currently, teqball is recognized as “the fastest-growing global sport,” and TEQ company is driving TEQ sports to the forefront of global recognition. It has the potential to enhance the global sports industry, building an innovative sport global culture (Glebova & Desbordes, 2021a) and brand. Furthermore, teqball has ambitions to become an Olympic sport in the future. TEQ sports concept is relatively new and, obviously, under-researched. It’s a young innovative sport itself, actively represented in social media, representing a phenomenon of appearance, dissemination, and deployment of a new evolutionary sports innovation, embracing equipment and culture, extending and enhancing already existing sports.

3.6 Sport Media Coverage and Video Broadcasting Nowadays, sport media coverage is more extensive than ever before, because of the wide diffusion of technological advancements. Just a few decades ago, fans could only watch the game on a few media videos, press, or audio channels (e.g., radio and newspapers); now, there is a variety of choices, including different types of broadcasting, and social media. Coverage is available always and (almost) everywhere, at all times and in all places. Plus, live, and full-replay coverage is now available. Missing the big game in recent history meant having to wait until the following day to see the results in the newspaper or hear them from your friends. In addition, 2

Reproduced from Olympics (2022), https://olympics.com/ioc/news/the-ioc-and-the-olympicgames-addressing-climate-change [last access: 01/04/2022].

182

E. Glebova et al.

spectators can now react, comment, capture, save, and playback whatever video and audio content, and even interact with peers. Sporting event broadcasting media outlets can now employ technology to transmit information rapidly, effectively, and efficiently. Any pieces of sport content technically can be sent to users’ personal devices as soon as it is existing. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are blockchain-based unique digital identifiers. NFTs can record the ownership of media and bring sports memorabilia into the digital age (Lee et al., 2022). NFTs allow ownership for any part of digital content by assigning the content a specific, non-duplicable identifier that is recorded on a distributed database (it may include ownership of the underlying digital asset). Each NFT comprises a kind of smart contract whose terms are applicable indefinitely and that executes immediately and irrevocably with each trade. Every single piece of NFT is unique in the same way that each limited run of a physical print is individually numbered, yet otherwise identical. Consequently, it let us suggest that NFTs may bring predefined scarcity to digital content. Lee et al. (2022) liken NFTs to physically printed sports trading cards. In their turn, NFTs serve the same purpose as cards, but “swap still images with digital stills or video, cardboard with pixels, binders with digital displays (mostly smartphones), collectors’ fairs with online trading platforms, and third-party authentication agencies with blockchain” (Lee et al., 2022, p. 2). The value of each NFT depends on the reputation of the athlete or team, the significance of the event (Su et al., 2020), quality, and “weight” of any additional content included within this NFT and demand. An NFT is limited to a single exclusive edition of a major event, for example, a legendary winning goal, a celebrity shot, home run. As NFTs’ scope evolves, supplementary it may include digital versions of physical world objects, for example, athlete t-shirts or any other artifacts. Possibly, depending on a contract, a limited number of certified numbered copies can be sold from auction or marketplace. This concept has a lot in common with other art significant masterpieces, in which variants of the same work of art, but with differing numbers of certified copies, have different values. Furthermore, NFTs can be seen as a source of additional revenue for sports brands, venues, leagues, teams, and athletes. Finding new and innovative ways to enhance the experience for absolutely all fans has taken on increased significance; hence, the improvement of spectating is one of the key roles of technology in sporting events. Indeed, technological applications are capable to improve broadcasting for all the stakeholders, including the production team. Notably, AI-powered automatical cameras allow youth sports to employ a high-quality broadcast without an expensive on-site production team. The computer vision is used to identify elements of the game (athlete, equipment, gate, etc.), then, autonomously follow the performance, capturing the key moments. Moreover, the customized graphics and data analytics can also be automatically applied to the footage for spectators’ engagement. It illustrates how AI enables streaming and recording events from an automated camera system without any production team on the field. Every brand is trying to figure out how to position itself in the metaverse (Facebook, 2022), and the sports industry has a unique opportunity to drive innovation

The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events

183

since the sport is a perfect innovation adaptor (Glebova & Desbordes, 2021a). One of the main purposes of the metaverse is to create shared experiences, albeit updated for a tech-infused world. Emerging XR technology, including, metaverse promises an opportunity for fully immersive virtual experiences. In general, the metaverse can be described as a virtual reality world characterized by a three-dimensional, multi-sensory experience, to be compared to the nowadays usual to everyone twodimensional: text and images on flat screens of digital devices. In terms of sport events, it can be a feeling and experience of a physical presence in a stadium without being there. It opens absolutely new perspectives on sport spectating, and it will definitely reshape and shift the sports economy. In this regard, nowadays XR seems to be one of the most interesting research paths and themes for further development at the intersection with the sports industry and event management. One of the open questions is how to address digital safety in the metaverse for vulnerable groups of users, for example, children. Nike creates a Nikeland on the Roblox (an online game platform and game creation system that allows users to program games and play games created by other users), and it is Nike’s purpose-built metaverse space where users can communicate with the brand and each other’s avatars in different engaging ways (Nike, 2021). Technically, a real world can be reflected and re-created digitally. A digital venue twin can be defined as a virtual interactive representation of an entire venue system. It is supposed to be hyper-realistic and uses real-time data and simulations for a user. The Paris Olympic Games 2024 project is the first-ever digital venue twin, provided by UK-based startup OnePlan (Oneplanevents, 2022), the official supporter of GIS mapping and software for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. In the framework of this partnership, a digital interactive copy of the event will be constructed. This technology reduces the need for physical presence and visits for stakeholders, including spectators, eliminating CO2 emissions associated with this mobility. Potentially, events’ digital twins bring numerous benefits for all stakeholders: (1) lower maintenance costs, (2) reduced health, safety, and environmental risks, and (3) enhanced strategy to improve system performance, among others. To this end, digital twin software technology is capable to create an accurate virtual replica of a physical sporting event as a holistic system to boost productivity, streamline operations, increase profits, and enhance SSCX.

4 Conclusion As we described in this chapter, technologies can be seen as a key, tool, and catalyst for transforming sport events, and sport in general as well. It is a broad, complex, and trendy topic, largely disclosed in the recent academic literature. Technologies of different types play a crucial role for all the stakeholders, in terms of security, fan engagement, efficiency and effectiveness of resources use and allocation, sustainability, accessibility and inclusion, and sport video broadcasting (Fig. 3). It

184

E. Glebova et al.

affects all aspects of sport, including performance, judging, training, physical activity, spectating, and management, among others. Sport event management has been radically disrupted over the last decades through the development and mass diffusion of connectivity, social media, user-generated content, streaming, and various technological breakthroughs. Consequently, event management and stakeholders have been upended, and entire industry sub-systems have been raised, transformed, or disappeared completely. Advances in technology profoundly impact on sport event management including: • Sophisticated and real-time analytics, increasing accuracy in time measurements of sport performance • Moving toward SGD and making sport events inclusive and sustainable • Enabling sport officials, referees, umpires, and spectators to be informed and make better decisions • Improvements in stadium design, branding, and quality of sport equipment and apparel • Delivering enhanced experiences to spectators with better communications and sport performance as well. COVID-19 catapulted sports into the digital-first world. Technology had already been transforming the sports industry, however, during the lockdown experiences, fans demanded even more virtual and digitized SSCX. Thus, the majority of sporting and sport-related organizations have accelerated and straightened their digital transformation and search for innovative solutions, disrupting business models, giving birth to cutting-edge start-ups, and often fully reshaping sporting events. Particularly, the process of digital transformation is currently focused on the automatization of processes, the adoption of innovative methods, and digitalization. It involves a wide range of technologies. Nowadays and for the foreseeable future, NFT and XR seem the most perspective for the sport industry in terms of development and adoption; however, these technological trends are changing rapidly, replacing each other. Undoubtedly, when used well, technologies can help referees reach the right decision and deliver real-time analytics of a fair match justice for fans (Collins et al., 2016; Fouché, 2017); avoid injuries; enhance SSCX; generate additional services and revenue; care about the environment. To benefit from technologies and turn them into a competitive advantage in the field of sport event management, stakeholders should clearly understand the role and impact of technologies in terms of security, ethics, and sustainability.

References Attali, J. (2009). A brief history of the future (J. Leggatt, Trans.). Arcade Publishing, New York. ISBN: 978-1-61145-013-2. Binnenbruck, A. (2021). Qatch: The status of the trend game in Germany. In 4th Sport and Innovation International Conference, 15–17 September 2021, Budapest, Balatonboglár. Retrieved June

The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events

185

5, 2022 from https://tf.hu/files/docs/sportinno/2021/IV._Sport_%C3%A9s_Innov%C3%A1ci% C3%B3_Nemzetk%C3%B6zi_Konferencia_program-_%C3%A9s_absztraktf%C3%BCzet.pdf Buildwithrobots. (2022). Arenas and stadiums. Retrieved June 5, 2022 from https://buildwithrob ots.com/industries-we-serve/arenas-and-stadiums/ Clement, J. (2022). Number of video gamers worldwide 2015–2024, Statista. Retrieved June 7, 2022 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/748044/number-video-gamers-world/ CNIL. (2021). Reconnaissance faciale et interdiction commerciale de stade: la CNIL adresse un avertissement à un club sportif. Retrieved February 28, 2022 from https://www.cnil.fr/fr/reconn aissance-faciale-et-interdiction-commerciale-de-stade-la-cnil-adresse-un-avertissement-un-club Collins, H., Evans, R., & Higgins, C. (2016). Bad call: Technology’s attack on referees and umpires and how to fix it. MIT Press. David, M., & Kirkhope, J. (2004). New digital technologies: Privacy/property, globalization, and law. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, 3(4), 437–449. https://doi.org/10. 1163/1569150042728884 Dégi, B. (2021). Teqvoly: The new era of volleyball. In 4th Sport and innovation international conference, 15–17 September 2021, Budapest, Balatonboglár. Retrieved June 5, 2022 from https://tf.hu/files/docs/sportinno/2021/IV._Sport_%C3%A9s_Innov%C3%A1ci% C3%B3_Nemzetk%C3%B6zi_Konferencia_program-_%C3%A9s_absztraktf%C3%BCzet.pdf Evelity. (2022). The first wayfinding solution for all types of disabilities, useful for everyone! Retrieved April 1, 2022 from https://www.evelity.com/en/ Facebook. (2022). Connection is evolving and so are we. Retrieved April 1, 2022 from https://about. facebook.com/meta/ Fouché, R. (2017). Game changer: The technoscientific revolution in sports. JHU Press. Friedman, A. L., & Miles, S. (2006). Stakeholders: Theory and practice. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199269860. Gammon, S. (2012). Sports events: typology, people and place. In The Routledge handbook of events (pp. 75–86). Glebova, E., & Desfontaine, P. (2020). Sport et technologies numériques: vers de nouvelles expériences spectateur (Sport and digital technologies: towards new spectator experiences). In M. Desbordes, & C. Hautbois (Eds.), Management du sport 3.0, Spectacle, Fan Experience et Digital. Economica. Glebova, E., & Desbordes, M. (2021a). Technology innovations in sports: Typology, nature, courses and impact. In Ratten (Ed.), Innovation and entrepreneurship in sport management, chapter 5 (pp. 57–72). Edward Elgar Publishing. Glebova, E., & Desbordes, M. (2021b). Identifying the role of digital technologies in sport spectators customer experiences through qualitative approach. Athens Journal of Sports, 8(2), 141–160. https://doi.org/10.30958/ajspo.8-2-3 Guo, B., Ouyang, Y., Guo, T., Cao, L., & Yu, Z. (2019). Enhancing mobile app user understanding and marketing with heterogeneous crowdsourced data: A review. IEEE Access, 7, 68557–68571. Harrigan, P., Evers, U., Miles, M. P., & Daly, T. (2018). Customer engagement and the relationship between involvement, engagement, self-brand connection and brand usage intent. Journal of Business Research, 88, 388–396. Helsinki Horse Show. (2021). Event information. Retrieved April 1, 2022 from https://helsinkihors eshow.fi/en/event-information/jumps-green/ ICE Co-Botics. (2022). Our equipment. Retrieved June 5, 2022 from https://ice-clean.com/mac hines/ice-range/ice-co-botics Jaysinghe, W. S. (2021). Customer engagement, CRM and intimacy: A study of mobile app effectiveness; business law, and management (BLM2). In International conference on advanced marketing (ICAM4) an international joint e-conference-2021, Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Jensen, C. T. (2021). Local sport event policies and sustainability: A puzzle approach. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3, 667762. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.667762

186

E. Glebova et al.

Koppán, D. (2021). Differences between the rules and elements of an innovative and a traditional racket sport. In 4th Sport and Innovation International Conference, 15–17 September 2021, Budapest, Balatonboglár. Retrieved June 5, 2022 from https://tf.hu/files/docs/sportinno/2021/ IV._Sport_%C3%A9s_Innov%C3%A1ci%C3%B3_Nemzetk%C3%B6zi_Konferencia_prog ram-_%C3%A9s_absztraktf%C3%BCzet.pdf Kristiansen, E., Solem, B., Dille, T., & Houlihan, B. (2021). Stakeholder management of temporary sport event organizations. Event Management. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599521X16106 577965080 Lee, P., Ajadi, T., Westcott, C. K. (2022). From trading cards to digital video: Sports NFTs kick sports memorabilia into the digital age. Deloitte’s Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) group, Deloitte Insights. Retrieved June 6, 2022 from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/ dam/insights/articles/GLOB164584_Sports-NFT/DI_Sports-NFT.pdf Lee, S. A. (2018). Enhancing customers’ continued mobile app use in the service industry. Journal of Services Marketing. Lombardo, E., & Kantola, J. (2021). Social constructivism. In The Routledge handbook of gender and EU politics (pp. 43–55). Routledge. Mallen, C. (2019). Introduction to emerging technologies and their implications in sport management: Implications for Sport Management. In Emerging technologies in sport. Routledge. https:// doi.org/10.4324/9781351117906-1 Németh, B. (2021). The relationship between teqball and football. In 4th Sport and innovation international conference, 15–17 September 2021, Budapest, Balatonboglár. Retrieved June 5, 2022 from https://tf.hu/files/docs/sportinno/2021/IV._Sport_%C3%A9s_Innov%C3%A1ci% C3%B3_Nemzetk%C3%B6zi_Konferencia_program-_%C3%A9s_absztraktf%C3%BCzet.pdf Nike. (2021). Nike creates NIKELAND on Roblox. Retrieved June 5, 2022 from https://news.nike. com/news/five-things-to-know-roblox Olympics. (2022). The IOC and the olympic games addressing climate change. Retrieved April 1, 2022 from https://olympics.com/ioc/news/the-ioc-and-the-olympic-games-addressing-climatechange Omnicore. (2022). 63 Facebook statistics you need to know in 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022 from https://www.omnicoreagency.com/facebook-statistics/ Oneplanevents. (2022). Map and plan your event site together. Retrieved April 30, 2022 from https://www.oneplanevents.com/ Ostrom, A. L., Parasuraman, A., Bowen, D. E., Patrício, L., & Voss, C. A. (2015). Service research priorities in a rapidly changing context. Journal of Service Research, 18(2), 127–159. https://doi. org/10.1177/1094670515576315 Parry, K. D., Hall, T., & Baxter, A. (2017). Who ate all the pies? The importance of food in the Australian sporting experience. Sport in Society, 20(2), 202–218. Quach, S., Thaichon, P., Martin, K. D., Weaven, S., & Palmatier, R. (2022). Digital technologies: Tensions in privacy and data. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. https://doi.org/10. 1007/s11747-022-00845-y Rai, J. (2011). Information technology in sports management-an overview (Vol. 4, pp. 17–22). Rotolo, D., Hicks, D., & Martin, B. R. (2015). What is an emerging technology?. Research policy, 44(10), 1827–1843. Scarpi, D., Pizzi, G., & Matta, S. (2022). Digital technologies and privacy: State of the art and research directions. Psychology & Marketing (pp. 1–11). https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21692S CARPI Shank, M. D. (2005). Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Pearson/Prentice Hall. Skinner, J., Smith, A., & Swanson, S. (2018). Fostering innovative cultures in sport: Leadership, innovation and change. Springer. Socha, R., & Wi´sniewski, B. (2019). Safety of mass sports events. ASEJ Scientific Journal of Bielsko-Biala School of Finance and Law, 23, 42–44. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0013.2669

The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events

187

Statista Research Department. (2022). Number of social network users worldwide from 2017 to 2025. Retrieved June 2, 2022 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-wor ldwide-social-network-users/ Su, Y., Baker, B., Doyle, J., & Kunkel, T. (2020). The rise of an athlete brand: Factors influencing the social media following of athletes. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 29, 33–46. https://doi.org/10. 32731/SMQ.291.302020.03 Sung, E. C. (2021). The effects of augmented reality mobile app advertising: Viral marketing via shared social experience. Journal of Business Research, 122, 75–87. Ujszászi, M. (2021). Teqis: Innovation in the world of racket sports. In 4th Sport and Innovation International Conference, 15–17 September 2021, Budapest, Balatonboglár. Retrieved June 5, 2022 from https://tf.hu/files/docs/sportinno/2021/IV._Sport_%C3%A9s_Innov%C3%A1ci% C3%B3_Nemzetk%C3%B6zi_Konferencia_program-_%C3%A9s_absztraktf%C3%BCzet.pdf Winner, L. (2001). Where technological determinism went. In Visions of STS: Counterpoints in science, technology and society studies (pp. 11–17). Wyatt, S. (2008). Technological determinism is dead; long live technological determinism. In S. Wyatt (Ed.), The handbook of science and technology studies (Vol. 3, pp. 165–180). MIT Press. Zandt, F. (2022). Majority of internet traffic created on the go. Statista. Retrieved March 31, 2022 from https://www.statista.com/chart/26935/global-web-traffic-share-by-platform-per-region/

Ekaterina Glebova has over 10 years of international experience in marketing, consultancy, and business development, working with the leading brands (Kia, Hyundai, ExxonMobil, Turkish Airlines, etc.). Currently, she is pursuing her academic interests in research at an intersection of sports and technological transformation at the University Paris-Saclay. She has published numerous book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, Frontiers in Psychology, Physical Culture and Sport, Studies and Research). Also, she holds a few visiting faculty positions, including at the Hungarian University of Sports Science and the EDHEC Business School in Nice. Anna Gerke (Ph.D., Université Paris-Saclay, FR) is Associate Professor in Management at Audencia and has been visiting La Trobe University, University of Auckland and University of Bayreuth. Her research interests are in organizational theory, networks, innovation, value cocreation, circular economy, carbon literacy, and the sport industry. She has published in leading sport management and general business journals. She was Chair of the Managing Sport SIG at EURAM, sits on the editorial board of three sport management journals, and has guest editor roles in several sport management journals. She sits on the board of the Observatory for Sport Economy and the Think Tank Sport and Citizenship. Robert Book , Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Sports, Physical Education, and Outdoor Studies at the University of South-Eastern Norway. His research spans across the fields of sport psychology and sociology, is highly critical, and has investigated athletic talent development environments within underserved and disadvantaged communities. He serves on the executive committee at the International Society of Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, is on the editorial board of Frontiers in Sport and Active Living, and has numerous publications in journals, such as the Psychology or Sport and Exercise, Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health, and the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain Environment: A Critical Review Arun Kumar Paul

1 Introduction The COVID-19 continues to be a threat to humanity due to its continuous spread and developing its variants. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated in wild animals has caused an alarming global health crisis since its transmission to humans. COVID-19 has already taken millions of lives and hence challenged many nations, governments, and businesses across the globe to take actions to reduce the spread of the virus. The COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, as a socioeconomic reality affecting the whole world, came from Wuhan area, China, and immediately impacted Chinese exports and drastically reduced the supply availability in global supply chains (SCs). Ivanov (2020) underlines that the COVID-19 outbreak represents one of the major disruptions encountered during the last decades which is “breaking many global supply chains.” The WHO coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard (available online) presents official daily counts of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and vaccine utilization reported by countries, territories, and areas. Through this dashboard, WHO provides a frequently updated data visualization, data dissemination, and data exploration resource, while linking users to other useful and informative resources. Globally, as of June 10, 2022, there have been 532,201,219 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,305,358 deaths, as reported to WHO. As of June 6, 2022, a total of 11,854,673,610 vaccine doses have been administered. These data clearly bring out the extent of damage that the pandemic has caused to the entire world. In such a turbulent environment, the firms facing the epidemic outbreaks have a series of common questions to ask, i.e., how long can an SC sustain a disruption, how long does it take for an SC to recover after an epidemic outbreak, which SC operating policy (e.g., accepting the A. K. Paul (B) Operations Management and Decision Sciences Area, Xavier Institute of Management, XIM University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_9

189

190

A. K. Paul

temporal shortages; using prepared contingency pandemic plans; reacting situationally by changing the operation policies during the epidemic time) is the most efficient to cope with disruptions at different levels of severity of the epidemic dispersal? Off late, there seems to be inexhaustible growth in sport’s reach and scope, including as a source of recreational pastime, organized participation, fanatical devotion, and media spectacle. At the same time, sport’s immense entertainment, recreation, and media fringes have exploded, spanning from competitive eating to E-sports. Sport undoubtedly occupies a non-trivial place in the economic, social, and cultural fabric of almost every part of the globe (Smith et al., 2021), as billions discovered when the COVID-19 blackout struck (Aaron & Skinner, 2022). In this context, it has also been seen that all types of organizations have been suffering from the pandemic, including professional sport companies such as football (soccer) companies. As regards the latter, football companies, rather than sport clubs, have a significant impact on the economy of many countries. Presently, football is the kind of sports with the greatest participation, impact, and income worldwide which influences not only the field of sports but also the social area, economics, and even cultural sectors (Hammerschmidt et al., 2021). Fallatah (2021) states that the effects of COVID-19 are being felt throughout the world’s health, educational, financial, and commercial institutions, and the sports ecosystem is no exception. Matches and competitions are being canceled or postponed, disrupting planning by governing bodies, organizers, teams, and athletes—as well as non-stop live sports content we have come to expect. Owners, broadcasters, and sponsors are trying to navigate the impacts and implications of event cancelations and modifications. The events industry, including festivals, meetings, conferences, exhibitions, incentives, sports, and a range of other events, is rapidly developing and makes a significant contribution to business and leisure-related tourism. With increased regulation and the growth of government and corporate involvement in events, the environment has become much more complex. Event managers are now required to identify and service a wide range of stakeholders and to balance their needs and objectives (Bowdin et al., 2006). The September 11, 2001, attacks, which killed almost 3000 people, were the deadliest terrorist attack to occur in the USA. This terrorist attacks on the USA immediately changed the risk profile of all institutions. The risks related to business continuity, diversification, and human resources, among others, suddenly jumped in magnitude. These are operational risks, and managing them requires a framework to identify, assess, control, monitor, and mitigate exposures. Ebola outbreak in West Africa around the year 2014 was one of the largest epidemics in recorded history, with over 4500 deaths attributed to the infection (BSI, 2014). In addition to the human toll, the outbreak had substantial negative impacts on supply chains within both affected and non-affected countries. As the spread of the current outbreak widened, governments and private industry began implementing plans aimed at containing the advance of the virus, which in turn impacted the supply chains across the globe.

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

191

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which first occurred in November 2002 in southern China, subsequently infected thousands of people in 32 countries/regions. SARS is medically regarded as an atypical strain of pneumonia because it causes the lungs to swell and compress against the chest, making breathing difficult. Without treatment, SARS patients face a high risk of death (Chou et al., 2004). The outbreak’s main economic impact has been on the tourism industry—an industry that includes sports and leisure. Few people wanted to travel and thereby risk being infected with SARS or quarantined on their return home. Consumer spending was also hit as people began to shun public places such as department stores and restaurants. The impact of COVID-19 is felt in industrial sectors, related supply networks, including those of sports and sports goods manufacturing. Industry 4.0 is a comparatively new method of managing production processes. In the area of risk management, as a result of new approaches, modified frameworks, more complex IT infrastructure, and so on, new types of risks may occur. In many cases, the implementation of Industry 4.0 has shown that the connections between humans, systems, and objects have become a more complex, dynamic, and real-time optimized network. On the other hand, there is the fact of data volume and availability enhancement in real time which causes new requirements of the infrastructure, management, technologies, and so on (Tupa et al., 2017). The concept of risk and risk assessments has a long history. More than 2400 years ago the Athenians offered their capacity of assessing risk before making decisions. However, risk assessment and risk management as a scientific field is young, not more than 30–40 years old. From this period, the first scientific journals, papers, and conferences covering fundamental ideas and principles on how to appropriately assess and manage risk (Aven, 2016). Risk is inherent part of any business activity, be it manufacturing of products, providing services, sports goods supply chain, or sports operations or event management. While supply quality risk (SQR) poses serious problems for firms, the knowledge about SQR is incomplete. First, there is little understanding regarding what the sources of SQR are and how they are indicative of SQR. Second, it is unclear which supplier quality management practices (SQMPs) are suitable to manage each source of SQR. SQR is defined as the potential occurrence of quality issues associated with a supplied component which—if discovered—can cause significant delays in deliveries and production downtime further down the supply chain, or—if undiscovered—can lead to poor quality-in-use or even end-consumer safety threats. SQMPs are various supply chain processes associated with managing the supply function in order to reduce the occurrence and effect of disruptions stemming from quality problems and failures. Although the ways in which risk in supply chains can be assessed and managed have been investigated in various studies, the knowledge about this topic remains limited. Most studies focus on temporary disruptions which do not allow a supplier to deliver components to a buyer (Zsidisin et al., 2016). First, there is insufficient understanding of the various sources of SQR and to which extent each source is indicative of SQR. Second, although the literature has shown that quality issues can be addressed by supply chain quality management practices, little is known

192

A. K. Paul

regarding which SQMPs are suitable for managing specific SQR sources. As we will explore further in the Theoretical implications section, SQR sources do not need to occur simultaneously, and the efficacy of SQMPs may be dependent on the risk source. ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, develops and publishes International Standards. Standards are the distilled wisdom of people with expertise in their subject matter and who know the needs of the organizations they represent— people such as manufacturers, sellers, buyers, customers, trade associations, users, or regulators. For instance, quality management standards to help work more efficiently and reduce product failures. The ISO standards also mentions about risk and their management. The new requirements of ISO 9001:2015 quality management system standard clause 0.3.3 required the organization to implement a risk-based thinking for achieving an affective quality management system. The definition of risk as stated in the standard is “the effect of uncertainty” which could be positive or negative. Thus, ISO 9001 certified organization requires to demonstrate objective evidence of the implementation of risk-based thinking such risk analysis and risk mitigation plan not only to satisfy the need of ISO 9001:2015 standard, but also widely accepted that organization requires risk management activities to stay competitive (Atan et al., 2017).

2 Literature Review Heckmann et al. (2015) describes risk as each process and decision in business is prone to uncertainty, and since wrong assessments and misjudgments may lead to unforeseen developments, which may have important consequences when detected (too) late, uncertainties need to be continuously monitored and managed. Along with the increasing number of relevant uncertainties, the importance assigned to risk considerations has grown. In recent decades, we have observed this term being applied to areas such as decision theory, finance, actuarial science, health care, marketing, management, emergency planning, and psychology. The origin of the word risk cannot be clearly determined, since this term seems to have roots in different cultures. An etymological analysis of the European notion of risk leads to the Greek navigation term rhizikon, describing the need to avoid “difficulties at the sea.” Understood in this sense, the best approximation of the meaning of risk would be fear or adventure. The former refers to commercial activities and implies physical and mental distress, whereas the latter means pecuniary ventures as a strategy to engross the self-worth. As per Tupa et al. (2017), Industry 4.0 deals with the connection of all parts of machines via integrated data chains and operations. It was proposed in Germany with the concept of Internet+ Manufacturing. The last industrial revolution was based on the use of electronics and the proliferation of information technology (IT) in manufacturing. The fourth industrial revolution, on the threshold of which we are

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

193

now standing, is marked by linking sub-components of the production process via the Internet of Things (IoT). Industry 4.0 was mentioned for the first time in 2011 at the Hanover Fair and can be defined as a collective term for the technologies and concepts of a value chain organization which creates together Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), the Internet of Things and Internet of Services, the Internet of People (IoP), and the Internet of Energy. With the inescapable changes which will accompany the transformation of the industrial era there is a very high probability of new risks occurring and having a negative impact on many aspects across companies. There is also the presumption that there is a need to develop and test new approaches for risk management. This paper deals with aspects of risk management implementation for Industry 4.0. The integration of IT and key infrastructure for the digitalization of manufacturing creates a new potential danger. Namely, the risks from the IT world may affect the industrial manufacturing process and we may find new potential manufacturing industrial risks (cyber-attack, malware, spyware, loss of data integrity, or problems with the availability of information). Manufacturing and maintenance data from technical documentation and specifications may become a goal for hackers and software pirates. Table 1 lists down the various categories of operational risks. Schmitt and Singh (2021) showed in their study that firms typically treat a supply chain as an engineering system and by analogy think about system resilience as a component-level challenge. However, in supply chains, it is not necessarily true that system resilience equates to component resilience. It is important to note that supply chains have two additional buffers available to deal with performance problems (the third buffer of capacity is available in both cases): inventory and time. It is prudent therefore to leverage all three in tandem to be effective. Therefore, to deliver a high level of performance in the presence of significant disruptions, supply chains do not necessarily need to make each and every component (location in the network) perform at a high level at all times. A judicious mix of supply chain reliability, system buffers, and effective recovery logic is key to making a supply chain resilient. Table 1 Identification of operational risks (adopted from Tupa et al., 2017) Categories of operational risk

Risk

Manufacturing process management

Information risk associated with data losses, loss of integrity, and available information

Maintenance

Problem with availability and integrity of data for maintenance

Operation methods and tools used

Errors in data processing

Machine and manufacturing technologies

Sensitivity and vulnerability of data—problems related to cyber-attack

Human resources

Low availability of qualified workers

Machine environments

Attacks from Internet network, problems related to electromagnetic compatibility, and electromagnetic emissions affecting manufacturing machines

194

A. K. Paul

Bowdin et al. (2006) reports that until relatively recently, events have been seen as part of hospitality, tourism, leisure and recreation industries, or as a support service to businesses. However, the environment is changing and the events industry is emerging in its own right supported by a growing body of knowledge. The UK events industry, for example, is wide ranging, incorporating many different sectors from the smallest of exhibitions, conferences, and parties, through to large-scale sport and entertainment events. Although definitive data are not available, due to the complex nature and diversity of the industry, figures suggest that the economic impact of business tourism alone (e.g., conferences, exhibitions, incentive travel) is over £20 billion. Any framework must define operational risk. The most common definition, first published in The Next Frontier and also adopted in recent operational risk documents issued by the Basel Committee, is that “Operational risk is the direct or indirect loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external events.” This definition is a good overall statement, but further refinement is necessary to build an operational risk framework. The approaches used today are categories of operational risk events, complemented by a list of effects that are the types of financial consequences. The Basel documents, developed in consultation with a number of industry experts, use event categories of internal fraud, external fraud, employment practices and workplace safety, clients/products/business practices, damage to physical assets, business interruption and systems failures, and execution/delivery/process management. It uses effect categories as a basis of quantifying legal liability, regulatory action, loss or damage to assets, restitution, loss of recourse, and write-downs. The important point about these risk categories is to use the same categories throughout all the components of the framework to create a common language and facilitate the aggregation of risk and common reporting (Haubenstock, 2002). A firm uses people, processes, and technology to achieve business plans, and any one of these operational failure risks can be defined as the risk that there will be a failure of people, processes, or technology within the business unit. A proportion of the failures may be anticipated, and these risks should be built into the business plan. But it is the unanticipated, and therefore uncertain, failures that give rise to the key operational risks. These failures can be expected to occur periodically, although both their impact and their frequency may be uncertain. Operational strategic risk arises from environmental factors, such as a new competitor that changes the business paradigm, a major political and regulatory regime change, and earthquakes and other such factors that are outside the control of the firm. It also arises from major new strategic initiatives, such as developing a new line of business or re-engineering an existing business line. All businesses rely on people, processes, and technology outside their business unit, and the potential for failure exists (Atan et al., 2017). SQR is defined as the potential occurrence of quality issues associated with a supplied component which—if discovered—can cause significant delays in deliveries and production downtime, further down the supply chain, or—if undiscovered—can lead to poor quality-in-use or even end-consumer safety threats (Zsidisin et al., 2016). According to the literature, the magnitude of risk in supply chains can be

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

195

captured by two quantifiable measures: the probability of occurrence and the consequences of occurrence of an undesirable supply incident. While this perspective of risk is valuable to estimate if supply risk is large enough to be worthwhile managing, it does not allow to assess exactly where the risk originates from, and consequently does not enable selecting and appropriately counteracting the most important risk sources. The method of Wal and Tan (2011) improves upon the traditional risk model by incorporating visibility into its model as well as allowing managers to prioritize different components of risk into its final assessment of quality risks in the supply network, but similarly highly relies on error rates of suppliers (i.e., rejection rate regarding non-conformity, reliability, safety) to assess SQR. This method is appropriate when the occurrence of errors is large enough to reliably estimate the error rates of suppliers when the consequences of occurrence are not disastrous. Yet, in cases where events with a low probability of occurrence can have an enormous impact, this method may be inappropriate for assessing SQR. Operational risk is not well-defined concept in the context of a manufacturing industries, it refers to a range of possible failures in the operation of the firm that are not related directly to financial risk. Operational risk is “the risk of a change in value caused by the fact that actual losses, incurred for inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external events (including legal risk), differ from the expected losses.” This definition, adopted by the European Union Solvency II Directive for insurers, is a variation from that adopted in the Basel II regulations for banks (Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, 2001). Today’s supply chains are increasingly exposed to the likelihood of experiencing detrimental supply chain disruptions due to their sheer size, dynamic nature, and complexity as well as growing customer demands and expectations. The requirement for effective management of supply chain risk is exacerbated in global supply networks where distances between suppliers and marketplaces are often greater and commercial environments are more complex than in domestic supply chains (Chang et al., 2015). There are many other frameworks related to risk management that are suitably applied by companies to identify, eliminate, and minimize risks. Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) has developed over a period of time a comprehensive framework for risk management. In May 2013, COSO released a revised “Internal Control—Integrated Framework,” which replaced the original version developed in 1992. The original framework formally defined internal control and contained relevant and helpful guidance. In 2002, the Sarbanes– Oxley Act (SOX) was established; it mandates that US listed companies report on the effectiveness of their internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) using a suitable framework and in some cases also requires separate audit of ICFR. Subsequently, most US listed companies have chosen the framework as their basis for compliance with Sect. 404 of SOX. Many countries including Japan, China, and South Korea have modeled some financial reporting legislation and other requirements related to internal control using concepts in the 1992 and 2013 versions of the framework.

196

A. K. Paul

Furthermore, many organizations around the world have voluntarily used the framework to help them create, develop, mature, and continuously improve their systems of internal control beyond just financial reporting. There are many disruptions (in the form of natural or man-made disasters and pandemics) in the past which affected the world economy negatively. For example, as public anxiety over the spread of Ebola grew, governments and private sector actors were forced into taking steps to limit the risk of exposure via air travel. Many countries stopped allowing aircraft coming from Ebola-stricken nations to land at any of its airports in order to safeguard the health of its citizens, thus affecting the air transport sector and subsequent supply network in big way. A major airline in France was forced to cancel flights to affected countries due to increasing pressure from flight crews concerned about being exposed to the virus (BSI, 2014). Many of the nations, neighboring the affected countries, such as Cameroon, Gabon, the Ivory Coast, and Senegal, closed land borders with affected nations, including Nigeria. While there had been no documented transmission of Ebola via a cargo truck driver or shipment, the fear that such an incident can occur is fueling additional pushes for strong border controls in the region. The three primary outbreak nations all experience significant amounts of cargo theft. BSI assessed that, as employees were out of work and curtailed trade creates shortages of essential goods, shipments were likely to face an increased threat of theft when transiting through Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone. Supply chains reliant upon the movement of seaborne cargo to and from West Africa were likely to be significantly impacted, specifically delayed, by the outbreak of Ebola. Many nations, including Brazil, Panama, and the USA, were forced in conducting specific inspections of cargo vessels arriving from West Africa and screening crew members for possible infection. In addition to first-order impacts on the movement of goods to and from West Africa, the Ebola outbreak was also having a negative effect on the output of specific commodities that had significant downstream effects for certain industries. The so-called Ebola originating region as a whole possessed valuable natural resources such as oil, minerals, ores, and agricultural products. The output of some of these commodities were found to shrink as the epidemic continues to spread, forcing firms which require these natural resources to seek alternative supplies from other parts of the globe, thereby driving up the cost of industrial inputs. The discipline of sport facilities operations management has many different components that need to be understood. However, before an explanation of these various sub-disciplines is provided, one may take a look at a number of real scenarios where poor facility operations and management have led to significant risk management problems (Schwarz et al., 2010). • In 1972, 11 Israeli athletes (along with one German police officer and five terrorists) were killed by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September due to inadequate security at the Munich Olympic Games. Eight Palestinians, with bags of weapons, were able to scale the fence that surrounded the Olympic village, and then they proceeded to enter the Israeli accommodation and take the athletes hostage.

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

197

• In 1985 at Valley Parade football stadium, the home of Bradford City, a flash fire broke out during a match with Lincoln City. The fire consumed one side of the stadium, killing 56 people and injuring over 250. The fire was believed to have been caused by either a match or cigarette that fell through a hole in the stands and into rubbish below. Even though the fire brigade was called, there was no way to keep the fire at bay as fire extinguishers were removed from passageways to prevent vandalism. • Also, in 1985, Liverpool and Juventus were facing each other in the European Cup final at Heysel Stadium in Belgium. Before the match started, Liverpool supporters reacted to taunts from the Italian fans by charging through the lines of Belgian police. The Juventus fans could do nothing, but retreat as far as a wall, which collapsed under the pressure and onto their own fans below. In the ensuing panic, 39 supporters died and over 600 were injured. Another contributor to the problems based on the inquiries and also concerned voiced before the event— 58,000 people coming to watch the game at a stadium that only holds only 50,000 and was crumbling from disrepair (including people being able to kick out parts of walls from the outside to gain admittance without a ticket) made it a potential death trap. • In 1988 in Katmandu, Nepal, 80 soccer fans seeking cover during a violent hail storm at the national stadium were trampled to death in a stampede. The reason— the stadium doors were locked. • In 2007 at the Australian Open tennis tournament, a brawl between Serbian and Croat spectators erupted outside a merchandise tent when the two groups began trading insults. Punches, bottles, and beer cups were thrown as about 150 members of the two rival groups clashed. No injuries were reported, but 150 people were ejected from the event, and Tennis Australia announced the need to revise plans for handling these types of situations in the future. • Multiple reports published between 2006 and 2009 have examined significant risks to players and spectators due to air poisoning from exhaust systems from Zambonis because of lack of ventilation in ice arenas. Medical studies have shown that the results can cause a significant increase in asthma and chronic coughs in hockey players who play in poorly ventilated arenas due to carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide poisoning. – Ventilation problems have also been related to “sick pool syndrome” in aquatic centers/natatoriums due to the high humidity and the contaminants caused by chemicals and biologics. Various industrial trends, including outsourcing, supply base reduction, just in time, and shorter product life cycles have increased firm exposure to supply chain risks (SCRs). These risks may result from man-made problems or natural disasters, and can have major consequences for organizations, including financial and operational problems, potentially leading to business discontinuity. Within the SCR literature, supply chain risk management (SCRM) has become a key area of interest. SCRM is aimed at developing strategies for the identification, assessment, treatment, and monitoring of risks in supply chains (Fan & Stevenson, 2018).

198

A. K. Paul

Nasser (2020) studied to assess the impacts of COVID-19 to the sporting industry, focusing on mega sporting events, a case of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. His research focused on analyzing the different stakeholders involved in these sporting events. The research found out significant economic, social, financial, and health impacts of COVID-19 on mega sporting events. Staley et al. (2021), in their study specific to Australia, found that the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted sport in Australia and internationally. Australia’s 70,000 community sport clubs lost an estimated aggregate of $1.6 bn between March and July 2020 due to COVID-19; and this excludes the impact on the health and wellbeing of participants, volunteers, and administrators. Their study investigated the challenges of returning to sport after a COVID-19 shutdown of sport from the perspective of community sport clubs (CSCs). We explore the relationship between the challenges CSCs identified and the challenges the nation’s lead sport agency identified; and similarities or differences in the challenges faced by different types of CSCs. CSCs identified eight clusters of challenges related to returning to sport after the COVID-19 shutdown (in highest to lowest mean impact rating order): volunteers; club culture; health protocols; membership; finances; facilities; competition; and governance and division of responsibility. Cluster impact ratings differed by club location, competitive season, venue type, club size, and type of sport offered.

3 Sports Operation Management Operations and its management are that part of a business organization that is responsible for producing goods and/or services. Goods are physical items that include raw materials, parts, subassemblies such as motherboards that go into computers, and final products such as cell phones and automobiles. Services are activities that provide some combination of time, location, form, or psychological value. The operations function in business can also be viewed from a more far-reaching perspective: The collective success or failure of companies’ operations functions has an impact on the ability of a nation to compete with other nations, and on the nation’s economy. Operations management involves system design and operating decisions related to product and service design, capacity planning, process selection, location selection, work management, inventory and supply management, production planning, quality assurance, scheduling, and project management (Stevenson, 2015). Schwarz et al. (2010) states that in order to effectively understand sport facility operations management, it is important to understand the two root concepts— facility management and operations management. Facility management is an allencompassing term referring to the maintenance and care of commercial and nonprofit buildings, including but not limited to sport facilities, including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); electrical; plumbing; sound and lighting systems; cleaning, groundskeeping, and housekeeping; security; and general operations. The goal of facility management is to organize and supervise the safe and secure maintenance and operation of the facility in a financially and environmentally sound

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

199

manner. While facility management focuses on the overall maintenance and care of a building, operations management focuses on administrating the processes to produce and distribute the products and services offered through a facility. This would include the processes of production (tangible and intangible), inventory control, supply chain management, purchasing, logistics, scheduling, staffing, and general services—with the goal of maintaining, controlling, and improving organizational activities. Sport facility operations management seeks to maintain and care for public, private, and non-profit facilities used for sport, recreation, and leisure to ensure safe and secure production and distribution of products and services to users. In order to be a successful sport facility owner or manager, they must understand the various components of sport facility operations management, including (1) premanagement and pre-operations issues (ownership structures, financing, and planning/design/construction), (2) the implementation of management and operations (organizational management, human resource management, financial management, operations management, and legal concerns), (3) ancillary issues in management and operations (marketing, event planning, risk assessment, and security planning), and (4) measuring effectiveness of management and operations (benchmarking and performance management). The rapid growth of events and their management (including sports related events) in the past decade led to the formation of an identifiable event industry, with its own practitioners, suppliers, and professional associations. The emergence of the industry has involved the identification and refinement of a discrete body of knowledge of the industry’s best practice, accompanied by the development of training programs and career paths. The industry’s formation has also been accompanied by a period of rapid globalization of markets and communication, which has affected the nature of, and trends within, the industry. Further, it has been accompanied by an era of increasing government regulation, which has resulted in a complex and demanding operational environment. Event management companies are professional groups or individuals that organize events on a contract basis on behalf of their clients. The growth of a large and complex industry has led to the formation of a wide range of specialist suppliers. These suppliers may work in direct event related areas, such as staging, sound production, lighting, audiovisual production, entertainment, and catering, or they may work in associated areas, such as transport, communications, security, legal services, and accounting services. This network of suppliers is an integral part of the industry, and their increasing specialization and expertise assist the production of professional and high-caliber events. Hammerschmidt et al. (2021) observes that the effects of COVID-19 have led to a collapse of revenues and elite football clubs are struggling to contain the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the football industry is more cautious than other industries in its view of potential COVID-19 recovery scenarios; as the football sector is not sustainable without the presence of the fans. Knock-on effects of the pandemic have hit football especially hard and clubs are rather downbeat when considering their prospects over the next season. Public health interventions, like social distancing measures, are effective but do not prevent virus re-occurrences.

200

A. K. Paul

E-Sports and its related events are rapidly expanding industry sectors (Nauright et al., 2020). With one of the best operations and management systems in the world, ESports in South Korea is now a billion dollar a year industry. In particular, the E-Sports market is getting bigger and better as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its unique structure and attributes, such as ubiquitous but individual-driven components, have led more people to E-Sports competitions. With the best infrastructure for E-Sports, including 5 G internet and world-leading electronic companies (e.g., Samsung and LG), E-sports in Korea is becoming as a large component of daily leisure activities. COVID-19 brought many sports to a halt. In this issue, we provide an overview of the E-Sports industry which is set to benefit even further from the restrictions that COVID-19 has placed on many public activities.

4 COVID-19 and Its Impact In the midst of the pandemic, participants and followers endured unmatched restrictions, the absence of sport’s myriad of forms a sobering but insightful window into the significance of a taken-for-granted lynchpin in daily life. For participants, the physical impacts disappeared along with a suite of pro-social benefits. Fans mourned the temporary death of vicarious identities and lamented the banality of an endless offseason. Players did calisthenics on the couch, leagues wrestled with risk and reward, teams raced to replace live sport with digital drama, sponsors sank into obscurity, broadcasters re-packaged, and the media recorded it all going by. Simultaneously, digital fitness exploded, E-sports triumphed, online gaming won the lottery, and the 2020 summer Olympics and European Football Championships made it to the starting line in 2021 (Aaron & Skinner, 2022). COVID-19 has focused the spotlight on the role of sport enterprises as social agents, especially around athlete health and safety, and corporate responsibility. While the visualization of sport content has witnessed a material enlargement driven by the evolution of the mediation, it has been accompanied by a cognitive enhancement to make sense of that visual content. The digital progress, in turn, has facilitated the shared, multi-platform vision of sport that ultimately has multiplied the monetization opportunities for fans sufficiently engaged in the viewing. Commitment to digital channels varied in the response to the pandemic. Voluntary clubs providing organized sport increased their use of digital tools, but mainly for communication. The digitization of stadia experiences via smartphones was instrumental to the cocreation of value for fans when they returned to live action. For the professional sector, digital compensation came swiftly because it had to, ranging from hasty supplementary content to comprehensive E-sport or virtual alternatives. Research has confirmed that virtually mediated sports competitions, which resemble conventional sport participation in terms of realism but can be undertaken remotely and in limitless virtual environments, were well received by sport participants during the pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis installed a new cadre of sport business models. COVID-19 stimulated leagues and clubs to forge partnerships with technology firms

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

201

to monetize data, produce consumable analytics for fans, and offer bespoke interactive experiences blending on-demand streaming, social media, and point-and-click game statistics (Aaron & Skinner, 2022). The negative effect of COVID-19 was felt in many business activities. The stringent policy regulations and measures to contain the spread of the disease negatively impacted many spheres. Cargo transport companies that have vessels calling at ports in affected countries should employ stringent measures aimed at preserving crewmember health during these port calls. In order to reduce the risk of exposure to the Ebola virus, crewmembers should be restricted from leaving the vessel for any reason other than an emergency. Vigilance is absolutely critical to securing business operations in affected regions. Each and every health issue should be taken seriously and immediately explored. As drug treatments remain partially effective at best and are not prepared for widespread distribution, avoiding potential infections wherever possible should be the focus of efforts. Companies with a significant worker base in an affected nation should consider offering education to workers and their dependents to assist in recognition of the virus. Further, companies with large work forces in affected areas should ensure that their policies toward absences due to illness do not dissuade workers from taking time off to assess their health situation should problems occur. Chang et al. (2015) state that a supply chain disruption is an event that interrupts the flow of goods or services in a supply chain. Disruptions can manifest themselves in a variety of forms including supplier shutdowns, production stoppages at manufacturing firms, or even intentional acts. Supply chain risk refers to a negative consequence (damage or loss) resulting from a supply chain disruption, while a supply chain disruption can interrupt normal business operations. Supply chain risk mitigation strategies refer to company actions aimed at reducing the likelihood of occurrence and negative effects of risks. The COVID-19 pandemic is not the first disaster that abruptly damaged Global Supply Chains (GSCs). Several other natural catastrophes, such as the 2011 megaearthquake in Japan, the 2003 SARS outbreak in China, and the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia have led to shortages of parts and products. It is worth noting that the production is recovered from these disasters in a matter of weeks. However, based on the scope and magnitude, the impacts of COVID-19 are different from those of all previous events. Most of the events, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear or radiation accidents, and wars, are usually limited to specific geographic areas over relatively short periods. However, within four months of its first outbreak, the COVID-19 virus had spread throughout the planet, sending billions of people into lockdown and total confinement, and contributing to the partial or total shutdown of major economic sectors. Also, there is a complete inability to predict when this pandemic will be contained; any single infected area in the globe is undoubtedly a high-risk area for a new outbreak (Xu et al., 2020). A report by corporate data analytics firm Dun and Bradstreet calculates that some 51,000 companies around the world have one or more direct suppliers in Wuhan and at least 5 million companies around the world have one or more tier-two suppliers in the Wuhan region, COVID-19’s epicenter. Fully 938 of the Fortune 1000 companies

202

A. K. Paul

have tier-one or tier-two suppliers in the Wuhan region, Dun and Bradstreet reports. When a crisis strikes it is, of course, extremely difficult to fix the problem because companies are all looking for substitutes at the same time—and the market doesn’t simply have lots of specialized companies able to spring into action if there’s trouble elsewhere. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the EU and its Member States in a sudden and dramatic manner with unprecedented impact on the health and daily life of European citizens. The sport sector, including those who dedicate their lives (and often their businesses) to promoting health through physical activity, is profoundly worried about the wellbeing of people affected by the pandemic outbreak. The sport sector is eager to make its contribution toward the revival of what was once considered a normal way of life. Sport can help individuals and societies soften the negative effects of the current crisis on their lives through mechanisms that can contribute to people’s health, socialization, education, and a general sense of wellbeing. In addition to its disastrous short- and mid-term health impacts (including inactivity, mental health risks linked to loneliness and anxiety), apart from sport the pandemic will also have extraordinary long-term consequences on people’s daily lives, health, and on societies in general and many sectors of the economy, especially service sectors such as tourism, food and accommodation services, and transportation. Sport in the Arab world largely relies on a fabric of small clubs and associations which play a key role in allowing so many citizens to take part in affordable sport activities and to enjoy sport and physical activities on a daily basis. These small clubs and associations are the backbone of sport in the region. However, being non-profit by nature and thus without any reserves, they often function in precarious conditions, driven by the support of passionate volunteers and employees. In sport, especially at grassroots level, this economic crisis has led to the bankruptcy of associations and clubs that promote physical activity and offer affordable sport activities to citizens across the Middle East. Manoli et al. (2022) found that, anecdotal evidence during the pandemic suggested that societal inequalities were exacerbated, with this being reflected in community sport. Many of those with outdoor space and safe neighborhoods have embraced individual exercise, but those without these opportunities were not, further stressing any potential societal (and individual impacts) of the lack of universal structured and inclusive opportunities in safe environments. The community sport sector has faced major layoffs and declining infrastructure investments during the pandemic, with public policy often offering little to no support to a sector that has sometimes suffered the repercussions of years of austerity, especially in some parts of the world. This in turn offers itself as a potential fertile ground for the exploration of the use of strategic management and planning in order to build capacity and ensure sustainability in their future operations, while potentially using new technologies and virtual environments to create a sense of community and social capital among participants, employees, and volunteers. Nauright et al. (2020), in their research, inferred that the entire world was turned on its head with the widening impact of COVID-19 during the first half of 2020, as many competitions were canceled or postponed, millions of dollars were lost in

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

203

predicted revenue. Clubs and franchises in major leagues were able to survive due to lucrative television contracts, and, once play resumed, help mitigate some of the losses of revenue from spectators attending matches. When soccer resumed in four of the five main leagues in Europe by July 2020, matches were played in empty stadia, though fan chanting was piped over the airways to resemble a match-day atmosphere for spectators. Key events like the Open Golf Championship in the United Kingdom were canceled while other such as the US Masters golf tournament were moved from Spring to Autumn. Consequently, the sport sector is also set to face an unemployment emergency. These smaller grassroots associations are at the greatest risk of shutting down due to the crisis, which could have a number of long-lasting impacts on the economy and society, not to mention endangering the future of all grassroots sports in the Middle East (Fallatah, 2021). The research by Nasser (2020) concluded that there were substantial impacts of COVID-19 on mega sporting events. The respondents agreed significantly that COVID-19 caused high financial impacts on the financial plans of the 2022 FIFA World Cup (FWC). The study also showed that most of the respondents agreed to major significant changes in the sports revenue, unemployment rate, and cost of living because of COVID-19. The third null hypothesis in the survey research showed significant changes in social impacts. The conclusion proved significant changes in the social impacts of COVID-19. This was measured with fears of attendance of the 2022 FWC in Qatar and tourists during the 2022 FWC in Qatar, with most people agreeing to these fears. They, however, supported the 2022 FWC in Qatar will cause social cohesion in the wake of COVID-19. The last hypothesis tested for significant changes in the health impacts of COVID-19 on mega sporting events which were found to be positive. The majority of the physicians agreed to significant changes in the physical and mental health of athletes and risks on workers of the FWC construction sites due to COVID-19.

5 Risk and Risk Management Models In the following section, the risk definition text from SRA (2022) is summarized: “We consider a future activity (interpreted in a wide sense to also cover, for example, natural phenomena), for example the operation of a system, and define risk in relation to the consequences of this activity with respect to something that human beings’ value. The consequences are often seen in relation to some reference values (planned values, objectives, etc.), and the focus is normally on negative, undesirable consequences. There is always at least one outcome that is considered as negative or undesirable. Overall qualitative definitions of risk: (a) the possibility of an unfortunate occurrence, (b) the potential for realization of unwanted, negative consequences of an event,

204

A. K. Paul

(c) exposure to a proposition (e.g., the occurrence of a loss) of which one is uncertain, (d) the consequences of the activity and associated uncertainties, (e) uncertainty about and severity of the consequences of an activity with respect to something that humans value, (f) the occurrences of some specified consequences of the activity and associated uncertainties, (g) the deviation from a reference value and associated uncertainties. These definitions express basically the same idea, adding the uncertainty dimension to events and consequences. ISO defines risk as the effect of uncertainty on objectives. Figure 1 (Larson & Gray, 2017) presents a graphic model of the risk management challenge. The chances of a risk event occurring (e.g., an error in time estimates, cost estimates, or design technology) are greatest during the early stages of a project. This is when uncertainty is highest and many questions remain unanswered. As the project or a sport event (being planned and organized) progresses toward completion, risk declines as the answers to critical issues (Will the technology work? Is the timeline feasible?) are resolved. The cost impact of a risk event, however, increases over the life of the project. For example, the risk event of a design flaw occurring after a prototype has been made has a greater cost or time impact than if the flaw were discovered during the planning phase of the project. The risk management process (please refer to Fig. 2) begins by trying to generate a list of all the possible risks that could affect the project. Typically, the project manager or the sports event management team pulls together, during the planning

Fig. 1 Risk graph model for a typical project (event management)

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

205

phase, a risk management team consisting of core team members and other relevant stakeholders. Organizations use risk breakdown structures (RBSs) in conjunction with work breakdown structures (WBSs) to help management teams identify and eventually analyze risks. Figure 3 provides a generic example of an RBS. The focus at the beginning should be on risks that can affect the whole project as opposed to a specific section of the project or network. After the macro risks have been identified, specific areas can be checked. An effective tool for identifying specific risks is the work breakdown structure. Use of the RBS reduces the chance a risk event will be missed.

Fig. 2 Generic risk management process

206

A. K. Paul

Fig. 3 Typical risk breakdown structure (RBS)

On large projects, multiple risk teams are organized around specific deliverables and submit their risk management reports to the project manager. Sport organizations exist to provide something of value, usually in the form of different products and services to meet and hopefully exceed customer needs. Collectively, these outputs constitute the organization’s product mix or business portfolio. Sport (including sports manufacturing and leisure industry) and the notion of risk are inseparable concepts. With a sport industry history that includes fatalities (e.g., the Lahore cricket shootings, the Sydney to Hobart ocean race drownings, the Bradford fire and the Hillsborough football spectator deaths) as well as recent ticketing, financial, legal, and weather-related incidents, risks potentially have an impact on the success of every organization, large and small. The operational permanency of a business process is an important performance indicator that contributes to the perceived quality of product or service delivery, hence it is important to understand and monitor the underlying issues that can affect the performance of the process. These issues might have been foreseen at the beginning of the process design and deployment phase, or might have emerged during the execution of the process, and must be viewed as risk threats to the business process. In most cases, risk is only considered from the project management angle or from financial, market, insurance, and other general business perspective. Operational risk at service provision level receives little attention and thus there is a need to develop methodologies and tools to identify and analyze business operational risks. In November 2009, the International Organization for standardization (ISO) published ISO 31000:2009 Risk management principles and guidelines (ISO Technical Management Board Working Group, 2009). Although ISO standards in the area of risk management have been produced before, this is the first that claims to be a

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

207

standard for managing all risk everywhere. The consequence of this is that certain ideas about risk and its management have got a boost in credibility and prominence while others have lost out. ISO 31000 will be quoted endlessly and will be influence the concepts and language used by important people such as company board members and organization. The relationship between the principles for managing risk, the framework in which it occurs and the risk management process described in this International Standard are shown in Fig. 4. The framework of risk management will also include methods for risk analysis as the complement for the risk management. The following Fig. 5 is the brief review of the most common of existing risk analysis methods. The 2013 COSO Framework focuses on five integrated components of internal control: control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring activities. Figure 6 shows the cubical framework. The control environment describes a set of standards, processes, and structures that provide the basis for carrying out internal control across the organization. According to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), a control environment is the foundation on which an effective system of internal control is built and operated in an organization that strives to (1) achieve its strategic objectives, (2) provide reliable financial reporting to internal and external stakeholders, (3) operate its business efficiently and effectively, (4) comply with all applicable laws and regulations, and (5) safeguard its assets.

Fig. 4 Relationships between the risk management principles, framework and process (ISO 31000:2009)

208

A. K. Paul

Fig. 5 Summary for Categorization of risk management analysis methods

Fig. 6 COSO cube (The COSO 2013 framework)

The risk assessment forms the basis for determining how risks will be managed. A risk is defined as the possibility that an event will occur and adversely affect the achievement of organizational objectives. Risk assessment requires management to consider the impact of possible changes in the internal and external environment and to potentially act to manage the impact. Control activities are actions (generally described in policies, procedures, and standards) that help management mitigate risks in order to ensure the achievement of objectives. Control activities may be preventive or detective in nature and may be performed at all levels of the organization. Information is obtained or generated by management from both internal and external sources in order to support internal control components. Communication

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

209

based on internal and external sources is used to disseminate important information throughout and outside of the organization, as needed to respond to and support meeting requirements and expectations. The internal communication of information throughout an organization also allows senior management to demonstrate to employees that control activities should be taken seriously. Monitoring activities are periodic or ongoing evaluations to verify that each of the five components of internal control, including the controls that affect the principles within each component, are present and functioning around their products. Supplier development is an appropriate countermeasure when SQR is perceived as a medium or high threat, and that supplier integration is adopted only when SQR is considered a very significant threat. Various factors such as firm expertise, prioritizing quality, top management support, relationship characteristics, and the desire to maintain a large alternative supplier base are seen as both drivers and barriers for implementing SQMPs. Supply risk has continued to garner attention in both the academic and practitioner communities (Zsidisin et al., 2016). Risk management starts with the definition of business objectives. The level of risk and acceptable levels of risk appetite depend on the context set by objectives. Objectives can include business strategy, such as gaining a certain percentage of market share or introducing a new product or technology. The organization model and resulting roles and responsibilities define the approach to operational risk management. Traditionally, operational risk was part of everyone’s job; line and staff roles had to manage their respective operational risks. While the responsibility for risk still rests with line management, there is a new governance model evolving in financial institutions. This model is characterized by having a central Operational Risk Manager, who most often reports to the Chief Risk Officer. The role is one of policy setting, development of tools, coordination, integration, and aggregation of the risk profile. Corporate policy sets the overall strategy for operational risk management. Organizations should have an operational risk policy statement that describes the approach for the institution. This policy statement would typically include the common definitions and categories for operational risk and a description of the operational risk framework (as shown in the Fig. 7). Risk identification creates a risk map detailing which of these risks applies to any one business, process, or organizational unit and to what degree. The identification process may also expand the definitions to identify more specific risks applicable to any one business that are not clearly spelled out in the definitions. The definition of controls is broad. For example, typical controls include management oversight, information processing, activity monitoring, automation, process controls, segregation of duties, performance indicators, and policies and procedures. Other types of controls can include training, insurance programs, diversification, and outsourcing. Assessment processes provide the organization with an objective process to determine “How am I doing?” Automated tools to support the assessment process, record the results, and provide reporting are becoming more widely implemented. Measurement and monitoring processes are to determine how large or small the exposures are, whether controls are working properly, and whether exposures are changing and subsequently require attention. Reporting is applicable at all levels of the organization, and the content and frequency of information must

210

A. K. Paul

Fig. 7 Risk management framework by The RMA Journal

be tailored to the business area and recipients. A key objective is to communicate the overall profile of operational risk across business areas and types of risk. Reporting communicates the overall level of risk and the key trends, highlighting exceptions for particular attention. Infrastructure is used to facilitate and aggregate self-assessment programs, databases to collect and aggregate risk indicators and loss event data, and other systems to facilitate specific control programs such as project management, insurance claims, insurance claim tracking, and security. Infrastructure may also refer to policies/procedures and specific measurement methodologies. Environment—the surroundings that set the tone and behavior of the organization—starts with “tone at the top.” Risk management needs the support and involvement of senior management, who can set the tone that operational risks are important and deserve attention and allocate resources accordingly. The environment should not create incentives to increase unnecessary risk-taking. Rather, it should reinforce integrity and ethics. Supply chain risks can become full-fledged supply chain problems, causing unanticipated changes in flow due to disruptions or delays. Table 2 lists down the various risk categories and their drivers. Disruptions can be frequent or infrequent; short- or long-term; and cause problems for the affected organization(s), ranging from minor to serious. A simple delay along the chain may create a temporary risk, whereas a sole supplier holding up a manufacturer to force a price increase represents a longterm risk. A machine breakdown may have a relatively minor impact on a manufacturing company with redundant capacity, whereas a war that disrupts shipping lanes can have a major impact on a shipping company. Most companies develop plans to protect against recurrent, low-impact risks in their supply chains. Many, however, all but ignore high-impact, low-likelihood risks. For instance, a supplier with quality problems represents a common, recurrent disruption. Without much effort, the customer can demand improvement or find a substitute. In contrast, in regions where earthquakes are rare, preparedness to prevent major disruption may be weak or uneven. Disruptions to material flows anywhere in the supply chain are unpredictable and rare but often quite damaging. Examples abound of how natural disasters, labor

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

211

Table 2 Risk classification in terms of category and their drivers (Chopra & Sodhi, 2004) Category of risk

Drivers of risk

Disruptions

• • • • •

Natural disaster Libor dispute Supplier Bankruptcy War and terrorism Dependency on a single source of supply as well as the capacity and responsiveness of alternative suppliers

Delays

• • • •

High capacity utilization at supply source Inflexibility at supply source Poor quality of yield at supply source Excessive handling due to border crossings or to change the transportation modes

Systems

• Information infrastructure breakdown • System integration or extensive systems networking • Ecommerce

Forecast

• Inaccurate forecasts due to long lead times, seasonality, product variety, short life cycle, small customer base • Bullwhip effect or information distortion due to sales promotions, incentives, lack of supply chain visibility, and exaggeration of demand in times of product shortage

Intellectual property • Vertical integration of supply chain • Global outsourcing and markets Procurement

• Exchange rate risk • Percentage of a key component or raw material procured from a single source • Industrywide capacity utilization • Long-term versus shore-term contracts

Receivables

• Number of customers • Financial strength of customers

Inventory

• • • •

Capacity

• Cost of capacity • Capacity flexibility

Rate of product obsolescence Inventory holding cost Product value Demand and supply uncertainty

strikes, fires, and terrorism have halted the flow of materials. Companies can counter disruptions in material flow by building inventory, or by having redundant suppliers (since it is unlikely that all suppliers would be disrupted simultaneously). However, holding inventory in certain situations can get very costly. Chopra and Sodhi (2004) state that “Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet strategy for protecting organizational supply chains. Instead, managers need to know which mitigation strategy works best against a given risk.” Consistent with Chopra and Sodhi’s (2004) observation and drawing upon contingency theory, the conceptual framework presented in Fig. 8 proposes that no single strategic approach is optimal for all contexts. Rather, focusing on redundancy or flexibility, a combination of both,

212

A. K. Paul

Fig. 8 Framework for matching supply chain risk mitigation strategies with risk contexts

or doing nothing may be most effective, depending on the particular risk context under consideration.

6 Trends for the Future 6.1 Results and Discussion Operations management involves overseeing business practices and processes to make sure they are running with maximum efficiency. The way resources, equipment, and technology are utilized have a big impact on the success or failure of the company. Even with the challenges in operations management, the goal is to balance the expenses (including those incurred in managing risks) of the organization and achieve the highest profitability possible in any given situation. The real challenge in the field of supply chain risk management is still the quantification and modeling of supply chain risk. To this date, supply chain risk management suffers from the lack of a clear and adequate quantitative measure for supply chain risk that respects the characteristics of modern supply chains. Measures predominantly used in finance and insurance are most often used in mathematical approaches for supply chain risk as well (Heckmann et al., 2015). The risk field has two main tasks, (I) to use risk assessments and risk management to study and treat the risk of specific activities (for example, the operation of an offshore installation or an investment), and (II) to perform generic risk research

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

213

and development, related to concepts, theories, frameworks, approaches, principles, methods and models to understand, assess, characterize, communicate, and (in a wide sense) manage/govern risk (Aven, 2016). Chang et al. (2015) classifies the supply chain risk mitigation strategies into two broad categories based on how each of the alternative approaches reduces uncertainty: redundancy and flexibility. Redundancy approaches focus on limiting or mitigating the negative effects of a risk by increasing product availability by “keeping some resources in reserve to be used in case of a disruption.” Increasing strategic inventory, holding safety stock, maintaining multiple suppliers, and adding capacity are the most common forms of redundancy mitigation strategies. In contrast, flexibility solutions consist of “building organizational and interorganizational capabilities to sense threats to supply continuity and to respond to them quickly.” Promoting collaboration and integration, encouraging information sharing (communication), and increasing responsiveness are examples of flexibility mitigation strategies. As per Dun and Bradstreet (2020), businesses should make a concerted move to diversification. To be sure, having additional suppliers in other countries would cost more, as would maintaining large inventories, but it would also guarantee a modicum of stability in case of crises—whatever those crises might be. The businesses currently slumping on Wall Street and other stock exchanges are surely now wishing they had done so. After all, a string of fine quarterly results doesn’t matter much when supply chain disruptions—whether caused by animal-triggered viruses, Mother Nature, or hostile governments—can wipe away months of gains or billions of dollars in market value in a matter of days. This research effort was to study the coronavirus outbreak and spill over to the global economy that triggered the 2020 global recession. Policymakers in many countries were under pressure to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. As a result, many governments made swift policy decisions that had far-reaching positive and negative impacts on their respective economies, with many countries plunging into recession. Social distancing policies, quarantining restrictions, and lockdown limitations were imposed in many countries despite the fact that many have argued that such social policies may trigger a recession. Lawmakers in many countries supported an extended social distancing policy, with damning consequences for the economy. The recession that followed, which many countries experienced, reflected the difficult choice that policymakers had to make between choosing to save the economy or to save people; many countries chose the latter. There were criticisms that the adopted policies were too quick, premature, or inadequate. Others argued that the policies contradicted one another in some areas; for instance, the accommodative monetary policy encouraged economic agents to engage in economic activities while the lockdowns and social distancing (stay-at-home) policy prevented economic activities from taking place. On the bright side, the coronavirus-induced public health crisis created an opportunity for many governments to make lasting reforms in the public health sector. Countries like the UK and Spain repaired their public health care system, and fixed other shortcomings in public infrastructure such as the transition to online education, transportation systems, and disease-detection systems in their public hospitals.

214

A. K. Paul

Fig. 9 Matrix of risk treatment strategies based on probability and impact

The supply chain risk management strategies, if not coordinated internally with key stakeholders or there is a lack of external collaboration with supply chain partners, SCRM strategies may not have the desired outcomes. The 2 × 2 matrix (Fig. 9) provides guidance to managers on how to select appropriate risk treatment actions according to the characteristics of risks. As per Schmitt and Singh (2012), the goal of firm’s management efforts should not necessarily be to eliminate risks, it should be to become more risk-informed. In the financial arena, analysts are expected to make investment decisions based on risk, and riskier investments often have the potential for higher returns. Similarly, firms who maintain operations with higher risk levels (low redundancy and lean inventories, for example), may have higher opportunities for being competitive. It is important for a firm to be aware of its supply chain risk levels so that it can evaluate its investments and make decisions based on its own level of risk tolerance. Fallatah (2021) suggests that special supportive measures to the Sports industry to effectively overcome the disruptive situations due to COVID-19 or similar pandemic may include the following: • Ensuring that the sport sector is eligible to funds for the protection of jobs, employees, and self-employed against the risk of dismissal and loss of income. • Relaxing the rules relating to state aid, as is already the case in other sectors, with a view to allowing tax breaks for entities and organizations that promote sport activities. • Stimulating innovation programs (industrial modernization) for sport enterprises to address the current societal challenges. • Providing loans to ensure the liquidity of sport clubs and other associations through existing EU financial instruments (e.g., European Investment Bank) or newly created instruments as a response to this crisis.

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

215

• Redirecting certain EU and national funding streams, notably the European Structural and Investment Funds, toward actions promoting the wellbeing of citizens through sport and physical activity. • Setting up public and private solidarity funds for grassroots sport clubs and associations and their employees, including outsourced coaches and freelancers who are self-employed persons. • Creating new funding opportunities as innovative ways to promote sport and physical activity in times when people are restricted to their homes. • Helping schools and physical education teachers to continue training pupils through digital means that are effective and safe (and stimulate innovation), i.e., through funding, guidelines, best practice cases, and internet price concessions. And ultimately, stimulating a healthy active lifestyle among the working population, both those working at home and at the office by introducing innovative solutions to stimulate physical activity. Hammerschmidt et al. (2021) found out that sponsors are one of the major stakeholders of professional football clubs and many other sports organizations. To diversify the financial risk of a club, their research highlighted that it might be beneficial to have a main sponsor from an industry whose economy is not cyclical with sport or, even better, from a crisis resistant sector. Further, clubs should invest in the relationships with sponsors because an emotional bond will enhance loyalty and therefore increase the chance of getting support in times of recessions. Walzel and Romisch (2021) elaborates certain key features of change management, which are useful for the successful implementation of a strategy in team sports organizations and can be made to suit disruptive situations resulting from pandemic and natural disasters.

6.2 Limitations and Future Research Directions Though there are risk management frameworks available, they seem to focus on one or two specific aspects of risk such as supply chain related or financial related. There seem to be lack of a comprehensive framework. Though there have been disruptions in the past, one of the main limitation is the short period under analysis due to a limited dataset. A longer study period may better capture the socioeconomic consequences of government policies during the coronavirus crisis. Moreover, as future events unfold, there could be spill overs to other sectors that we have not analyzed in this study. Future studies on spill overs could be extended in two directions. First, future studies can examine the impact of government policies on the informal economy. Second, they could also explore how banks and financial institutions react to economic policy developments during the current crisis. Although many studies have discussed risk assessment strategies, there are still areas in need of further study. First, assessments of risk should consider intangible, non-regulated consequences and losses. For instance, credibility, reputation, status,

216

A. K. Paul

authority, and trust can be damaged if a risk is realized. These non-materials and softer consequences are often overlooked by researchers. Second, managers often assess probability based on their own experience and companies’ performance, but it is important to consider how other indicators or signals of change in the business environment can be incorporated.

7 Conclusion Gaining competitive advantage through proper management of operations function is a common practice in many organizations and businesses including the ones involved in sports. A major challenge most companies confront is how to deliver high-quality products/services to meet ever-changing customer demands in a timely and costeffective manner. The ongoing pandemic has brought new challenges in operations management as it continues to upend existing processes and short- and long-term targets. In situations like this, there is no leeway for indecision as the organization is given two simple choices: to evolve or to perish. With limited supply, constrained logistics, disrupted workforce availability, uncertainty in regulations, and fluctuating market demands, one must find ways to stay afloat and flourish amid the crisis. One must look for solutions to retain market relevance and customer demand while adapting to new regulations and expectations. Risk assessment and risk management are established as a scientific field and provide important contributions in supporting decision-making in practice. Basic principles, theories and methods exist and are developing. This descriptive research highlights the importance of the trade-off between benefits earned from and the costs associated with employing supply chain risk mitigation strategies. Supply chain managers are increasingly held responsible for understanding when risk situations exist and when the risk warrants action. Given firms’ limited resources, this paper recognizes that taking steps to mitigate every single supply chain-related risk that may occur is almost impossible as well as highly wasteful—some supply chain risks can be classified as unacceptable, tolerable, or acceptable. Based on this classification, firms should endeavor to implement mitigation strategies only in contexts where the benefits associated with devoting resources to supply chain risk mitigation outweigh the costs. Challenges, disruptions, cancelations, postponement, and halting of sport competitions alongside emergence of new sport forms and ways of thinking about sport mean that the Sports World that were there in 2019 may not be the same by 2022 or in the future.

Future of Sports Operations and Sports Event Management in Uncertain …

217

Bibliography Aaron, C. T. S., & Skinner, J. (2022). Sport management and COVID-19: Trends and legacies. European Sport Management Quarterly, 22(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2021. 1993952 Atan, H., Ramly, F. E. & Yahya, M. S. (2017). A review of operational risk management decision support tool. Academia (pp. 2669–2680). Aven, T. (2016). Risk assessment and risk management: Review of recent advances on their foundations. European Journal of Operational Research, 253, 1–13. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. (2001). Consultative document: Operational risk. Basel Capital Accord (May). BSI. (2014). Supply chain impact of 2014 Ebola outbreak. Retrieved April 20, 2021 from https://www.bsigroup.com/LocalFiles/en-GB/supply-chain-solutions/resources/Whitepaper% 20Ebola_10.14_7.pdf Bowdin, G. A. J., et al. (2006). Events management. Elsevier Ltd.. ISBN-10: 0 7506 6533 5. Chang, W., Ellinger, A. E., & Blackhurst, J. (2015). A contextual approach to supply chain risk mitigation. International Journal of Logistics Management, 26(3), 642–656. Chopra, S., & Sodhi, M. S. (2004). Managing risk to avoid supply-chain breakdown. MIT SLOAN management review, Fall: 53–61. Chou, J., Kuo, N. F., & Peng, S. L. (2004). Potential impacts of the SARS outbreak on Taiwan’s economy. Asian Economic Papers, 3(1), 84–99. Dun & Bradstreet. (2020). Retrieved June 1, 2022 from https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/04/bli ndsided-on-the-supply-side/ Fallatah, B. A. (2021). An overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports industry: Causes, implications, and options. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 16(3proc), S1094– S1103. https://doi.org/10.14198/jhse.2021.16.Proc3.26 Fan, Y., & Stevenson, M. (2018). A review of supply chain risk management: Definition, theory, and research agenda. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 48(3), 205–230. Hammerschmidt, J., Durst, S., Kraus, S., & Pummalainen, K. (2021). Professional football clubs and empirical evidence from the COVID-19 crisis: Time for sport entrepreneurship? Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 165(2021), 120572. Haubenstock, M. (2002). The evolving operational risk management framework. The RMA Journal, 26–29. Heckmann, I., Comes, T., & Nickel, S. (2015). A critical review on supply chain risk—definition, measure and modeling. Omega, 52, 119–132. Ivanov, D. (2020). Predicting the impacts of epidemic outbreaks on global supply chains: A simulation-based analysis on the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2) case. Transportation Research Part E. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2020.101922 Ivanov, D., & Dolgui, A. (2021). OR-methods for coping with the ripple effect in supply chains during COVID-19 pandemic: Managerial insights and research implications. International Journal of Production Economics, 232, 107921. Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2017). Project management—the managerial process. Mc-Graw Hill Education. Manoli, A. E., et al. (2022). Managing sport and leisure in the era of Covid-19. Managing Sport and Leisure, 27(1–2), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2022.2035963 Nasser, K. (2020). Assessing the impacts of covid-19 on mega sporting events: A case of the 2022 FIFA world cup in Qatar. Global Journal of Health Sciences, 5(2), 1–17. Nauright, J., Zipp, S., & Kim, Y. H. (2020). The sports world in the era of COVID-19. Sport in Society, 23(11), 1703–1706. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1834196 Schmitt, A. J., & Singh, M. (2012). A quantitative analysis of disruption risk in a multi-echelon supply chain. International Journal of Production Economics, 139(1), 23–32.

218

A. K. Paul

Schwarz, E. C., Hall, S. A., & Shibli, S. (2010). Sports facility operations management—a global perspective. Butterworth-Heinemann (Elsevier). SRA. (2022). Glossary society for risk analysis. Retrieved June 2, 2022 from https://www.sra.org/ wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SRA-Glossary-FINAL.pdf Staley, K., Randle, E., Donaldson, A., & Matthew Nicholson, M. (2021). Returning to sport after a COVID-19 shutdown: Understanding the challenges facing community sport clubs. Managing Sport and Leisure. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2021.1991440 Stevenson, W. J. (2015). Operations management. McGraw-Hill Education Tse, Y. K., & Tan, K. H. (2011). Managing product quality risk in a multi-tier global supply chain. International Journal of Production Research, 49(1), 139–158. Tse, Y. K., Tan, K. H., Chung, S. H., & Lim, K. M. (2011). Quality risk in global supply network. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 22(8), 1002–1013. Tupa, J., Simota, J., & Steiner, F. (2017). Aspects of risk management implementation for Industry 4.0. Procedia Manufacturing (pp. 1223–1230). United Nations. (2021). Trade trends under the COVID-19 pandemic. Retrieved April 10, 2021 from https://unctad.org/webflyer/key-statistics-and-trends-international-trade-2020 Walzel, S., & Romisch, V. (Eds.). (2021). Managing sports teams—economics, strategy and practice. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56495-7 World Health Organization, “WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard,” June 1, 2022 [Online]. https://covid19.who.int/?gclid%20%C2%BC%20CjwKCAjw1ej5BRBhEiwAfH yh1PboTaikmKqxtHBloCQlC1bm7UM2kW0MvRKsvy4N79wIksWjzFSJhoCNFoQAvD_% 20BwE Xu, Z., Elomri, A., Kerbache, L., & El Omri, A. (2020). Impacts of COVID-19 on global supply chains: Facts and perspectives. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 48(3), 153–166. Zsidisin, G. A., Petkova, B., Saunders, L. W., & Bisseling, M. (2016). Identifying and managing supply quality risk. International Journal of Logistics Management, the, 27(3), 908–930. https:// doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-02-2015-0043

Arun Kumar Paul is a Professor in Operations Management and Decision Sciences (OM & DS) Area of Xavier Institute of Management (XIMB), XIM University Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He has completed his B.Tech (Hons) in Mech. Engg. from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, and Fellow in Management (FPM—Doctoral studies) from XLRI, Jamshedpur. He has over 26 years of industry experience for Tata Group of Companies in India. He is trained as sixsigma resource (by International General Electric) as well as in TOC/CCPM implementation (by Goldratt Australasia) and was an external assessor in Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM), a Business Excellence Model based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. His teaching and research areas include Operations Management, Operations Strategy, Total Quality Management and Six Sigma, Services Operations Management, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, and Project Management. Currently, he is the Dean of Xavier Emlyon Business School (XEBS)— the first ever Indo-French joint collaboration between XIM University Bhubaneswar and Emlyon Business school, France.

Consumption, Media and Economics

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries in a Locked-Down World Soumya Sarkar and Mayank Jyotsna Soni

Sports documentaries often turn on the promise of triumph, but it’s the tragedies that resonate. It’s a reminder that as the streaming services finance more non-fiction evaluations, those that work outside the norms are going to cut through. This could be the start of a defining era but, unfortunately, we’ll just have to experience it one series at a time. (Mathieson, 2020)

1 Introduction Sports may be a leisure activity for the viewers and fans, but it is a big industry globally and a significant one too. The industry touched USD 354.96 billion in revenue in 2021 (Research & Markets, 2022). That is less than only 55 economies of the world. To set the perspective, Qatar’s GDP (PPP), a GCC country with oil as the primary resource and the host for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World cup, is USD 301.23 billion (IMF, 2022). PR Newswire expects the industry to touch USD 707.84 billion by 2026 at a very impressive CAGR of 9%. Even if the hard numbers are ignored, global sports involve millions of people cutting across industries. These include sports organisations (FIFA, IOC, NFL, Los Angeles Lakers, Real Madrid), sportswear and sports equipment (Nike, Speedo, Wilson), talent management (IMG), advertising, PR, sports venues, betting firms, media organisations (ESPN), and last but not least, the sportspersons. The impact of wide-ranging events like the Covid-19 pandemic (still raging on), war, or natural disaster on an industry of such magnitude is expected to affect the revenues and the destinies of millions of people. In the first year of Covid-19, the world came to a standstill as lockdowns were declared to contain the spread. Sports leagues, amateur or professional, and other major sporting events were suspended or postponed to protect public health by S. Sarkar (B) · M. J. Soni Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi, India e-mail: [email protected] M. J. Soni e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_10

221

222

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

avoiding gathering people in one place. The headline events that were affected in 2020 are as follows (Krnjaic, 2020): • Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo shifted to 2021, just 122 days before the start. • Euro 2020 (the European Football championships) was postponed to 2021. • All the three Grand Slam tennis tournaments (the Wimbledon, the US Open, and the French Open) to be played in 2020 were cancelled. More than 900 tournaments under the aegis of ITF were axed. • Boston Marathon was cancelled for the first time in its history. Other major marathon races, including London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Barcelona, were also postponed. • The Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix was cancelled. According to Gough (2021), the losses that all these major events and their associates suffered in terms of money and workforce were also hefty in scale. Some snapshots are as follows: • Number of athletes affected due to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics: 11,000 and 4400 (Paralympics) • Loss of advertising revenue for NBC due to the postponement: USD 1.25 billion • Estimated gate receipts lost by the NBA franchises because of the postponement of 259 games: USD 350–450 million • Potential loss from the cost of the new Olympic stadium in Tokyo: USD 277 million • Media rights lost by Major League Soccer (MLS): USD 90 million. As the broader aspects of the disruptions are being looked into, one also needs to view how the hiatus in live sporting action affected the smallest but the most critical stakeholder, the viewer. The absence of in-stadia actions automatically dried the source for the broadcasters and, in turn, the consumers. The sports broadcasters were in a quandary as to how to fill the programming hours. Although Perks (2015) notes that sports consumers have largely eliminated regular television programming as the primary source for their staple consumption of sports content with the advent of the OTT platforms, the choice for consumption has remained mostly unchanged. In other words, consumers will always ask for live sports (Tamir, 2021). Buehler (2020) says that the sports networks resorted to their older policies of airing documentaries to keep the eyeballs fixated on the television screens. ESPN released its documentary series, The Last Dance, within the first few weeks of the lockdown in April 2020. This mini-series about Michael Jordan and his final championship-winning season with the Chicago Bulls was widely watched as the viewers, deprived of sporting action on the television, and stuck in their homes due to the lockdown, had an intense craving for any fresh sports-related content (Tamir, 2021). The views increased even more when Netflix released it a couple of months later.

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

223

2 Sports Documentaries The trend set by The Last Dance continued strongly as more and more documentaries started landing on OTT platforms. Appendix tries to detail the documentaries released. It is evident that a large majority (63%) of those have appeared between 2020 and 2022, spent mainly by consumers under lockdown and/or with work-from-home conditions. All these show that despite sports documentaries having cinematic qualities being created for several decades, the more recent ones produced for television and/or OTT have garnered much more eyeballs and media mentions. It can be safely assumed that some of the films released in 2020 must have been under production before the pandemic happened, which suggests that documentaries were already getting the attention of the production houses and OTT players. As Holloway (2020) suggests, The Last Dance epitomises the groundswell toward documentary programming. Also, quite a few of them are much older ones released previously on television, the rights of which were picked up by the streaming players. These firms have felt the “appetite created by the disruption of sports activity (Tamir, 2021, p. 446)” generating demand for vicarious consumption of sports through the documentaries. From the perspective of media studies, the sports documentary lies at the intersection of sports and documentaries. The latter is a new and important subdiscipline which capitalises on learnings from sociology, history, and cultural studies (McDonald, 2007). Howley (2017) talks about treating sports in a more artful and detailed manner through documentaries and in the process, providing a deeper understanding. The documentaries locate sports in their social setting and liberate them beyond the playing arena’s limits. Sports thus gains significance beyond just the game (McDonald, 2007). Sports documentaries can be considered to employ the recently structured hybrid documentary form wherein the content is presented through actual documents and fictionalised recreations (Glaser, 2010). This new form is intended to entertain rather than educate, incorporating “narrative elements such as dramatisation, emotionalisation, personalisation, and fictionalisation (Glaser, p. 7).” Popular media culture regularly talks about these documentary films, and Tom Van Riper of Forbes magazine describes those as the latest “craze” in sports programming on television (Vogan, 2014). This “craze” mentioned by Vogan was a pre-pandemic one primarily driven by the ESPN series 30 for 30—a series of 30 documentaries created by the best of Hollywood directors and producers, which looked at momentous sports events over the previous 30 years of ESPN (Sheppard & Vogan, 2020). The success of the ESPN sports films nudged the other networks like NBC and Fox Sports into action, soon followed by Netflix. The increasing popularity of sports documentaries has been witnessed for the past couple of decades, especially the ones made for television and then for the OTT platforms (Aufderheide, 2015). Sheppard and Vogan (2020) posit that emphasis on sports documentaries for the past few decades has been a strategic move by the sports networks to develop a “sense of refinement” and promote quality content away from the lowbrow and mass feel of live sports (Baker, 2020; Buehler, 2020; McDonald, 2007). Like luxury products,

224

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

producers of sports programmes also attempted to associate higher quality and refined taste with Europe through promoting European games and sporting events that are more popular across the Atlantic (Jaramillo, 2018). Sports documentaries have been interpreted as lacking in the “discourse of sobriety.” Nichols (1991) puts sports and specifically sports documentaries a few notches down the sobriety hierarchy as it is affective and encourages irrational behaviour from the consumers. Sports is not make-believe but still allows the spectator to escape from reality into the realm of fantasy (McDonald, 2007). Kupfer (2020), however, raises the question of what business objectives were met by sports documentaries to be created in large numbers on television? According to sports media researchers, sports television networks kept churning out documentaries to enhance their reputation and, in the process, create respected brands (Buehler, 2020; Sheppard & Vogan, 2020; Vogan, 2014). Appendix shows that Amazon Prime has focused more on this content line than its main competitors. It has launched 119 documentaries as opposed to 69 from Netflix. Baker (2020) and Kupfer (2020) bring in the issues of financial objectives in producing these documentaries. Since documentaries do not require live feeds and archival footage is good enough, the cost of production is considerably lower, which pushed other networks to follow the footsteps of ESPN in providing “highquality, non-fiction sports storytelling,” as suggested by ESPN executive Connor Schell (Best, 2017). From television, the relocation of sports documentaries to the streaming and videoon-demand space has been entirely organic. The latter began to appreciate the value added by these productions to their core sports offering (Mereu, 2020). Reiss and Wiltz (2004) have noted that consumers provide more attention to stimuli that satisfy primary motives like curiosity, romance, and idealism, which lays the foundation for OTT players to channel resources into sports documentaries post-network era (Lotz, 2014; Mereu, 2020). Over time the major OTT players joined the bandwagon. Incidentally, the growth of the documentaries and the streaming platforms happened in harmony, thus reinforcing the development of one another (Sheppard & Vogan, 2020).

3 Consumer Attitudes The viewers have taken to sports documentaries on the OTT platforms so well because the streaming services provide the flexibility that today’s viewers want, as they want to watch something only when they want. ESPN could comprehend this expectation well, and the 30 for 30 series was televised with minimal commercial breaks and without the distractions of tickers displaying scores or headlines (Baker, 2020). Bury (2018) comes up with specific numbers stating that around 95% of viewers under 30 opt for online viewing, and even 20% of the older people watch televised content online using a computer. Barring the time utility, the post-millennial viewers do not warm up to interactive modes of documentaries. Podara and colleagues (2019) observe that interactivity is used widely as a value-added option across media, which

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

225

most consumers can construe as annoying. They prefer a conventional linear form with the director as the guide over a self-created format. Sports, by itself, generates emotional engagement that the consumers expect—be it live-action or other sports programming—and is already narrativised that making it amenable to a structure built up of “mythologies, allegories, and narratives” (Malitsky, 2014; Rowe, 2004, p. 200). Delving deeper, the drivers that induce consumers to watch sports documentaries over and above regular sports programmes are manifold. Viewers watch for both personal and social reasons. At an individual level, documentaries are watched for their entertainment value but not at the cost of suspension of reality (Mereu, 2020). The new hybrid documentary brings entertainment (e.g. Venus Vs.) where the director uses melodrama to provoke emotional responses to the sport and its socio-cultural repercussions like racial and gender discrimination encountered by the tennis star Venus Williams (Baker, 2020). The reality-based context appeals to consumers who prefer to learn about sports, matches, history, game strategies, and interpersonal aspects like teamwork and leadership (Han, 2019). Prior knowledge of sports may not be necessary to appreciate and enjoy the documentaries. Still, some basic idea in that sport helps the consumer engage deeper with the content and the narrative. Mereu (2020) also suggests that these programmes help relax due to a relatively lower cognitive load and the interest they generate by allowing people to view the lives of celebrity sportspersons. Based on Papacharissi and Mendelson’s (2007) framework, one can presume that consumers will have any or all the seven motives for watching reality-based shows. These are as follows: reality versus fiction, entertainment, relaxation, habitual pass time, companionship, social interaction, and voyeurism. Watching sports can be included in this framework. Holloway (2020) quotes Stephen Espinoza, President of Showtime Sports, that successful sports documentaries generally combine several genres to keep the product interesting for nonsports enthusiasts. Han (2019) also details the consumers’ feedback for a particular documentary, All or Nothing: Manchester City, which provides both academics and content creators valuable implications for further research and product design. Seeking out a sports documentary is usually an active process, with or without word-of-mouth from friends, family, and peers (Smith, 2016). The possibility of serendipitous discovery is relatively low for such cognitive products. The influence of others in viewing sports documentaries is also a significant matter. Live sport has always been a water cooler topic. Consumers wish to participate in discussions, online or physically, based on their viewing of documentaries. This aspect of documentaries acting as a “social glue” (p. 73) is an essential driver for deciding to watch sports documentaries (Podara et al., 2019). For the social viewing habits of post-millennials, watching content online takes priority, even when they perceive to be watching television programmes (Seemiller and Grace, 2019). As far as sports documentaries are concerned, this consumer segment watches those for entertainment and education.

226

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

4 Understanding Sports Documentaries: The Disrupted Era It is pretty evident from the discussion above and based on the numbers coming out of Appendix that the spotlight on sports documentaries on the part of the OTT platforms and other broadcasters is unmistakable. Although these films may not have been perfect substitutes, they were able to keep the appetite of the consumers adequately satisfied to keep it piqued till live sports went for a restart (Deggans, 2020). Greenblatt (2020) went a step further and said sports fans could utilise the break in live sports to enjoy intelligent and informative documentaries. Apart from tracing the importance of documentaries and the emergence of sports documentaries, this chapter tries to comprehend the characteristics of the ones released during the lockdown. It also aims to delineate the trends in content (and, possibly form) of the documentaries that landed in this period. Document analysis (or documentary research) is the methodology adopted to achieve the above. According to Guba and Lincoln (1981), a document is a written material that has not been created for the purpose of the research in question nor based on any request from the researcher and has to be considered as “socially situated” (Scott, 1990), since a document can be available in either private or public domain. It is a well-established method in social science research. Documents are thus non-reactive and are unbiased by the data collection process (Ahmed, 2010). Bowen (2009) includes newspaper articles and clippings as documents for qualitative research purposes. For this chapter, document analysis was carried out on the content of the reviews posted on the review-aggregation website, Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews were appropriate because these had not been created for this study. The protocol followed for arriving at these reviews consisted of three stages of a gradually narrowing selection funnel: (i) selection of sports documentaries released from 2020 onwards, thus coinciding with the pandemic-induced lockdowns, (ii) shortlisting of the films that had been received an IMDb rating of 6.0 and above, and (iii) finally choosing documentaries having at least eight Top Critic reviews. This study had considered Top Critics because, as well-established and influential professionals in their community, these critics were accepted by their peers and the advisory committee of Rotten Tomatoes (Rotten Tomatoes, n.d.). The final selection contained reviews from only seven documentaries detailed in Table 1. In total, 103 reviews were analysed by the researchers for their content. To ensure quality, triangulation can be achieved by employing at least two sources of evidence (Bowen, 2009), which in this case included in-depth interviews. This part of the data collection shall be discussed in a later section. The films cut across sports as diverse as gymnastics, American football, tennis, football, parasports, basketball, and golf. The following sections discuss the key themes from the document analysis of the abovementioned documentary films.

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

227

Table 1 Details of documentaries selected for document analysis (IMDb ratings and numbers as of May 12, 2022) Documentary

Year released

IMDb rating

No. of ratings

The Last Dance

2020

9.1

111,261

Rising Phoenix

2020

8.1

1668

Tiger

2021

7.8

4327

Athlete A

2020

7.6

10,580

Killer Inside: The mind of Aaron Hernandez

2020

7.4

16,689

Pelé

2021

7.0

4181

Naomi Osaka

2021

6.2

1292

4.1 Devotion to Excel The most important aspect that emerged from the reviews, in expected fashion, is the single-minded focus that the sports people covered in the films had towards excelling in their respective sports. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Naomi Osaka had been respected for their work ethic and the hours they had put in to reach the zenith of their game. The underlying determination and passion that drove the effort set these athletes apart. Jordan didn’t make basketball look easy; he made it look effortless. But the rest of The Last Dance shows very clearly that despite his incredible natural talents, Jordan’s most important gift was his work ethic. He practiced, studied, trained, and learned nonstop, and demanded the same intensity from everyone around him. He did whatever he needed to do to win. That message that hard work pays off is a pretty valuable one right now. (So is Jordan’s refusal to quit under any circumstances and his commitment to team excellence and his sense of personal responsibility. (Singer, 2020)

Fontour (2021) described athletes like Jordan and Woods as “maniacal in their focus, preparation, and will to win.” Similarly, in Rising Phoenix, the resilience and determination of the para-athletes to achieve greatness were celebrated. Italian fencing team member Bebe Vio gives the film (Rising Phoenix) its name, explaining that she identifies with the mythological phoenix because it is consumed by fire and then lives again. She was an 11-year-old already competing nationally when she got meningitis and her arms and legs were amputated. Her father taped a foil to her stump and she was ready to go back to competition… The sequence that shows her reaction after delivering the decisive blow in 2016 burns off the screen with an overwhelming ferocity which seems fuelled by everything she has overcome. (Abraham, 2020)

4.2 Triumph Over Adversity The overarching message coming out of Rising Phoenix, on top of the intense determination mentioned above, was the willpower to fight adversity and come out in

228

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

triumph. The para-athletes disregarded their physical challenges and focused on establishing their athleticism. The film, Pelé, also mentioned the extenuating financial conditions of the family the footballer had to go through to rise to the top of the world. It did not exclude the almost national disaster that Brazil, and Pelé’s father went through on losing to Uruguay. The film chronicles key matches, framing his story between Brazil’s loss in the 1950 Brazilhosted World Cup to Uruguay – a devastating blow to the nation’s pride – and Pelé’s quest for personal redemption at the 1970 edition in Mexico. Pelé, only a child when the “Maracanazo” happened in 1950, saw his father cry and promised to amend the tragedy. Moving swiftly from a working class upbringing to playing for the Santos club, to assuming the part of the peerless prodigy selected to play for in FIFA’s 1958 tournament (or so the film suggests), Pelé eventually became the only player ever to win three World Cups. (Aguilar, 2021) Pelé rose from humble origins, helping financially support his family by utilising a shoeshine box that, in present-day footage, he cradles like an old friend. (Schager, 2021)

Adversity always did not mean physical or financial hurdles. For Tiger Woods, simply the matter of returning to mainstream golf, a sport he had been playing since childhood, from debilitating personal crises, and winning a major was a significant achievement. The filmmakers choose a redemptive arc, ending on Tiger’s incredible comeback victory at the 2019 Masters, at 43 years old. It may seem too sympathetic a choice, but it doesn’t feel like they’re putting our hero back on a pedestal. Instead, this is a resurrection where he gets to keep both feet on the ground – neither savior nor monster, but an ordinary person who does an extraordinary thing. (Fontour, 2021)

4.3 Coping with Defeat Another inevitable adversity in any sportsperson’s life is losing a game or a tournament. Handling defeat is a skill that needs to be developed. Different individuals deal with loss differently. Woods had developed the ability not to let the past get better of him. Fontour (2021) said, Woods has cut people out of his life who seem to represent that low period, and never looked back. This is a useful, even necessary skill as an athlete, the ability to shake off a mistake, an ugly shot, a bad game, and move forward as confidently as you did before.

Osaka, on the other hand, lost her bearings as … she walks a city after a loss, “headed towards no direction,” narrating her progress as if she were leaving a record the police might need in the morning: “It’s either walk or don’t sleep and lose my mind, ’cause it’s for sure I’m not going to sleep.” (Lloyd, 2021)

4.4 Teamwork Working and performing in teams is a lesson human beings learn from playing a sport, even in the case of individual sports. In a team sport like football or basketball,

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

229

a superstar player needs and depends on the power of the whole team to deliver their extraordinary prowess. Pelé had been modest enough and quite forthcoming in acknowledging the contributions of his teammates. In the documentary, he considered them as “family, … and that closeness palpable” (Schager, 2021). Michael Jordan also had to accept and value the effort of the Chicago Bulls’ team. Morris (2020) captured the greatness of that team as he said, “Over and over, the series reminds you how many times things came close to falling apart. And, remarkably, even then, the pieces were reassembled and reconfigured for further dominance.” However, a team is not limited to the people on the ground. The non-playing personnel also play crucial roles in the success of the team. Wilkinson (2020) mentioned, “I understood better why the Bulls dominated pro basketball in the 1990s, and why relationships between players and managers and coaches matter, and the factors that can lead to victory or thwart championship hopes.” Jordan also endorsed his coach, Phil Jackson, stating that he would not return to the team unless Jackson were brought back (Chaney, 2020).

4.5 Situating Oneself in the Socio-Political Milieu Sportspeople are expected to voice their opinions on various social and political issues since they are in the public eye. With the advent of social media, their voices reach farther. However, the reviews revealed that both Jordan and Pelé decided to stay aloof in the face of serious political issues, albeit for entirely different reasons. But, the similarity was captured in this trait. Regarding Pelé, Schager (2021) wrote: In American sports terms, he was more Michael Jordan than Muhammad Ali, less interested in fighting injustice than in focusing on athletic domination and maintaining a cheery public demeanor fit for the cameras and the numerous advertisers that helped make him the sport’s first millionaire.

His deliberate silence against the military regime was primarily to avoid any repercussion from the authorities, but this stance did not go down well in the country and elsewhere. Where this film does turn up interesting material is by filling in the context of Brazil’s turbulent history in the 60s and highlighting Pelé’s participation in legitimising the military coup. Pelé maintains his ingenuous stance was entirely non-political, but there is a degree of bitterness on show from contemporaries who didn’t have his celebrity privilege. And it’s eye-opening to see the tensions preceding the 1970 World Cup, given Brazil’s triumph, seemed pre-ordained. (Pulver, 2021)

Jordan, however, was so intensely focused on his game and his performances that he declined to take any political stand, which to him was a distraction. It was evident in “…the controversy over his lack of political presence. Jordan was one of the most powerful athletes in the world and he seemed to actively avoid any sort of cause that could be deemed political,” as mentioned by Tallerico (2020).

230

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

On the other end of the spectrum stood Osaka. She decided to do something about the Black Lives Matter movement, and her expression of voice had been unique. Deggans (2021) noted, “… her decision to wear face masks commemorating Black people killed by police while competing in the U.S. Open last year, reflecting an increased activism”.

4.6 Racial Aspects Naomi Osaka’s action mentioned above was a demonstration of the unambiguous position she took on behalf of oppressed people. Tiger Woods was ordained by his father, “He must triumph in the name of all people of colour, and he must use his status to heal and uplift the entire world.” (Fontour, 2021). However, his stance towards all people of colour and his own skin did not go well with Black Americans questioning “whether he had downplayed his Black heritage” (Lowry, 2021a). Pelé made his statements purely through his football as far as race issues go. Aguilar (2021) said, In a country like Brazil where racism is still pervasive, … it feels facetious to make a film about a Black Latino icon and not touch upon the racial context of their success, or tokenism within a racist country that nonetheless upheld him as a football messiah.

4.7 Handling Pressure An inseparable part of being a successful sportsperson is the issue of managing pressure. This pressure can have various manifestations—related to the actual game, i.e. the performance pressure, related to handling the stardom and constant media attention, related to knowing and understanding oneself, and, finally, related to living up to the expectation of significant others. Reviews of almost all the documentaries dealt with the pressure the sportspersons felt emanating from their significant others. Of these, the presence and influence of the father had been telling in the case of Tiger Woods and Aaron Hernandez, the New England Patriots footballer. In the case of the latter, it was plain tragic. The son of a harsh, disciplinary authoritarian who allegedly physically abused his children, … former friends and fellow high school football teammates say on camera that Hernandez had gay sexual relationships as a teen, a former teammate describes Hernandez’s late father as the kind of dad who’d “slap the f****t right out of you” — and quotes from Hernandez’s recorded conversations in jail. (Romano, 2020) Killer Inside presents a different angle on Hernandez’s boyhood, showing that his father wasn’t just providing structure but taught him a model of masculinity built on anti-gay prejudice. (Dominguez, 2020)

Tiger Woods did not have the most inspiring and congenial influence from his father either. The reviews had stated,

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

231

… a childhood stolen in the service of greatness. We see a happy little boy made into a machine. He must be built to succeed against long odds — a young Black boy in a very old, lily-white sport — and his success cannot be for its own sake. He must be the medium and the message. He must be perfect… Earl is intent on instilling a military level of discipline in his son. The pressure he puts on Tiger is relentless — he never takes his foot off the gas. (Fontour, 2021) …Tiger’s late father, Earl Woods, most clearly illustrates the pressures placed on the young golfer. Before the interview in which Tiger Woods compares himself to Jordan, for example, we hear Earl Woods explaining the monumental task he’s assigned to his son: “The world is ready for a nonwhite golfer to be successful,” Earl announces. “I have availed Tiger of this, and he takes that responsibility seriously”… Interviews with family friends and colleagues speak to Tiger’s difficulty carrying this responsibility, especially in his youth. (Giorgis, 2021)

Naomi Osaka felt the pressure of handling her mother’s expectations to be quite a tough ask. Although the reviews did not specify clearly, she had suffered by thinking that she had disappointed her mother. Said Nicholson (2021), One of the most heartbreaking scenes is a clip from her 22nd birthday meal. She asks her mother: “Did you think, by the time I was 22 …” That she would be the best female tennis player in the world? That she would be the first Japanese singles player to win a grand slam? That she would set a new record for earnings in a year? “[That] I would’ve done more?

Osaka also suffered from self-doubt and loneliness, thus feeling the pressure of her high set benchmarks. Her coach said she was “incredibly hard on herself” (Hadadi, 2021). She also had felt the immense pressure of being a star. Quinn (2021) had succinctly put it, moments that reveal the heavy weight of being a heavyweight of the sport.” Also, put forth by Lowry (2021b), “… “no one prepares you” for the level of attention that comes with being thrust into the media spotlight.” The form of pressure much worse than the ones mentioned above is due to some external agency creating an intense career- or life-threatening issue. The young gymnasts in Athlete A had to face such pressure from the coaches, doctors, and administrators of USA Gymnastics. It came out clearly, “As one parent of one of Nassar’s victims who was pressured into silence puts it, “they had the Olympics hanging over our head.”” (Graham, 2020). The political form of the pressure had affected Pelé, who must have felt a threat to his very survival from the military government in his country.

4.8 Vulnerabilities As understood from the documents, the pressure discussed above takes its toll on the sportspersons. It renders the human being behind the sportsperson vulnerable to a host of insecurities and a sense of losing control. The gymnasts in Athlete A could perceive the lack of control over their own lives under the sexual and physical abuse. Yet they were clearly prevented from seeking redressal. Williams and Graham wrote in their respective reviews:

232

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

As one gymnast recalls, “Every time I’d get an injury I wasn’t believed. Back then I didn’t think of it as abuse. I almost still feel bad for telling the truth.” And into that environment, where girls were routinely taught not to complain, not even to believe what their bodies were experiencing, came Dr. Larry Nassar. (Williams, 2020) They describe the emotional and physical abuse young athletes in the system are put through that makes the gymnasts themselves feel powerless. (Graham, 2020)

The reaction to these vulnerabilities, exacerbated by intensely suppressive environments, can be very unsavoury and can lead to disastrous outcomes, as one can see in the case of Aaron Hernandez. … those conversations provide the most insight into the kind of demons and anger Hernandez was constantly wrestling with. They highlight the dichotomy that has made him such a complicated, divisive figure for the public to figure out: crushing vulnerability right alongside a frightening rage and threat of violence that could erupt at any moment. (Dominguez, 2020).

Suffocating environments, with the embargo on speaking out, tend to build up a sense of guilt over time. They start thinking it is inherently wrong to complain because no one else is doing it. Similarly, the Athlete A girls were subjected “to body and mind manipulation, and be controlled by a system of fear and intimidation” (Graham, 2020). On a more personal note, Osaka felt vulnerable after her mentor’s sudden demise, the famous basketball player Kobe Bryant in an unfortunate air crash.

4.9 Mental Health The matters of pressure and vulnerabilities discussed above all point to the mental health challenges that people in sports go through. Issues of anxiety, self-doubt, and stress became critical for Osaka. Her conversation with her mother, described above (Nicholson, 2021), pointed to the self-doubt. The anxiety and stress generated during press interactions affected her mental peace, which led to her withdrawing from the French Open and Wimbledon (Gyarkye, 2021). The impact of physical injuries on mental health, more so brain health, is a much bigger problem. Numerous brain injuries have affected sports like American football or ice hockey. Unfortunately, Aaron Hernandez was a victim whose affliction did not get the importance it warranted. Puchko (2020) wrote: Maybe Hernandez’s brain was broken. Over the past decade, a growing concern among NFL players is chronic traumatic encephalopathy, neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries, like those sustained in football games, boxing, wrestling, and ice hockey. Symptoms of CTE include moodiness, impulsiveness, and violent outbursts.

The girls in USA Gymnastics also had mental health problems, but their reasons were very different. The physical abuse they underwent during training at the hands of the celebrity couple coach and the sexual abuse from their doctor combined to affect the mental well-being of the young gymnasts.

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

4.9.1

233

Private Lives

The private lives of sportspeople have become news items. Consumers expect to get more and more minute details of the lives of sports celebrities. Based on a document analysis of newspaper articles on British footballers, Dot Grau and Canter (2019) assert that footballers have turned into stars, and media coverage tends towards “scandal, controversy, and sensationalism” (p. 42). Consumer curiosity is fanned by media attention. The document analysis of the reviews attached much importance to this aspect of their lives. The lives of Woods and Hernandez had, incidentally, been quite salacious for the consumption of the audience. The sex scandal wouldn’t be Woods’ only low point. A series of surgeries lead him to a reliance on painkillers and antidepressants. An arrest for impaired driving in 2017 – the mug shot that kicked off the documentary – would seem to have been the nail in the coffin of Tiger’s career. (Fontour, 2021) Killer Inside is supposed to be an “objective” unspooling of the entire Hernandez story as it played out in the media. But it provides surprisingly intimate stories and insight into his relationship to his sexuality, which was completely ignored in other accounts. Killer Inside adds important (and not sensationalist) context to the role his queerness and denial might have played in his now-well-documented life, death, and crimes. (Dominguez, 2020)

Pelé also had a quite chequered personal life in respect of his marriages and paternity controversy with one of his offsprings. All of that had been laid out for the public to consume. The gambling addiction of Jordan and his father’s unfortunate murder were well-documented and talked about in the media (Schager, 2020b).

4.9.2

Struggle with Balancing Lives

The sections above have discussed the accomplishments and challenges of the athletes. While the professional life of a sports star was covered in detail, as anticipated from a documentary, the spicy bits about their private lives were kept out of the discourse. It is a constant tussle that an athlete has to go through to keep these two sides disparate and ensure one does not impact the other. Woods had faced this challenge all his life, and his refusal to participate in the documentary was not a surprise because his perfectly sculpted public life was getting upset by his personal follies and foibles (Thomas, 2021). Osaka had her ordeal to be a successful tennis player and also become a human being worth emulating, as mentioned by Deggans (2021), “Osaka is struggling to answer a central question: How can she be the kind of fierce competitor she needs to be, while also staying true to herself as a human being?” The violent end to Hernandez also had been attributed to the “double lives” he maintained. The crises in one overflowed into the other, disrupting the already tenuous balance (Schager, 2020a). Similarly, the reviews of The Last Dance mentioned that despite the film being about the invincible Chicago Bulls, the private and public lives of Jordan had been laid out threadbare. The documentary also pries into the personal lives of Jordan’s superstar teammates. Singer (2020) noted, “There are fascinating glimpses of Jordan,

234

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

Jackson, Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and others dealing with the media, autograph hounds, and the pressures of NBA life on and off the court.”

4.9.3

Pyrrhic Victories

Henry Russell Sanders, the UCLA Bruins football coach, has been attributed with the now-historic quote, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” (Bartlett, 1994). Every sportsperson and/or team wants to win. But, one needs to look into the costs incurred in winning. Winning at all costs philosophy might lead to pyrrhic victories, which can damage the people involved. While ensuring that the USA would win medals by the dozen in Olympic gymnastics, the methods adopted by the coaches and the horrific treatment carried out by Nassar did affect the brand image of USA Gymnastics (Mangan, 2020). As the details of the entire tragedy unfolded in the documentary Athlete A, revelations by Olympic medallists being abused sexually by the national team doctor pointed to the loss of dignity, self-respect, and mental peace of the teenage gymnasts. Minow (2020) said, “One former gymnast says, “The line between tough coaching and abuse gets blurred.” This may be what it takes to win gold at the Olympics, but is it worth the cost?” Other than these psychological losses, the sordid drama also affected how the gymnastics team approached the Olympic events. The cost of losing the youth of the young people seemed too heavy for Johnson (2020)—“For USA Gymnastics, victory at all costs was its directive—even embracing, as one former gymnast puts it in a new Netflix documentary, “the notion we would sacrifice our young to win.”” At a personal level, Woods suffered the loss of his childhood innocence and high school girlfriend as his parents tried to fashion the “perfect golf machine” out of him (Long, 2021).

4.9.4

Systemic Culture

As one starts counting the costs of winning, one cannot but notice the callousness of organisations and people in respectable positions who should have taken appropriate steps to stem the losses. The documentaries unambiguously pointed out towards systemic failure in the USA Gymnastics in the case of Athlete A. … far larger culture of suppression, coercion and abuse fostered by USA Gymnastics, which allowed Nassar to violate young women who looked to him, above all others, for comfort and relief, all so the organisation could maintain its squeaky-clean image and the millions in revenue that were predicated on it. (Schager, 2020c) Directors Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk also seek to indict the entire system at USA Gymnastics and the culture of predatory behavior that allowed Nassar not only to prey on young girls but to continue to do it for years. (Graham, 2020)

In the cases of Aaron Hernandez and Naomi Osaka, the associated sports bodies, the NFL and French Open, respectively, simply failed to empathise with the players about their health. Both celebrity sportspersons, Hernandez and Osaka, were suffering from intensely damaging CTE and mental health issues, respectively.

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

235

Killer Inside is, on the one hand, an excoriation of a sport that eats up and spits out young men in the name of profit, destroying not only their bodies but their minds – both physically (via CTE) and psychologically (via homophobia, and the self-loathing it begets). Suffice it to say, Roger Goodell will not like McDermott’s conclusions about the role the NFL played in the downfall of Hernandez. (Schager, 2020a) As “Killer Inside” makes clear, the league’s emphasis on protecting its multibilliondollar product, as opposed to promoting the health and safety of players, has often impeded a full-throated discussion of the dangers. (Lowry, 2020) After her first-round win, French Open officials fined her $15,000 for skipping the press conference and threatened to default her from both that competition and future Grand Slams – so Osaka withdrew from the tournament the next day. She issued a statement that she was trying to exercise self-care after suffering bouts of depression following the 2018 U.S. Open and experiencing anxiety during Q&As. (Chaney, 2021)

The themes that appear below are different because those had surfaced from the document analysis of the reviews did not pertain to the sportspersons. Those issues, critical to any sports and media discussion, were related to the general media, the society at large, and the documentary films themselves.

4.9.5

Role of Media

The consumption of sports is very closely associated with media presence. Except for spectators inside the stadium, all others have to depend on various media platforms. Consequently, the role of media has been assessed time and again in creating critical narratives in the world of sport. Media reinforces the dominant social thought and creates the overarching cultural norms (Frey & Eitzen, 1991). The document analysis reviewed media relations with the sportspersons and the sports bodies. Jordan had a very close and symbiotic relationship with the media, with the latter showering unwavering attention on Jordan, who reciprocated by pandering to media demands. He never did “… flinch from the spotlight: His appetite for winning was matched only by his appetite for public affection” (Shephard, 2020). In contrast, Osaka had a love-hate relationship with the media about her discomfort in speaking to the latter. Her experiences with an uncaring media made her step away from mandatory post-match press conferences and then away from two Grand Slams. Sports organisations like the USA Gymnastics, led by a marketing professional, depended on the media to perpetuate their unblemished and nationalistic public perception. Nevertheless, the fourth estate did successfully fulfil its investigative responsibilities as the Indianapolis Star unearthed the sex abuse scandal that USA Gymnastics had been trying to sweep under the carpet (Murray, 2020; Myers, 2020). However, the media does not leave any opportunity to pick up stories of sleaze or create gossip about the private lives of celebrities. Watkins (2020) implicates the media, There’s no evidence proving that Hernandez’s sexuality made him a killer. So why is the newly resurfaced Hernandez conversation centered around his sex life? Probably because sex is juicy, forbidden and learning that Hernandez may have been gay provides the consumers with content for endless hours of gossip about what public figures do in their personal lives.

236

4.9.6

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

Matters of Gender

Two very disturbing yet perennial trends related to gender and society were covered in the reviews that need to be highlighted. (i) Objectification of women in sports: The world over, the media has to take the blame for perpetuating the male gaze in the coverage of women’s sports. Televised sports use camera angles for a blatant display of the female form to draw in more male eyeballs, more ratings, and more advertising revenues (Fink, 2015). It comes from the innate and prevalent sexism plaguing sports wherein “female sports” like gymnastics and figure skating set unnecessary beauty standards, as noted by Felperin (2020). She also added that such standards did not correlate with the actual sporting skills of the player. (ii) Toxic masculinity: Sports is the arena where men can demonstrate their masculinity which is “physically fearless and driven to dominate” (Giese, 2018, p. 118). Hypermasculinity is very common in sports because it changes the overall narrative about sex. Puchko (2020), also called out the NFL for disregarding the physical pain Hernandez was going through and still expected him to continue likewise. 4.9.7

Tone of the Documentary

The other pertinent question the reviews raised was that of the overall tone of the films. Most of the time, the concern that the viewers and critics have about personoriented documentaries (and biopics) is whether the filmmaker will take a eulogistic approach towards the subject and reduce the film into a made-up myth or not. Writing the review for The Last Dance, Chaney (2020) and Shepard (2020) had acknowledged that the film took an objective stance towards the larger-than-life persona of Michael Jordan and did not fail to point out the arrogant bully that was Jordan to all others. Similarly, for Pelé and Woods, both the films were well-rounded and balanced in approaching their subjects. As Roeper (2021) wrote in the review, ““Tiger” tells its story through a treasure trove of archival footage. The result is an informative, provocative, occasionally lurid but ultimately balanced treatment.” However, Marric (2020) was more laudatory and patronising in tone while talking about the paraathletes in Rising Phoenix, which might be apt given the context of the documentary.

5 Understanding Sports Documentaries: Consumer Attitudes It was felt that the perspectives on sports documentaries obtained from the literature and document analysis need to be juxtaposed against consumer opinions towards this genre of films. This study, thus, called for exploratory research on consumers of sports documentaries. A qualitative approach is considered more effective and

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

237

frequent when exploration of broader questions and ideas is needed against a background of lack of prior research and existing theoretical bases (Beard & Olsen, 1999; Mason et al., 2010). At the outset, focus group discussions were conducted amongst post-graduate students in India, with eight and nine participants in the two groups. Five in-depth interviews were carried out based on the learnings gathered from the focus group discussions and the broad themes that surfaced. The respondents were selected for the interviews based on the qualifying question if they had watched sports documentaries before. Along with several more qualifying questions, other factors needed to be uncovered. As a result, a general interviewing guide was framed to assess the issues about the content of the documentary and individual consumer psychology. These factors are given in Table 2. The interviews were conducted in the natural settings of the respondents for them to feel comfortable talking about the subject. Consent was sought from them before the start of each interview regarding video recording of the same. The recorded interviews were then transcribed, and the interviewees were asked to check the transcripts for accuracy and approval if satisfied. The details of the respondents have been provided in Table 3.

6 Findings As the transcripts were studied and analysed, several broad motifs emerged. In this section, those issues will be discussed. The discussion shall also include attempts to build direct correspondences of these motifs with the themes that had surfaced from the document analysis above. Table 2 Interviewing guide Qualifying questions

1. Have you watched documentaries? 2. Have you watched sports documentaries? 3. When have you watched it? And the names?

Watching habits

4. Are you into watching documentaries, in general? If yes, what type of documentaries do you like to watch? 5. How/from whom did you come to know about these documentaries?

Motivational factors

6. What motivated you to watch the documentaries? 7. How do you think your knowledge about the event/sportsperson has been enhanced by the documentary? 8. How do you feel when the conversation around you is about a piece of content that you have watched?

Content-related issues 9. What was the one story strand or conflict that you enjoyed the most watching? 10. Do you remember any scene in a sports documentary where internal rifts and private aspects of the players’ lives are also shown? 11. Which is the most motivating sports moment you came to know from the documentaries?

238

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

Table 3 Details of interview respondents Nomenclature

Age

Gender

Interview duration (mm:ss)

R-R

28

Male

24:55

R-S

24

Male

23:21

R-B

26

Male

22:28

R-M

25

Male

29:07

R-K

19

Male

46:41

6.1 Player and Sport Dynamics This is the most occurring broad theme that emerged as to why an individual would watch a sports documentary. The key driver that all the respondents raised that induced them to watch was getting to know more about the dressing room interactions amongst the players, coaches, and other backroom support staff. The conversations provided ideas about how strategies were developed and executed, what processes coaches and managers used to motivate the players, etc. The respondents, without exception, said that those portions in the documentaries were the biggest draws as the viewers could get a sense of the game, tournament, or sport beyond just the scores and news. As respondent R-R pointed out, I always admired him (Pep Guardiola) as a coach but, … I never knew in details his coaching style. I only knew that he was one of the best coaches because I was a fan of Barcelona and their tiki taka play, but then when I watched All or Nothing and they showed clearly how during half times, if the team is behind, how he coaches in those 10 minutes, what he says to the players? What is his mindset, what does he want to promote, those intricacies of a manager and how they manage those situations?

The respondents agreed that teams are made of different individuals bringing different skillsets and capabilities to achieve the final objective. And since teams had diverse characters, the inter-personnel dynamics (and politics) were also interesting to observe and understand. R-K mentioned, Basically he (Daniel Ricciardo) was a driver for Red Bull and his teammate was Max Verstappen. One of the most emerging talents of that time. So, there was this race where Verstappen, was in front of Ricciardo. And Ricciardo wanted to overtake him, but he did not let him go. … They had a little bit of tension but then it was over, but in the next race they actually crashed themselves. And the chairman of Red Bull, he was very angry.

The core idea of the interviews was getting to know about the teams and sports. The respondents were also interested in how the people in a team would work together. As a result, one can say that this fits well with the aspect of “teamwork” that came out from the reviews in the document analysis.

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

239

6.2 Gaining Information Other than the team dynamics that the viewers seek, as seen above, the respondents emphasised watching documentaries for gleaning additional details about the subject. For respondent R-S, it was also about “knowing the general outlook of a profession.” Being a Formula 1 follower, R-K also said he came to know about the dominance of money in F1 teams. For all the respondents, these nuggets of additional information were the incentives for watching and as R-B said, Facts that you get to see on social media space are very limited, they’re devoid of the ‘why’ discussion. I think knowing that ‘why’ is something motivated me to watch the documentary, then I definitely think that I have gained more knowledge and background.

R-B mentioned that the documentaries provided a lot of content about the players’ private lives. Interestingly, the respondents were not interested in the scandals, but added that the various facets of personal lives added more human elements to the athlete who was usually seen only performing in an arena. R-K acknowledged that controversies in the private lives made for interesting viewing for most people, which was why those parts were put in the films. This last aspect of consumer preference directly maps into the ‘private lives’ theme, as extracted from the critic reviews. There was another dimension of the personal lives of the athletes that had generated considerable attention amongst the respondents. They had the inclination and curiosity to know how these superstar sportspeople became great athletes. Discipline, focus, temperament, passion—all the elements that went on to create these greats were the points of interest. As R-S mentioned in his interview, I believe the first purpose of a documentary is to set that discipline and motivation that these players had, that is why they reached that certain stage. … another one I feel very motivated is, the Rooney one, how he made his place in the World Cup team. That was really motivating. And the regime that he followed was very difficult and motivating.

The document analysis revealed the same notion as the “devotion” to the cause of excellence discussed above. The critics and the interviewees were in awe of the efforts and hours these players put in to reach the pinnacle of their game.

6.3 Life Lessons The respondents were not just left awestruck by the passion and dedication of the athletes to excel but also made mental notes as to how the players responded to onfield adversities and handled pressure situations. The outlook of the athletes towards their performances and consistently churning out excellent results were dimensions that the respondents observed. R-K had connected this trait with the expectation in corporate life that one needed to be consistent in one’s performance. On the other hand, there had been admiration for some of the players’ mentality of “going for broke.” As R-R said,

240

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

And that’s why I admire, Max (Verstappen) for his personality. … in a race, we can clearly see that taking on his partner can have the chances of collision. So many drivers would think twice and feel let’s not take that risk because … Let’s be in the second position. Why’d you take the risk and if there is collision, then you are in the last place, you don’t get any points. But then his (Max’s) mentality is no, I would rather be No. 1 or last, but I will take that chance. So that is something which I admire a lot in him and also in a person in general, if I meet such kind of people.

Based on the above quote and the discussion, one can suggest that this character strength corresponds to the “handling pressure” segment in the document analysis section. Another aspect of the strength of one’s character that gets attention and admiration is how people overcome major challenges in life to reach the state they have aimed for at the outset. There are multi-dimensional hurdles—financial, familial, and physical (e.g. disabilities) and accidents—that can jeopardise one’s plans. Stories that depict people who overcome enormous challenges and achieve their dreams are motivational to others. However, the respondents noted the difficulties that the players came across inside the playing arena rather than off it. As R-M noted, So, I am a huge fan of the underdog when it comes to sport. There was a season in the Premier League when a team called Leicester City, which had something like 5,000- to-1 odds to win the title that year, actually went ahead by beating all the big teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City.

Along similar lines, R-R noted the strategy employed by Red Bull to turn itself around from an underdog to an F1 winner against Mercedes, who had been winning for the past five seasons. Renault used to provide engines to Red Bull. But Red Bull won the driver’s championship, by using Honda engines. Because the Renault engines were not appropriate enough [to dislodge Mercedes]. And Renault has never won because of that issue. Hence that storyline also stuck to me that how they went by changing their engines to win.

Looking into the document analysis, one can see that such capabilities by teams and players are about their efforts to overcome adversities and “triumph over” them.

6.4 Self-Enhancement All these issues of gathering information about sports, players, their personal lives, and their motivations by watching documentaries point to what can be the potential benefits that people get. The responses can be listed as: (i) for breaking ice in conversations, (ii) for being part of a conversation, (iii) for providing the confidence to speak in a social setting, (iv) for having interesting conversations, and (v) for impressing others. R-B subscribed to almost all these ideas behind consuming sports documentaries. R-R and R-S both talked about discussions about sports documentaries could act as icebreakers. “I feel like really like discussing what I have watched with people, and it really feels good. You know it is kind of an icebreaker when they do not know

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

241

each other” [Respondent R-S]. Consequently, one can infer that watching all these documentaries may help an individual improve social skills.

6.5 Decision to Watch An important factor about sports documentaries, when it comes to consumers, is how people get the information about the films and on which platform it is available. As the consumer knows about a film, what can be the determining factor(s) for finally deciding to watch it. The recommendations from the platforms seemed to be one of the most decisive factors in selecting a documentary. The recommender system, working on previous viewing preferences, tended to come up with entirely accurate suggestions. As a result, the respondents R-R, R-K, and R-M said that they followed the recommendations regularly, and that was how they reached those films. Almost equally important had been the role of word-of-mouth (including eWOM) emanating from friends and peers and, in one rare case, the boss (Respondent R-M). Friends with similar tastes and preferences were a good source of information. About selecting the film, R-R said, I will like to have a rating on IMDb say … but then what will inspire me to continue further is the creative writing? How good the script is, how the characters have been established? … It doesn’t matter whether it is about golf or snooker, if the storyline and the characters are presented well enough, then I will surely watch.

R-K, however, added a few more filters to the decision-making process. I think first of all, probably it should be from sport that I’m familiar with. Because unless I’m really bored, I won’t watch something about any random sport. And the second is, I think the trailer is important because the trailer shows you what all they include in the documentary like players point of view.

R-K also said, looking for documentaries, “I just randomly scroll through YouTube.”

6.6 Interest in a New Sport One exciting and beneficial fallout of the recent explosion of sports documentaries has been people getting involved in sports they were previously unaware of or interested in. Respondents like R-B, R-K, and R-R had validated this aspect. R-B said, So, let’s say basketball is something I did not follow a lot, but I came across The Last Dance. … I found myself actually kind of learning the intricacies of the game of basketball and I really enjoyed, and I actually started following it a bit. I mean, probably I couldn’t follow the matches because of the time difference, but actually keeping some tabs on what’s happening.

242

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

R-R said he believed people could get into following a new sport by watching documentaries. In sum, this section has looked into the major factors that motivate a consumer to go for sports documentaries, especially under trying situations where people cannot leave home to consume sports in the stadium or any public place.

7 Recapitulating Sports Documentaries This chapter takes up the subject of relatively less-discussed sports documentaries against a backdrop of an uncertain world. The context of the study is built on a global fan base that has been forced to stay physically disconnected from one another, which has affected sports consumption behaviour. The social aspect of sports fanhood has been hit hard due to the restrictions related to health (Tamir, 2022). The perspectives of both the content providers and the consumers have been incorporated into this discussion to understand several issues that went behind the spate of documentary launches. Looking into the consumers first, one can see that other than just getting information about sports or trying to grasp the nitty–gritty of a new sport, consumers expect to seek insights about how teams plan and strategise toward on-field success. They also look forward to the top athletes’ personal drives, which have put them at the zenith of their sport. Consumers hope to get inspiring stories from these personal struggles and victories. They also seek additional benefits from watching documentaries deeper than just gathering information—earning a sense of empowerment from the information and also the perquisites of showing off the newly acquired knowledge. At the producer end, the production houses, sports networks, and OTT players have all commissioned numerous sports documentaries to be dropped onto various platforms, keeping in mind the pause in live sports and fan attendance. Related naturally to that is the pause in fan socialisation. The content churned out by the creators has focused on players, teams, and specific events. The consumer insights that this study have unearthed focus getting shifted to more of backroom dynamics and personal struggles rather than match highlights. Another strand of documentaries dealing with major sports scandals has also been highlighted by the consumers. From a marketing manager’s perspective, product and promotional strategies need to incorporate these insights to keep the sports documentaries at the top of the consumer watchlist. The suggestions can be helpful during any major future disruption like the pandemic-induced lockdown. Acknowledgements We sincerely acknowledge the invaluable efforts of (in alphabetical order) Arsheen Chugh, Bibek Guha Sarkar, Nihar Batra, Pranesh Jha, S Nihal, Sankhadeep Sengupta, and Taher Driver that went on to giving the chapter a very nice presentable shape.

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

243

Appendix Sports documentaries released in the major OTT platforms (as on May 2, 2022). Documentary

Year of release (most recent season)

Platform

Facing Ali

2009

Amazon Prime

Rwanda-17

2011

Amazon Prime

Legend of a Warrior

2012

Amazon Prime

The Short Game

2013

Netflix

Duke-Carolina: The Blue Blood Rivalry

2013

Amazon Prime

The Battered Bastards of Baseball

2014

Netflix

I Am Ali

2014

Amazon Prime

From the Road

2014

Amazon Prime

Sports Adventure

2014

Amazon Prime

Friday Night Tykes

2014

Amazon Prime

Barca Dreams

2015

Netflix

Eddie Strongman

2015

Netflix

The Agent

2015

Amazon Prime

Fearless

2016

Netflix

Unchained: The Untold Story of Freestyle Motocross

2016

Netflix

One in a Billion

2016

Netflix

Team Foxcatcher

2016

Netflix

Race

2016

Amazon Prime

Gleason

2016

Amazon Prime

Counterpunch

2017

Netflix

Icarus

2017

Netflix

The Dawn Wall

2017

Netflix

Limitless

2017

Netflix

Vahine I Te Moana

2017

Amazon Prime

Le Mans: Racing Is Everything 2017

Amazon Prime

Campo de estrellas

2017

Amazon Prime

Becoming Champions

2018

Netflix

Fightworld

2018

Netflix

Sunderland Till I Die

2018

Netflix

First Team: Juventus

2018

Netflix

The Game Changers

2018

Netflix

Little Miss Sumo

2018

Netflix (continued)

244

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

(continued) Documentary

Year of release (most recent season)

Platform

Late Life: The Chien Ming-Wang Story

2018

Netflix

Ladies First

2018

Netflix

Generation Iron (3)

2018

Netflix

Ronnie Coleman: The King

2018

Netflix

Screwball

2018

Netflix

Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable

2018

Netflix

Zion

2018

Netflix

Brian Banks

2018

Netflix

Make Us Dream

2018

Amazon Prime

All Or Nothing: Manchester City

2018

Amazon Prime

All Or Nothing: New Zealand All Blacks

2018

Amazon Prime

Six Dreams

2018

Amazon Prime

Pistorius

2018

Amazon Prime

Luis, el sabio del exito

2018

Amazon Prime

Big Wata

2018

Amazon Prime

Losers

2019

Netflix

Basketball or Nothing

2019

Netflix

Maradona in Mexico

2019

Netflix

QB1: Beyond the Lights

2019

Netflix

Antoine Griezmann

2019

Netflix

Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians 2019

Netflix

Diego Maradona

2019

Netflix

The Ronda Rousey Story

2019

Netflix

River, el mas grande siempre

2019

Netflix

A Kid from Coney Island

2019

Netflix

Unbroken: Calum von Moger

2019

Netflix

Andy Murray: Resurfacing

2019

Amazon Prime

Kroos

2019

Amazon Prime

The Thing About Greece: A Snowboard Documentary

2019

Amazon Prime

Tidal

2019

Amazon Prime

The Eagles of the Forest

2019

Amazon Prime

Deeper

2019

Amazon Prime

The Rider and the Wolf

2019

Amazon Prime (continued)

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

245

(continued) Documentary

Year of release (most recent season)

Platform

Africa Fusion

2019

Amazon Prime

Love for the Game

2019

Amazon Prime

El Corazon De Sergio Ramos

2019

Amazon Prime

Inside Borussia Dortmund

2019

Amazon Prime

All American

2019

Amazon Prime

The Last Dance

2020

Netflix

The Playbook

2020

Netflix

Home Game

2020

Netflix

Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez

2020

Netflix

Tony Parker: The Final Shot

2020

Netflix

Cheer

2020

Netflix

Rising Phoenix

2020

Netflix

Athlete A

2020

Netflix

A Life of Speed: The Juan Manuel Fangio Story

2020

Netflix

Anelka: Misunderstood

2020

Netflix

Beyond the Boundary

2020

Netflix

Heroes

2020

Netflix

Guillermo Vilas: Settling the Score

2020

Netflix

The Speed Cubers

2020

Netflix

Resiliencia

2020

Amazon Prime

All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur

2020

Amazon Prime

Take Us Home: Leeds United

2020

Amazon Prime

The Test: A New Era for Australia’s Team

2020

Amazon Prime

The Long Road to Tokyo

2020

Amazon Prime

The Way

2020

Amazon Prime

Maradona, the Golden Kid

2020

Amazon Prime

Carolina Marin

2020

Amazon Prime

La quinta de la quinta

2020

Amazon Prime

Europe: Coast to Coast

2020

Amazon Prime

Soccer City

2020

Amazon Prime

Streetkids United II—The Girls 2020 from Rio

Amazon Prime

All or Nothing: Brazil National 2020 Team

Amazon Prime (continued)

246

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

(continued) Documentary

Year of release (most recent season)

Platform

David Versus Goliath

2020

Amazon Prime

Targa Tasmania

2020

Amazon Prime

Muhammad Ali: A Biography

2020

Amazon Prime

One Day Ahead

2020

Amazon Prime

Under 30

2020

Amazon Prime

Carts Of Darkness

2020

Amazon Prime

Fernando

2020

Amazon Prime

The Pack

2020

Amazon Prime

Sons of the Soil: Jaipur Pink Panthers

2020

Amazon Prime

All or Nothing (Seasons 1–5)

2020

Amazon Prime

An Unauthorized Biography on 2020 Tiger Woods

Amazon Prime

Formula 1: Drive to Survive

2021

Netflix

Naomi Osaka

2021

Netflix

The Least Expected Day

2021

Netflix

Last Chance U: Basketball

2021

Netflix

Last Chance U

2021

Netflix

Pele

2021

Netflix

Baggio: The Divine Ponytail

2021

Netflix

Lift Like a Girl

2021

Netflix

Bad Sport

2021

Netflix

Untold: Malice at the Palace

2021

Netflix

Untold: Crime and Penalties

2021

Netflix

Untold: Breaking Point

2021

Netflix

Schumacher

2021

Netflix

14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible

2021

Netflix

Accomplice

2021

Netflix

Azzurri: Road to Wembley

2021

Netflix

Soccer in the City

2021

Amazon Prime

The Record

2021

Amazon Prime

The End of the Storm

2021

Amazon Prime

Matchday: Inside FC Barcelona 2021

Amazon Prime

Making Their Mark

2021

Amazon Prime

When Eagles Dare: Crystal Palace F.C

2021

Amazon Prime (continued)

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

247

(continued) Documentary

Year of release (most recent season)

Platform

Forged in Fire: Cricket’s Greatest Rivalry

2021

Amazon Prime

Manchester United: For the Glory

2021

Amazon Prime

Being Serena

2021

Amazon Prime

MotoGP: Fight to Succeed

2021

Amazon Prime

Stop at Nothing: Lance Armstrong

2021

Amazon Prime

The Rising: Hoop Origins with 2021 Stephen Curry

Amazon Prime

Lionel Messi: The Greatest Player

2021

Amazon Prime

2 Nations, 1 Obsession

2021

Amazon Prime

Floyd Money Mayweather

2021

Amazon Prime

MessiCirque

2021

Amazon Prime

Maradona: The Greatest Ever

2021

Amazon Prime

Capturing Cricket: Steve Waugh in India

2021

Amazon Prime

What Killed Maradona?

2021

Amazon Prime

Anthony Joshua: The Road to Klitschko

2021

Amazon Prime

Andreas Iniesta: The Unexpected Hero

2021

Amazon Prime

Bodyline: The Ultimate Test

2021

Amazon Prime

Ian Thorpe: The Swimmer

2021

Amazon Prime

Pele: The Last Show

2021

Amazon Prime

Secrets of The Supercars

2021

Amazon Prime

The Fans

2021

Amazon Prime

Head Above Water

2021

Amazon Prime

Chivas: El Rebano Sagrado

2021

Amazon Prime

FC Bayern: Behind the Legend 2021

Amazon Prime

PSG City of Lights

2021

Amazon Prime

Rafa Nadal Academy

2021

Amazon Prime

Otra forma de entender la vida

2021

Amazon Prime

All Or Nothing: Toronto Maple 2021 Leafs

Amazon Prime

Seleccion Espanola de Futbol

2021

Amazon Prime

No Woman No Try

2021

Amazon Prime

Sainz: Live to Compete

2021

Amazon Prime (continued)

248

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

(continued) Documentary

Year of release (most recent season)

Platform

Come Drift with me

2021

Amazon Prime

Pau Gasol: It’s about the Journey

2021

Amazon Prime

The Men who Sold the World Cup

2021

Amazon Prime

Lane 0: The Lane of Dreams

2021

Amazon Prime

The Fifth Title

2021

Amazon Prime

Reaching the Sky

2021

Amazon Prime

Fever Pitch: The Rise of the Premier League

2021

Amazon Prime

Grip

2021

Amazon Prime

Mo Farah: Race of His Life

2021

Amazon Prime

Jallikattu: Festival of the Untameable Spirit

2021

Amazon Prime

The Mountain Hockey

2021

Amazon Prime

David Beckham: For the Love of the Game

2021

Amazon Prime

Knockout Girls

2021

Amazon Prime

Beyond the Boundary

2021

Amazon Prime

Tiger Woods: Icon

2021

Amazon Prime

Tiger

2021

Disney + Hotstar

That One Word Feyenoord

2021

Disney + Hotstar

Neymar: The Perfect Chaos

2022

Netflix

Race: Bubba Wallace

2022

Netflix

Rooney

2022

Amazon Prime

Real Madrid: The White Legend

2022

Amazon Prime

Cricket’s Greatest Wonders and 2022 Blunders

Amazon Prime

Arsene Wenger: Invincible

2022

Amazon Prime

Federica Pellegrini: Underwater

2022

Amazon Prime

Back to Basketball

2022

Amazon Prime

Mi Seleccion Columbia

2022

Amazon Prime

The Underworld of Free Fights 2022

Amazon Prime

Best of AEW Rampage

2022

Amazon Prime

The Wrestlers: Fighting with my family

2022

Amazon Prime

Under the Lights: Pele

2022

Amazon Prime (continued)

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

249

(continued) Documentary

Year of release (most recent season)

Platform

Behind the Opening Ceremony: 2022 The Director’s Cut

Amazon Prime

Shane

Disney + Hotstar

2022

References Abraham, R. (2020, August 26). Rising Phoenix—A stirring documentary tells Paralympics stories. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/39971945-dfb8-42b8-9fe2-96aa58485855 Aguilar, C. (2021, February 23). Pelé. Rogerebert.com. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pel% C3%A9-movie-review-2021 Ahmed, J. U. (2010). Documentary research method: New dimensions. Indus Journal of Management & Social Sciences, 4(1), 1–14. Aufderheide, P. (2015). Mainstream documentary since 1999. In C. Luca, R. Grundmann, & A. Simon (Eds.), American film history: Selected readings, 1960 to the present (pp. 376–377). Wiley Blackwell. Baker, A. (2020). Intersectionality is Venus Vs. In S. N. Sheppard & T. Vogan (Eds.), Sporting realities: Critical readings of the sports documentary (pp. 35–48). University of Nebraska Press. Bartlett, J. (1994). Bartlett’s book of business quotations. Little Brown. Beard, F., & Olsen, R. L. (1999). Webmasters as mass media gatekeepers: A qualitative exploratory study. Internet Research, 9(3), 200–211. Best, N. (2017, March 4). ESPN Films at top of its game with Oscar for O.J.: Made in America. Newsday. https://www.newsday.com/sports/media/espn-films-at-top-of-its-game-withoscar-for-o-j-made-in-america-u18811 Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. Buehler, B. (2020). The documentary as “quality” sports television. In S. N. Sheppard & T. Vogan (Eds.), Sporting realities: Critical readings of the sports documentary (pp. 11–33). University of Nebraska Press. Bury, R. (2018). Television 2.0: Viewer and fan engagement with digital TV. Peter Lang Publishing. Chaney, J. (2020, April 17). The Last Dance is a perfect remedy for sports withdrawal. Vulture. https://www.vulture.com/2020/04/the-last-dance-review-espn-michael-jordan-bulls-doc useries.html Chaney, J. (2021, July 14). Naomi Osaka is the story of a work in progress. Vulture. https://www. vulture.com/article/naomi-osaka-netflix-docuseries-review.html Deggans, E. (2020, May 15). Sports documentaries flood tv as pandemic keeps arenas closed. WBUR. Podcast. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/05/15/sports-documentaries-tv-streaming Deggans, E. (2021, July 16). Timely Naomi Osaka docuseries explores the inner emotional world of a champion. npr.org. https://www.npr.org/2021/07/16/1016511444/naomi-osaka-netflix-reviewtennis-mental-health Dominguez, A. (2020, January 15). Netflix’s Aaron Hernandez documentary finally talks about his sexuality. BuzzFeedNews. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/alessadominguez/aaronhernandez-netflix-documentary-killer-inside Felperin, L. (2020, June 23). ‘Athlete A’: Film review. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hol lywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/athlete-a-review-1299967 Fink, J. S. (2015). Female athletes, women’s sport, and the sport media commercial complex: Have we really “come a long way, baby”? Sport Management Review, 18(3), 331–342.

250

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

Fontour, M. (2021, January 11). ‘Tiger’: The rise, fall, and partial redemption of golf’s great hope. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/tiger-hbo-documentary-review-111 0990 Frey, J. H., & Eitzen, D. S. (1991). Sport and society. Annual Review of Sociology, 17(1), 503–522. Giese, R. (2018). Boys: What it means to become a man. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Giorgis, H. (2021, January 15). The emotional miseducation of tiger woods. The Atlantic. https:// www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/01/emotional-miseducation-tiger-woods/617688 Glaser, M. (2010). Hybrid documentary formats: How narrative elements in archaeological television documentaries influence processing, experience, and knowledge acquisition. Doctoral dissertation. Universität Tübingen. Gough, C. (2021). Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease pandemic effect on the sports industry—Statistics & Facts. Statista. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/topics/6098/impactof-the-coronavirus-on-sport/#dossierKeyfigures Graham, A. (2020, June 24). ‘Athlete A’ shows culture that let Nassar abuse victims. The Detroit News. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/06/24/review-ath lete-a-shows-culture-let-nassar-abuse-victims/3248873001 Grau, M. D., & Canter, L. (2019). Representation of British footballers in the press: Private versus public performance. Journalism Education, 8(1), 40–48. Greenblatt, L. (2020, June 13). Three June documentaries to watch: Welcome to Chechnya, Athlete A, For They Know Not What They Do. Yahoo! Entertainment. https://news.yahoo.com/threejune-documentaries-watch-welcome-205420941.html Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1981). Effective evaluation: Improving the usefulness of evaluation results through responsive and naturalistic approaches. Jossey-Bass Publishers. Gyarkye, L. (2021, July 15). Netflix’s ‘Naomi Osaka’: TV review. The Hollywood Reporter. https:// www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/netflixs-naomi-osaka-1234981624 Hadadi, R. (2021, July 16). Naomi Osaka. Rogerebert.com. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ naomi-osaka-netflix-review Han, S. (2019). Analysing sport documentary online—Focus on All or Nothing: Manchester City on Prime Video. International Journal of Advanced Smart Convergence, 8(3), 20–26. Holloway, D. (2020, July 1). Why sports documentaries are seeing a boom amid the coronavirus pandemic. Variety. https://variety.com/2020/tv/features/last-dance-effect-sports-docs-outcry-123 4690597/ Howley, C. P. (2017). “Cycles of Change”: Slaying the Badger, the Tour de France and contemporary documentary film. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 41(6), 493–507. IMF. (2022). World Economic Outlook Database: April 2022. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2022/ April Jaramillo, D. L. (2018). NBC sports network: Building elite audiences from broadcast rights. In D. Johnson (Ed.), From Networks to Netflix (pp. 117–126). Routledge. Johnson, G. A. (2020, June 23). ‘Athlete A’ goes behind scenes of USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal. Datebook. https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/review-athlete-a-goes-beh ind-the-scenes-of-how-the-usa-gymnastics-sex-abuse-scandal-was-exposed-by-journalists Krnjaic, J. (2020). The impact of the Covid crisis on the sport industry. Marbella International University Center. Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://miuc.org/impact-covid-crisis-sport-ind ustry/ Kupfer, A. (2020). Sports Album’s replay: Newsreel compilations, early television, and the recirculation of sport history. In S. N. Sheppard & T. Vogan (Eds.), Sporting realities: Critical readings of the sports documentary (pp. 175–191). University of Nebraska Press. Lloyd, R. (2021, July 15). Naomi Osaka chose her mental health over tennis. Netflix’s new doc helps explain why. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-0715/naomi-osaka-netflix-review

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

251

Long, T. (2021, January 7). HBO’s ‘Tiger’ heads down a familiar fairway. The Detroit News. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/movies/2021/01/07/review-hbos-tigerheads-down-familiar-fairway/6553996002 Lotz, A. D. (2014). The television will be revolutionised. New York University Press. Lowry, B. (2020, January 16). Aaron Hernandez documentaries struggle with the ‘Why’ of the NFL star’s story. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/15/entertainment/aaron-hernandez-rev iew/index.html Lowry, B. (2021a, January 8). ‘Tiger’ puts Tiger Woods’ life and career back under the microscope. CNN Entertainment. https://edition.cnn.com/2021a/01/08/entertainment/tiger-review/index.html Lowry, B. (2021b, July 16) ‘Naomi Osaka’ portrays a young athlete wrestling with the weight of stardom. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2021b/07/16/entertainment/naomi-osaka-review/index. html Malitsky, J. (2014). Knowing sports: The logic of the contemporary sports documentary. Journal of Sport History, 41(2), 205–214. Mangan, L. (2020, June 24). Athlete a review—the scandal that rocked the sporting world. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/24/athlete-a-review-the-sca ndal-that-rocked-the-sporting-world Marric, L. (2020, August 28). Rising Phoenix. Daily Mirror UK/Linda Marric blog. https://lindam arric.co.uk/2020/08/28/rising-phoenix/ Mason, P., Augustyn, M., & Seakhoa-King, A. (2010). Exploratory study in tourism: Designing an initial, qualitative phase of sequenced, mixed methods research. International Journal of Tourism Research, 12(5), 432–448. Mathieson, C. (2020, May 30). Michael Jordan pierces the bubble of elite sport in juicy ESPN doco. The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/michael-jordan-pierces-the-bub ble-of-elite-sport-in-juicy-espn-doco-20200511-p54rwc.html McDonald, I. (2007). Situating the sport documentary. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 31(3), 208–225. Mereu, S. (2020, May 17). Uses and gratifications of «The Last Dance» and their effect on brand-user imagery fit and the intention to watch a Chicago Bulls game: An exploratory study of sports documentary series appeal. Sports Business Research Academy. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://sportsbusinessresearch.academy/2020/05/17/uses-and-gratifications-of-the-lastdance-and-their-effect-on-brand-user-imagery-fit-and-the-intention-to-watch-a-chicago-bullsgame-an-exploratory-study-of-sports-documentary-series-appe/ Minow, N. (2020, June 24). Athlete A. Rogerebert.com. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ath lete-a-movie-review-2020 Morris, W. (2020, May 10). In ‘The Last Dance,’ Michael Jordan and the Bulls still dominate. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-last-dance-jordan.html Murray, N. (2020, July 13). Athlete A. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/entertain ment-arts/movies/story/2020-07-13/you-dont-nomi-my-darling-vivian-athlete-a-documenta ries-review Myers, R. (2020, June 24). Explosive ‘Athlete A’ unpacks USA Gymnastics abuse scandal. The Mercury News. https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/24/streaming-movie-picks-explos ive-athlete-a-unpacks-usa-gymnastic-abuse-scandal Nichols, B. (1991). Representing reality. Indiana University Press. Nicholson, R. (2021, July 16). Naomi Osaka review—A poignant, painful look at the life of the tennis wunderkind. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jul/16/ naomi-osaka-review-a-poignant-painful-look-at-the-life-of-the-tennis-wunderkind_ Papacharissi, Z., & Mendelson, A. L. (2007). An exploratory study of reality appeal: Uses and gratifications of reality TV shows. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 51(2), 355–370. Perks, L. G. (2015). Media Marathoning: Immersions in Morality. Lexington Books. Podara, A., Matsiola, M., Maniou, T. A., & Kalliris, G. (2019). Transformations of television consumption practices: An analysis on documentary viewing among post millennials. Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies, 16(2), 68–87.

252

S. Sarkar and M. J. Soni

Puchko, K. (2020, January 17). Netflix’s ‘Killer Inside: The mind of Aaron Hernandez’ hints at the dangers of toxic masculinity. Pajiba. https://www.pajiba.com/tv_reviews/review-netflixs-killerinside-the-mind-of-aaron-hernandez.php Pulver, A. (2021, February 18). Pelé review—valedictory tribute to Brazilian football great. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/feb/18/pele-review-netflix-documentary Quinn, K. (2021, July 22). Naomi Osaka on Netflix captures a troubled star at her most vulnerable. The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/naomi-osaka-on-netflix-captures-a-tro ubled-star-at-her-most-vulnerable-20210720-p58be9.html Reiss, S. and Wiltz, J. (2004). Why People Watch Reality TV. Media Psychology, 6, 363–378. Research and Markets. (2022). Spectator sports global market report 2022. Research and markets. Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5550024/spectatorsports-global-market-report-2022-by#src-pos-29 Roeper, R. (2021, January 8). HBO documentary aims to be the definitive Tiger Woods bio film and aces it. Chicago Sun Times. https://chicago.suntimes.com/golf/2021/1/8/22215562/tiger-rev iew-woods-documentary-hbo-film Romano, A. (2020, February 2). Netflix’s flawed Aaron Hernandez documentary raises more questions than it answers. Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/2/2/21116353/aaron-hernandezlife-netflix-documentary-killer-inside-review Rotten Tomatoes (n.d.). Top critics. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 7, 2022, from https://www. rottentomatoes.com/critics/top_critics Rowe, D. (2004). Sport, culture and the media. Open University Press. Schager, N. (2020a, January 13). Netflix’s ‘Killer Inside’ reveals secret life of Ex-NFL star-turnedmurderer Aaron Hernandez. The Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/netflixs-killer-ins ide-reveals-secret-life-of-ex-nfl-star-turned-murderer-aaron-hernandez Schager, N. (2020b, April 19). An intimate portrait of the real Michael Jordan: Gambler, winner, tyrant. The Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/espns-the-last-dance-providesan-intimate-portrait-of-michael-jordan-gambler-winner-tyrant Schager, N. (2020c, June 23). The new Doc “Athlete A” explores the USA Gymnastics scandal, when officials covered up the horrific behavior of team doctor Larry Nassar, who sexually assaulted over 500 girls. The Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/netflixs-athlete-a-revisits-the-braveusa-gymnasts-who-exposed-monstrous-pedophile-larry-nassar?ref=scroll Schager, N. (2021, February 23). Netflix’s ‘Pelé’ reveals the football God’s true colors. The Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/netflixs-pele-reveals-the-football-gods-true-colors? ref=author Scott, J. (1990). A Matter of Record: Documentary Sources in Social Research. Polity Press. Seemiller, C., & Grace. M. (2019). Generation Z: A century in the making. Routledge. Shepard, A. (2020, April 24). Can Michael Jordan fill the huge sports-size hole in our hearts? The New Republic. https://newrepublic.com/article/157423/can-michael-jordan-fill-huge-sportssize-hole-hearts Sheppard, S. N., & Vogan, T. (2020). Introduction. In S. N. Sheppard & T. Vogan (Eds.), Sporting realities: Critical readings of the sports documentary (pp. 1–9). University of Nebraska Press. Singer, M. (2020, April 17). ESPN’s ‘The Last Dance’ is essential quarantine viewing. Screen Crush. https://screencrush.com/the-last-dance-espn-review Smith, Z. A. (2016). Narrative structure and audience motivation in documentary film. Dissertation. University of Missouri, Columbia. Tallerico, B. (2020, April 16). Sports fans will lose their minds over The Last Dance. Rogerebert.com. https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/sports-fans-will-lose-their-minds-over-the-last-dance Tamir, I. (2021). A rare dance. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 56(3), 442–448. Tamir, I. (2022). There’s no sport without spectators—Viewing football games without spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 860747. Thomas, K. (2021, January 18). HBO’s messy “Tiger” treats the controversial golf icon as salacious entertainment. Salon. https://www.salon.com/2021/01/18/tiger-woods-review-hbo-max

Is Reality Less Real? Proliferation of Sports Documentaries …

253

Vogan, T. (2014). Institutionalising and industrialising sport history in the contemporary sports television documentary. Journal of Sport History, 41(2), 195–204. Watkins, D. (2020, January 24). The Netflix Aaron Hernandez doc’s baffling obsession with sexuality is distracting and dangerous. Salon. https://www.salon.com/2020/01/24/netflix-aaron-her nandez-killer-inside-cte-sex Wilkinson, A. (2020, May 19). The last dance is just okay. But it’s a great reminder of why we need sports. Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/5/19/21262308/the-last-dance-michael-jor dan-espn-bulls-basketball Williams, M. E. (2020, June 24). “Athlete A” is a fierce indictment of the gymnastics culture that enabled a predator. Salon. www.salon.com/2020/06/24/athlete-a-review-netflix-larry-nassar-gym nastics

Soumya Sarkar is an Associate Professor of Marketing in the Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, India. He is a Fellow (Ph.D.) and MBA from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. He teaches Marketing Management, B2B Marketing, and Sports & Entertainment Marketing in IIM Ranchi and has also taught in IIM Udaipur, India and XIM Bhubaneswar, India. Soumya’s research interests include Corporate Branding, B2B Marketing, Popular Culture, and Sports Marketing and have papers in Journal of Strategic Marketing, Journal of Brand Management, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Corporate Reputation Review, amongst others. Mayank Jyotsna Soni is working as Assistant Professor of Marketing with Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ranchi, India. She is a Fellow from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India. She has worked with T.A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal, India for almost three years before joining IIM Ranchi. Her area of research interest includes Consumer Behaviour, Advertising, Sales Promotions, Marketing Strategy, and Marketing Research and has published in reputed journals like Journal of Consumer Marketing.

‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess for the Sport Post the Pandemic Siddharth Gaurav Majhi

1 Introduction The coronavirus-(COVID-19)induced pandemic has had a significant impact on various aspects of global society, such as television and entertainment (White, 2020), small businesses and startups (Engidaw, 2022; Kuckertz et al., 2020), and education (Skulmowski & Rey, 2020), due to the imposition of necessary measures such as social distancing and lockdowns. While sectors like health care and tourism were highly affected, the sports sector also took a beating (Garcia-Garcia et al., 2020; Scerri & Grech, 2021), with various mega sports events being called off (Manoli et al., 2022), and then events being organized in “bio-bubbles” mostly without any spectators (Grix et al., 2021). For example, in the case of chess, important events such as the Olympiad1 and the Candidates tournament were rescheduled indefinitely due to the pandemic (ChessBase, 2020a). Some scholars believe that the pandemic may have shifted the axis of sports permanently (Smith & Skinner, 2022), and this has the potential to “fundamentally change the way sport operates in the future and requires further analysis” (Parnell et al., 2022, p. 78). During the pandemic, chess was one of the few sports that remained relevant (Waldstein, 2020) due to the ability to engage with it online (Duca Iliescu, 2020). In this chapter, I focus on chess as a sport and delve into the impact of the pandemic-induced disruption on its increasing popularity, especially in its online avatar, and how this has created a scenario that needs specialized management in the post-pandemic era.

1

https://www.fide.com/news/460.

S. G. Majhi (B) Indian Institute of Management, Amritsar, India e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_11

255

256

S. G. Majhi

2 Chess as a Sport British Grandmaster Simon Williams, a well-known commentator, describes chess as follows,2 The beauty of chess is it can be whatever you want it to be. It transcends language, age, race, religion, politics, gender, and socio-economic background. Whatever your circumstances, anyone can enjoy a good fight to the death over the chessboard.

Chess is a board-based sport that goes back many centuries. Still, its current form can be traced back to Southern Europe during the second half of the fifteenth century and is believed to have evolved from chaturanga, an older game of Indian origin.3 While chess enjoys popularity in certain parts of the world, some of its characteristics have the potential to limit its audience. Unlike other sports like football or tennis, the viewer may need to have some basic understanding of the nuances of chess to enjoy watching a game, especially one which is being played by expert players. Also, the traditional ‘classical’ chess format, which often leads to games stretching for up to six or seven hours, may act as a serious impediment to the popularity and, consequently, the sport’s marketability to a broader audience. With these issues potentially limiting the audience base for chess as a sport, concerns have been raised regarding the viability of this sport as a career, considering the opportunities to earn money by gaining sponsorships or other means.

3 Resurgence of Chess’ Popularity During the Pandemic The United Nations recognized the importance of chess, especially during the pandemic, by marking World Chess Day on July 20, 2021,4 and stating Marking World Chess Day on Tuesday, the UN is celebrating the fact that while COVID19 has forced most sports to scale down, this ancient game of intellect, not brute strength, has demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability throughout months of lockdown worldwide.

The rising popularity of online chess is exemplified by the addition of 1.5 million new members to chess.com, one of the leading online chess platforms, in April 2020, compared with 670,000 in January 2020 (LoRé, 2020). Overall chess.com has added 12.2 million members between March and December 2020 (Karimi, 2020). Leading players like former world champion Viswanathan Anand also recognized that moving into its online avatar has helped chess adapt well to the disruptions caused by global lockdowns (PTI, 2020). I now discuss three key factors that played an essential role in increasing the popularity of chess in general and online chess in particular during the pandemic. 2

http://blogs.bbk.ac.uk/bbkcomments/2021/02/08/what-has-covid-19-done-for-chess/. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chess. 4 https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/07/1096152. 3

‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess …

257

First, I look at online streaming and the role of streamers and influencers in helping popularize chess. Second, I discuss how Netflix’s limited original series, The Queen’s Gambit, was a shot in the arm of chess’s global visibility and popularity. Finally, I see how the launch of online chess competitions featuring the world’s leading chess players with viewer-friendly features also played a crucial role.

3.1 Online Streaming and the Role of Influencers Online streaming had been ongoing earlier on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch (Ke et al., 2022), but it got a huge fillip once the coronavirus-induced pandemic led to people being confined to their homes (Bründl et al., 2022). During the lockdowns, the viewership of and engagement with online streaming increased. Analyzing the viewership statistics for chess on a popular streaming platform, Twitch reveals a significant rise in the average viewership of chess streams post-March 2020 when the lockdowns started coming into effect globally.5 The impact of online streaming can be understood by breaking down the various key streamers into multiple categories. First, there were Twitch streamers such as Chessbrah TV (led by GM Eric Hansen), GM Daniel Naroditsky, Levy Rozman (a.k.a. GothamChess), Eric Rosen, Anna Rudolf, the Botez sisters, etc., who had been streaming even before the onset of the pandemic but saw a considerable spurt in viewership and popularity after March 2020. These were strong international chess players but were nowhere near the top rung of chess as a competitive sport. However, they could balance their chess knowledge with the ability to break down the complex chess concepts into simpler terms, which helped them reach out to an audience introduced to chess for the first time. An exception was American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, a leading competitive chess player, having been ranked No. 2 in the world in classical chess and still being ranked No. 1 in shorter time formats such as blitz chess and bullet chess (D’Anastasio, 2020). He had started streaming chess on Twitch even before the pandemic, but his popularity soared, leading to him becoming the top-ranked English language streamer on Twitch at one point (LoRé, 2020). As of May 2022, he has nearly 1.5 million followers on his Twitch channel, almost 1.3 million subscribers, and 333 million cumulative views on his main YouTube channel. Next are the leading competitive chess players who became online streamers when regular tournaments were disrupted. Nakamura is a rarity as he is both a leading chess player (being one of only eight top players participating in the Candidates 2022 tournament, the winner of which will get an opportunity to challenge the reigning chess world champion Magnus Carlsen) and a leading and extremely popular streamer of chess content. Post the disruption in the regular chess events due to the pandemic, other leading chess players also started exploring the world of online streaming. Some of them, such as Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri, Indian grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, and Azerbaijani grandmaster Teimour Radjabov, became extremely popular. The 5

https://twitchtracker.com/games/743.

258

S. G. Majhi

reigning world chess champion Magnus Carlsen also started streaming chess and other content in isolation and in collaboration with others. Finally comes the unique case of Samay Raina, a stand-up comic from India whose previous claim to fame was being the joint winner of Comicstaan.6 This Amazon Prime original show saw stand-up comedians go head-to-head in various comedy formats. He had had an interest in chess and used to play casual online games with fellow comics but had never taken it seriously. Once, the pandemic-induced lockdowns led to a disruption in the offline stand-up comedy shows, Raina started streaming on YouTube in late March 2020 (Shah, 2020b). Many experts agree that Raina has rendered a yeoman’s service in helping popularize chess in India during the pandemic (Ninan, 2020) by making it more consumable for the masses (Prasad, 2020). A VICE article (Kumar, 2021) describes his approach, Raina’s streams are not of serious faces staring at the chessboard for hours while deep in thought, but of groups of friends cracking jokes while playing the abstract strategy game. With an astounding 169 million views on his channel, it’s pretty clear that his audience loves it. His streams with famous chess players like Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri, Viswanathan Anand and Teimour Radjabov have revealed a fun side to them that the world doesn’t usually see.

The first and the third categories discussed above held similar events with the same objective—making chess more popular among amateurs by getting famous peoples/celebrities/influencers to play each other in fun but competitive tournaments. Chess.com and Nakamura organized multiple seasons of PogChamps (Murray, 2020). This event brought together celebrities, including Twitch game streamers such as xQc and Ludwig, and famous personalities such as actor Rainn Wilson. In India, Raina organized multiple iterations/seasons of an event called “Comedians on Board” or COB (Shah, 2020a), which has only grown in magnitude in terms of prize money and level of competition. Such events helped break the myth that chess can only be viewed and enjoyed by audiences who are knowledgeable about the game. Having famous personalities compete in a game that many of them were recently introduced to it went a long way in capturing the interest of the typical viewer.

3.2 Impact of Netflix’s Limited Series ‘the Queen’s Gambit’ The Queen’s Gambit was a Netflix original series based on a 1983 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, and it debuted online on October 23, 2020. The series follows the life of fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon from the mid-1950s into the 1960s, as she rises to the top of the chess world while battling her dependencies on drugs and alcohol. According to Netflix, within a month of its release, over 62 million households had viewed the series, making it Netflix’s biggest scripted limited series to that date. This series played a critical role in ensuring a surge of popularity for chess across the globe. 6

https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Comicstaan/0OBC99MD8JANVN4AERWUJ4LJ13.

‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess …

259

A Bloomberg article by Rachael Dottle presents a detailed analysis of the role played by this series in the chess boom seen during the pandemic (Dottle, 2020). While chess.com had added an average of 1 million new members every month since March 2020, there were 2.8 million new members in November 2020, immediately after Queen’s Gambit was released on Netflix. Retailers also gained a lot—the sales of chess sets at toy retailer Goliath Games during November and December 2020 saw an 1100% rise compared to the previous year. There was also an increase in the proportion of women playing chess games online, thanks to the female protagonist of The Queen’s Gambit. Similarly, a CNN article by Faith Karimi provides more supporting data to quantify the positive impact of the series on the chess world (Karimi, 2020). It cites marketing research company NPD to claim that sales of chess sets increased 87%, and sales of chess books rose 603% following the release of the Queen’s Gambit.7 Similarly, writing for Forbes India, Mansvini Kaushik discusses the series’ impact on chess in India (Kaushik, 2020). Chess players saw an increase in interest in the sport based on the queries of their relatives and friends. From the perspective of chess set sales, ChessBazaar (a manufacturer and supplier) saw sales rise from USD 110,000 in November–December 2019 to USD 380,000 in November–December 2020. The impact of Queen’s Gambit can also be seen in Google searches and e-commerce website searches for terms like ‘chess’ and ‘chess set.’ An article by Miranda Bryant in The Guardian gives more details about the impact of the series (Bryant, 2020). It says that post the release of The Queen’s Gambit, the sales of chess sets and accessories, chess clocks and timers, and score pads had gone up by 215%, 45%, and 300%, respectively, on eBay. Further, the US Chess Federation witnessed its highest membership figures since March 2020, within a month of the series’ release. David Zhang provides a detailed data-driven analysis of the impact of The Queen’s Gambit on the popularity of chess, using data from chess.com.8

3.3 Launch of Viewer-Friendly Top-Level Online Chess Competitions Soon after the onset of the pandemic, world champion Magnus Carlsen launched an online chess tour, comprising a set of online chess competitions between the world’s leading players, employing speedier time controls to make it interesting for the viewing audiences. This initiative has grown in stature since, becoming a yearly affair with higher prize money every year and exciting innovations to engage the viewing audience better.

7

https://www.npd.com/news/press-releases/2020/sales-spikes-for-chess-books-and-sets-followdebut-of-queens-gambit/. 8 https://towardsdatascience.com/how-has-the-queens-gambit-impacted-the-popularity-of-onlinechess-43594efe5a98.

260

S. G. Majhi

Similar initiatives were also taken by chess.com, which introduced weekend events called the ‘Rapid Chess Championship’ where leading chess players clashed in quicker time formats, thus catering to the audiences’ need for exciting viewing. Other initiatives were also taken to make these events more viewer-friendly along with shorter time formats. For example, the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour (Magnus Carlsen’s initiative) is broadcast on multiple YouTube channels of chess24.com, and there are multiple broadcasts in the English language itself. The idea is to cater to a large variety of audiences, diverse in language as well as in chess knowledge and awareness. So, while one English broadcast often includes top chess players doing a detailed technical analysis of the chess positions to cater to the aware audiences, another broadcast combines leading players such as British grandmaster David Howell with Norwegian broadcaster Kaja Snare. Since Snare is not chessaware, she can ask questions that represent the typical amateur viewer. Also, the second broadcast uses non-technical language to discuss the online games to make them palatable to non-expert viewers.

4 Issues that Cropped up Due to Chess’ Online Resurgence While several different issues may have come up in the chess ecosystem due to the sudden rise in the popularity of online chess, I focus on three categories. First, I discuss the clash between the traditional chess culture characterized by gravitas and seriousness and the new chess culture that took birth in online chess, social media discussions, and the chat sections of online platforms. Second, I look at how the move to the online mode intensified the problems associated with the use of unfair means in chess. Finally, I look at the explosion in the fan base of chess during the pandemic and the positive and negative effects of the same.

4.1 Clash Between Traditional Chess Culture and New Chess Culture The surge in popularity of chess was accompanied by a clash between chess insiders and new members of the broader chess community, given the sport’s reputation for class and gravitas. For example, Grandmaster Ben Finegold criticized the Twitch streamers who had newly taken up chess but had personalities and sensibilities that typically did not match traditional chess people (Bernstein, 2020). Finegold also criticized chess players like Nakamura, who were wholeheartedly supporting these new additions to the chess community and arguing that they help make chess more popular by bringing new viewers and enthusiasts, and ultimately help grow the game (Bernstein, 2020).

‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess …

261

Ian Nepomniachtchi, a leading chess player and finalist of the 2021 world chess championship, criticized events like PogChamps and the perceived threat to traditional chess in terms of popularity.9 This led to a huge online backlash and triggered a debate about elitism in chess. Finally, Nepomniachtchi had to give a detailed explanation on Twitter10 to lay the raging discussion to rest. Similarly, the chess boom in India was not free from controversies. While entertainers such as Raina played a crucial role in popularizing the game, their unconventional methods sometimes did not go well with the traditional chess community.11 This led to a few controversies, which were later resolved, with adjustments and concessions made by both sides of the debate.

4.2 Use of Unfair Means in Online Chess The primary reason why chess was the rare sport that could remain relevant during the pandemic was that it could be played online from the confines of one’s home. However, the move to conduct competitive and non-competitive chess events in the online mode, led to several logistical and other issues, one of which is cheating or unfair means to influence the game. Cheating in online chess can take various forms, but it essentially boils down to a player taking outside help to make their moves. This help could come from another human or, more frequently, from a ‘chess engine,’ which is a computer program that analyzes chess positions and generates the strongest moves in that position based on its analysis (Ganesan, 2021; Khandekar, 2020; Root, 2020). While cheating was prevalent in online chess before the pandemic, the increase in the number of online players was accompanied by an increase in the number of cheating incidents. As a result, while chess.com was banning an average of 6000 players for cheating before the pandemic, there were 17,000 players banned in June 2020 (Koshie, 2021). Further, between March and August 2020, chess.com closed more than 85,000 accounts for cheating (Bland, 2020). Archie Bland discusses the cheating crisis in online chess in some detail (Bland, 2020), finding cheating to be prevalent at all levels, from rank newcomers to the highest-rated players. This attracted the attention of FIDE (the International Chess Federation), the governing body of chess, as well, and they had to deliberate on ways to tackle this crisis. While there were many such cheating incidents during the online chess boom, a couple of them attracted huge attention globally. First, during a simultaneous online chess event organized for charity, India’s youngest billionaire Nikhil Kamath managed to defeat five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and then admitted to using unfair means during the game, attracting a lot of criticism (D 9

https://twitter.com/lachesisq/status/1363614821002969091. https://twitter.com/lachesisq/status/1363816516035227650. 11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02uepOpl2W0. 10

262

S. G. Majhi

Cruze, 2021; Ganesan, 2021). Second, in the 2020 PRO Chess League, the champions Armenia Eagles were disqualified due to one of their players, Armenian grandmaster Tigran L. Petrosian, being found guilty of violating fair play regulations during the semifinal and final stages (ChessBase, 2020b; Koshie, 2021). The player in question was awarded a lifetime ban from playing on the chess.com website.12

4.3 Fan Culture: Support as Well as Backlash for Players Sports studies have a long tradition of analysis focused on sports spectators and supporters, differentiating sports fans from fans of other popular culture forms, and considering sports fans in the context of “the subcultures of violence, cultural politics, resistance and popular empowerment, demographic composition, and the construction of taste communities” (Schimmel et al., 2007, p. 581). While fans and consumers are similar in that they emphasize a particular interest, fans differ in their extent of involvement and engagement from ordinary consumers (Groene & Hettinger, 2016), with the involvement being in terms of intellectual, emotional, behavioral, or ideological. The huge influx of new fans into the chess community post the rising popularity of its online avatar also brought along the positive and negative aspects of fandom and fan culture in other sports. The positive aspects include greater visibility afforded to the game due to the increase in the fan base, more sponsorships for players who gained a significant following from new fans, and the rise in the stature of certain players who could then argue more forcefully for their rights. We have already discussed the increase in the number of chess viewers and fans in terms of the viewership statistics on Twitch and YouTube for a number of online chess streamers. Further, there are examples such as the online chess Olympiad of 2020, where a peak of 68,000 viewers watched a live stream where the Indian team jointly won the gold medal along with the Russian team (Mukhuty, 2020). These numbers, while paling in comparison with the viewership of other E-sports, were never imaginable for a game like chess. Hikaru Nakamura, as mentioned above, became the most viewed English streamer on Twitch for streaming chess-related content (LoRé, 2020). Due to their rising popularity and visibility from streaming, certain players have been able to garner and strengthen sponsorship commitments with their corporate partners.13 Also, an available fanbase has allowed players to use their social media handles to sometimes point out the unfair practices adopted by organizers of chess tournaments. Recently, players such as Vidit Gujrathi, Anish Giri, and Hikaru Nakamura took to their social media handles to speak out against World Chess, the organizer of the Grand Prix series of chess tournaments.

12

https://www.chess.com/news/view/saint-louis-arch-bishops-2020-pro-chess-champions. https://www.business-standard.com/content/press-releases-ani/black-lotus-inks-A-sponsorshipdeal-with-chess-grandmaster-vidit-gujrathi-120081201402_1.html. 13

‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess …

263

The point of contention was whether players would be allowed to display the logos of their private sponsors at the event14 or not. However, certain negative implications of the increasing fanbase are also apparent. Bad performances or going against popular community-level opinions are often accompanied by online abuse and trolling, which has the potential to adversely affect the mental health of players.15 An examination of the fan engagement with the social media handles of players reveals the nature of online trolling that has become an important concern for chess players, given the increase in their popularity.16 Some players have begun apologizing to fans after being unable to perform according to their expectations in tournaments.17

5 Implications for the Sport of Chess In the preceding sections of this chapter, I have discussed the rise in popularity of online chess, the reasons for the same, and issues that came up. In this section, I discuss the implications of this phenomenon for the chess world and its various stakeholders.

5.1 Popularity of Online Tournaments and Co-existence with Offline Tournaments While online chess events have been organized for many years, such as the PRO (Professional Rapid Online) Chess League (Ninan, 2018), the nature of participants, sponsors, and viewer interest has created an entirely new paradigm as far as online chess events go. This has also forced the organizers to innovate in terms of rules and regulations, anti-cheating measures, and event timings to ensure that such events carry a badge of integrity and prestige. To make the competitive online chess games free of any misconduct, various chess organizations, from the FIDE to the various online platforms, had to take a number of measures. Some of these included the players having to agree to be recorded by multiple cameras while the game is in progress, be continuously available on Zoom or WhatsApp, grant remote access to their computers, not be allowed to leave their screens even for toilet breaks, and sometimes even allow proctors or invigilators to search their rooms and remain seated with them physically during the match (Bland, 2020). Other strict anti-cheating measures include disallowing any software to remain 14

https://www.chess.com/news/view/world-chess-fide-grand-prix-sponsor-giri-vidit-nakamura. https://www.spraggettonchess.com/chess-content-and-trolls/. 16 https://twitter.com/viditchess/status/1448688258402033678. 17 https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/sport/others/vidit-gujrathi-says-sorry-to-fans-china-liftnations-cup/articleshow/75677793.cms. 15

264

S. G. Majhi

open on their computers during the course of a game and post-game measures such as the use of anti-cheating software to analyze games and look for play patterns that could indicate the potential use of unfair means (Koshie, 2021). The shift to speedier time formats necessitated by online chess has brought more excitement to the game, making it more interesting and engaging for a non-expert or casual viewer. The problems causing the lack of wide appeal for the traditional chess, such as longer time formats (often upwards of six hours), have been tackled to a great extent by speedier formats. An interesting phenomenon is the co-existence of the online tournaments with the regular, offline tournaments after the pandemic-induced disruptions have mostly ceased to exist. The Champions Chess Tour (promoted by Magnus Carlsen and Chess24) has found more sponsors and has raised the prize money, even after the resumption of regular over-the-board events. This has implications for both players as well as viewers. For players, it would mean an even tighter playing schedule and the possibility of burning out at some point. So, their schedules will have to be planned even better to successfully manage the deluge of tournaments, both online as well as offline. For the viewers, there could be overloading of chess tournaments to follow and support. This could wean the viewers away from certain tournaments that may not feature a lot of well-known participants.

5.2 Collaboration Between Various Stakeholders in the Chess Ecosystem Events like PogChamps and Comedians on Board went a long way in increasing the popularity of chess. Brenan Klain, COO of chess.com, believes that the collaboration with Twitch to organize PogChamps has made the game more accessible to a wider audience that players might not have otherwise imagined themselves (Murray, 2020). The Twitch streams where a leading world-class player like Hikaru Nakamura is able to collaborate with an extremely famous streamer of E-sports, such as Félix Lengyel (or xQC), have the potential to combine chess knowledge and entertainment. Similarly, in India, International Master Sagar Shah collaborated with stand-up comedians to stream 100 episodes of a series called ‘Learning Chess.’ This allowed amateur chess audiences to pick up the nuances of the sport, starting from the basics and going to intermediate and advanced concepts. The popularity of certain chess platforms also created a much-needed promotional avenue for chess-related products and services. For example, Samay Raina collaborated with various organizations and players to promote their courses, books, and other chess-related offerings. Examples are former chess world champion Garry Kasparov (who wanted to promote his chess portal Kasparovchess), current world champion Magnus Carlsen (who wanted to promote the PlayMagnus app), and many others.

‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess …

265

The rise in chess audiences also brought new stakeholders into the chess ecosystem in the form of sponsors. For example, MPLSF (MPL Sports Foundation) is the gaming company Mobile Premier League’s (MPL) philanthropic arm launched in 2021, and they are one of the key sponsors of AICF (All India Chess Federation), thus helping organize many national-level chess tournaments in India. Similarly, media monitoring company Meltwater has been sponsoring the Champions Chess Tour, headlined by Magnus Carlsen and featuring most of the world’s top chess players. Over the course of the pandemic, there were many collaborations that evolved from a rocky beginning to a smoother involvement at a later stage. For example, in the early days of the Chess24 chess tour led by Magnus Carlsen, there was public criticism of streamers like Hikaru Nakamura, who took the official broadcast of the events and streamed them on his own channel with the branding of his own sponsor chess.com, that is a direct rival of Chess24 (Bernstein, 2020). There were instances where rights holders to chess content gave out strikes to other YouTube channels that used their content without explicit permission. These issues have been ironed out over time, as all the stakeholders realize that collaboration within the community is essential while trying to grow the overall ecosystem.

5.3 Online Chess as an e-sport Leading players like Nakamura have argued that chess is an E-sport and should become an integral part of the broader E-sport ecosystem, which has a massive global presence.18 Leading chess streamers such as Nakamura, the Botez sisters, and Nemo have been signed into the rosters of leading E-sports organizations such as TSM (Team SoloMid), Envy, and CLG (Counter Logic Gaming), respectively. In an interview with Kotaku, Nakamura mentioned the following to argue that chess must be considered an E-sport (Grayson, 2020), Due to the fact that there have not been over the board competitions, there have been major competitions online … So when you have major online competitions combined with just the whole explosion of chess on Twitch, I think chess is definitely an esport and, going forward, there are gonna be a lot of high level competitions that will be held online. Maybe its not a traditional esport yet, but I think it will be within the next 6 to 12 months.

Nodwin Gaming, which is South Asia’s leading E-sports company, collaborated with Samay Raina and Chessbase India to launch an online chess league called the “Chess Super League,” which brought together leading chess professionals from India as well as abroad and also had Indian celebrities become owners of various team franchises.19 18

https://kotaku.com/chess-is-an-esport-according-to-twitch-star-and-grandm-1845027560. https://europeangaming.eu/portal/latest-news/2021/09/28/100550/nodwin-gaming-partnerswith-samay-raina-and-chessbase-india-to-launch-an-exciting-online-chess-league/. 19

266

S. G. Majhi

What would be the advantage of chess being considered an E-sport? For one, chess can be part of a huge global ecosystem that has a wide audience and could lead to a number of new opportunities for chess professionals and organizations. Also, chess could bring a new paradigm to the world of E-sports that is often criticized for aspects like trash talk and dubious behavior.

6 Online Chess as a Brand Extension Brand extension is the use of an established brand name to gain entry into a new product category (Aaker & Keller, 1990). Ke and Wagner (2022) argue that the sports brands which moved into the E-sports field during the pandemic were actually going for brand extension. Similarly, we can also analyze the online chess boom from the brand extension perspective. When an entertainer such as Samay Raina, who is primarily a stand-up comic and is known because of that, leverages his existing fame to also become a chess streamer and popularize the game of chess, he is actually using the concept of brand extension to expand his own fame while simultaneously giving greater visibility and popularity to the seemingly boring and non-mass friendly sport of chess. Existing academic literature discusses the role of brand reputation in influencing the success of brand extension (Johnson et al., 2019). Now, while chess became popular during the pandemic due to the efforts of online streamers such as Samay Raina in India and many other online streamers in the US and Europe, the acceptability of this boom among the existing chess community is arguably the result of the efforts of personalities like Nakamura, Giri, and Carlsen, among others. Since these are elite competitive chess players who are currently at the very top of the global game, their act of streaming online chess and participating in online chess events has a positive impact on the audience’s evaluation of how ‘serious’ online chess really is. This is especially relevant in the context of chess, given the sense of elitism inherent in the chess community and the status and prestige of a player tied very closely with his or her ranking (Fine, 2015).

7 Conclusion In this chapter, I looked at the sport of chess and how its online avatar fueled a boom in interest in the sport, specifically during the disruption caused by the pandemic. While chess was respected for its perceived intellectual nature, there was always a lack of mass viewership associated with the sport. This, in turn, affected the financial prospects of individuals and organizations involved with the sport. Both individual players and tournament organizers often complain about the lack of adequate sponsors for the sport, in turn raising questions about the viability of chess as a long-term prospect.

‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess …

267

Things changed as a result of the pandemic. With online chess thriving in a world characterized by disruptions caused by lockdowns and social distancing, the viewership for chess shot up considerably. In this chapter, I discussed how online streamers of all varieties (expert chess players to novices), a Netflix series, and innovative efforts to make top-level online chess competitions viewer-friendly contributed to this explosion in interest in chess. However, this sudden surge in interest and audience also brought some issues to the fore. I looked at issues such as the clash in culture between the traditional chess community and the new audiences, who are more carefree and perceived as nonserious. Additionally, I discussed how the use of unfair means plagued chess in its online form, which led to organizations thinking of new approaches to curbing online cheating. Also, I touch upon the fan culture and its associated positive and negative effects in a world where chess saw a sudden surge in popularity and visibility. A key objective of this chapter was to try and understand the implications that these developments in the chess world due to the online chess boom would have on the sport as a whole post the pandemic and its associated disruptions. In this context, I discussed how online chess tournaments continue to remain popular and co-exist with the normal, over-the-board competitive chess tournaments being organized online. An associated discussion is how online chess has managed to reinvent itself to remain robust (in terms of ensuring fair play by preventing the use of unfair means) as well as relevant (innovating time and scoring regulations to keep the viewers attracted). Looking at this, I would argue that viewer interest in online chess was not just a function of the pandemic, but rather it continues to persist even later. Thus, the various stakeholders of the chess ecosystem would do well to take stock of this as it could have long-term implications for the sport. A related debate involves the question of whether online chess could and should be considered an E-sport. While the purists would vehemently dismiss this, this notion finds many supporters among the insiders as well as the viewers. I also touch upon the collaborations between different types of stakeholders that enabled and facilitated this growth in the overall chess ecosystem. In the future, such collaborations will remain key to the sustenance and growth of the sport.

Bibliography Aaker, D. A., & Keller, K. L. (1990). Consumer evaluations of brand extensions. Journal of Marketing, 54(1), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299005400102 Bernstein, D. (2020, 26th May). Surge in chess popularity creates drama, friction among grandmasters. Sporting News. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.sportingnews.com/us/othersports/news/surge-in-chess-popularity-creating-friction-among-grandmasters/zjzp5k5kog911q5 29rfx5wr7b Bland, A. (2020, 16th October). Chess’s cheating crisis: “paranoia has become the culture.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/oct/16/chesss-cheating-crisis-paranoia-hasbecome-the-culture

268

S. G. Majhi

Bründl, S., Matt, C., Hess, T., & Engert, S. (2022). How synchronous participation affects the willingness to subscribe to social live streaming services: The role of co-interactive behavior on twitch. European Journal of Information Systems, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X. 2022.2062468 Bryant, M. (2020, 29th November). “It’s electrifying”: Chess world hails Queen’s Gambit-fuelled boom. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/nov/29/chess-world-hails-que ens-gambit-fuelled-boom ChessBase. (2020a, March 26). Breaking News: FIDE stops the Candidates Tournament! ChessBase. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://en.chessbase.com/post/breaking-news-fide-stopsthe-candidates-tournament ChessBase. (2020b, October 5). Cheating controversy at Pro Chess League. ChessBase. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://en.chessbase.com/post/cheating-controversy-at-prochessleague D’Anastasio, C. (2020, 14th June). The grandmaster who got twitch hooked on chess. WIRED. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.wired.com/story/hikaru-nakamura-twitch-chess/ D Cruze, D. C. (2021, 14th June). Why Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath apologised after chess win against Viswanathan Anand. Livemint. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.livemint.com/companies/people/zerodha-co-founder-nikhil-kamath-defeatsviswanathan-anand-in-charity-chess-game-but-later-apologizes-11623660705358.html Dottle, R. (2020, 16th December). ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ chess boom moves online. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-chess-boom/ Duca Iliescu, D. M. (2020). The impact of artificial intelligence on the chess world. JMIR Serious Games, 8(4), e24049. https://doi.org/10.2196/24049 Engidaw, A. E. (2022). Small businesses and their challenges during COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries: In the case of Ethiopia. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 11(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-021-00191-3 Fine, G. A. (2015). Players and pawns: How chess builds community and culture. The University of Chicago Press. Ganesan, R. (2021, 28th June). Of engines and ethics: Why online chess has a cheating problem. Mid Day. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/culture/article/whyonline-chess-has-a-cheating-problem-23180229 Garcia-Garcia, B., James, M., Koller, D., Lindholm, J., Mavromati, D., Parrish, R., & Rodenberg, R. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 on sports: A mid-way assessment. The International Sports Law Journal, 20(3–4), 115–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40318-020-00174-8 Grayson, N. (2020, 14th September). Chess is an esport, according to twitch star and grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. Kotaku. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://kotaku.com/chess-is-an-esportaccording-to-twitch-star-and-grandm-1845027560 Grix, J., Brannagan, P. M., Grimes, H., & Neville, R. (2021). The impact of Covid-19 on sport. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 13(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940. 2020.1851285 Groene, S. L., & Hettinger, V. E. (2016). Are you “fan” enough? The role of identity in media fandoms. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 5(4), 324–339. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm000 0080 Johnson, Z. S., Mao, H., Lefebvre, S., & Ganesh, J. (2019). Good guys can finish first: How brand reputation affects extension evaluations. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 29(4), 565–583. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1109 Karimi, F. (2020, 6th December). “The Queen’s Gambit” is sparking a surge of interest in chess. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/06/us/queens-gambit-chess-popularity-trnd/index.html Kaushik, M. (2020, 24th December). How the Queen’s Gambit sparked a chess frenzy. Forbes India. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.forbesindia.com/article/special/how-the-queens-gam bit-sparked-a-chess-frenzy/65163/1 Ke, X., & Wagner, C. (2022). Global pandemic compels sport to move to esports: Understanding from brand extension perspective. Managing Sport and Leisure, 27(1–2), 152–157. https://doi. org/10.1080/23750472.2020.1792801

‘A Brave New World’: Exploring the Implications of Online Chess …

269

Ke, X., Wagner, C., & Du, H. (2022). Calling for information systems research on esports: An overview study. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 50, 261–285. https:// doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.05010 Khandekar, O. (2020, 24th December). 2020: The year of a pandemic of cheating in online chess. Livemint. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://lifestyle.livemint.com/news/big-story/2020-theyear-of-a-pandemic-of-cheating-in-online-chess-111608726864958.html Koshie, N. (2021, 8th April). Explained: Can grandmasters cheat in online chess and get away? The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-can-grandmasters-cheatin-online-chess-and-getaway-7257938/ Kuckertz, A., Brändle, L., Gaudig, A., Hinderer, S., Morales Reyes, C. A., Prochotta, A., Steinbrink, K. M., & Berger, E. S. C. (2020). Startups in times of crisis—A rapid response to the COVID19 pandemic. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 13, e00169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi. 2020.e00169 Kumar, J. (2021, 21st July). These streamers are making chess cool again. VICE. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.vice.com/en/article/akgygz/chess-streaming-youtube-twitch-samayraina-india LoRé, M. (2020, 26th May). Online chess taking advantage of opportunity to grow, entertain during coronavirus pandemic. Forbes. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/ sites/michaellore/2020/05/26/online-chess-taking-advantage-of-opportunity-to-grow-entertainduring-coronavirus-pandemic/?sh=7b8cd6e5b974 Manoli, A. E., Anagnostopoulos, C., Ahonen, A., Bolton, N., Bowes, A., Brown, C., Byers, T., Cockayne, D., Cooper, I., Du, J., Geurin, A., Hayday, E. J., Hayton, J. W., Jenkin, C., Kenyon, J. A., Kitching, N., Kirby, S., Kitchin, P., Kohe, G. Z., … Winand, M. (2022). Managing sport and leisure in the era of Covid-19. Managing Sport and Leisure, 27(1–2), 1–6. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/23750472.2022.2035963 Mukhuty, S. (2020, 30th August). The Triumph of the twelve brave Olympians. ChessBase India. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://chessbase.in/news/India-wins-the-FIDE-Online-Chess-Oly mpiad-2020-alongside-Russia Murray, T. (2020, 23rd July). How Chess.com is taking chess ‘off its pedestal’ through twitch streamer engagement. The Esports Observer. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://archive.esp ortsobserver.com/chessdotcom-twitch-interview/ Ninan, S. (2018, 17th February). Pro Chess: In a “league” of its own. ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.espn.in/chess/story/_/id/22473355/league-own Ninan, S. (2020, 25th August). Mover & shaker: How stand-up comic Samay Raina is redefining chess for a cause. ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.espn.in/chess/story/_/id/ 29716812/how-indian-stand-comic-samay-raina-redefining-chess-cause Parnell, D., Widdop, P., Bond, A., & Wilson, R. (2022). COVID-19, networks and sport. Managing Sport and Leisure, 27(1–2), 78–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2020.1750100 Prasad, R. (2020, 5th September). We have made chess more consumable for the masses: Samay Raina. The Times of India. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ sports/chess/we-have-made-chess-more-consumable-for-the-masses-samay-raina/articleshow/ 77950939.cms PTI. (2020, 21st April). Chess has adapted well to Covid-19 shutdowns with online events: Viswanathan Anand. The Hindu BusinessLine. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.the hindubusinessline.com/news/sports/chess-has-adapted-well-to-covid-19-shutdowns-with-onl ine-events-viswanathan-anand/article31394941.ece Root, A. (2020, 14th December). Adults, children, cheating, and online chess. ChessBase. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://en.chessbase.com/post/adults-children-cheating-online-chess Scerri, M., & Grech, V. (2021). Discussion: COVID-19’s impact on sports and athletes. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research, 51(3), 390–393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-02100726-6

270

S. G. Majhi

Schimmel, K. S., Harrington, C. L., & Bielby, D. D. (2007). Keep your fans to yourself: The disjuncture between sport studies’ and pop culture studies’ perspectives on fandom. Sport in Society, 10(4), 580–600. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430430701388764 Shah, S. (2020a, 24th November). Comedians on Board 3 comes to an end with Joel D’Souza as the champion. ChessBase India. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.chessbase.in/news/ Comedians-on-Board-3-finale Shah, S. (2020b, 24th May). How the Indian stand-up comedians are popularizing the game of chess. ChessBase India. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.chessbase.in/news/Indianstand-up-comedians-take-up-chess Skulmowski, A., & Rey, G. D. (2020). COVID-19 as an accelerator for digitalization at a German university: Establishing hybrid campuses in times of crisis. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(3), 212–216. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.201 Smith, A. C. T., & Skinner, J. (2022). Sport management and COVID-19: Trends and legacies. European Sport Management Quarterly, 22(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2021. 1993952 Waldstein, D. (2020, 8th May). Chess thrives online despite pandemic. The New York Times. https:// www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/sports/coronavirus-chess-online-tournament.html White, P. (2020, 19th May). Coronavirus shutdown will delay 60% Of U.S. & global drama as scripted hangover set to extend well in 2021, data shows. Deadline. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://deadline.com/2020/05/covid-19-shutdown-delay-international-drama-1202938005/

Siddharth Gaurav Majhi currently works as an Assistant Professor in the Information Technology and Computational Systems area at the Indian Institute of Management Amritsar, India. He received his Ph.D. in Information Systems and Business Analytics from the Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, India. His research interests include the business value of information technology, dynamic capabilities, impact of emerging technologies on work practices, and cultural products. He has published his research in academic journals such as International Journal of Innovation ManagementInformation Systems Frontiers, and VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems.

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived Needs and Benefits Mayank Jyotsna Soni and Soumya Sarkar

1 Introduction The pandemic has changed a lot of things in our lives in the last two years. The world has not become less uncertain since with climate change and geopolitics adding to unexpected disruptions. All these disruptions, especially the ones that pin people down inside their homes, have affected several practices and habits of the consumers. One of the most significant changes that the lockdowns have expedited is home entertainment practices. The growth of streaming platforms has been substantial during this time. An interesting and important facet of this growth story is the surge of watch parties (Stout, 2021). Watch parties did not emerge for the first time during the lockdowns. Some platforms, including the Netflix Watch Party, have been operating since 2018. According to Chris Tyas of LiveNow, which has also launched a watch party service in 2018, giving the viewers the experience of watching a live event together in a “virtual living room” was the idea behind the launch (Burns, 2021). Watching live sports events got caught on the quickest. Organizations like La Liga grasped the importance of this in terms of brand engagement and had organized an exclusive watch party for Verizon customers. El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, a match that marks a long rivalry between these two famous clubs, was featured in the watch party. And more than 15 events were organized by La Liga till June of 2021, wherein approximately 10,000 viewers participated (Burns, 2021). As Instagram started its co-watching features in March 2020, all the major OTT platforms joined the fray for the locked-down viewers (Stout, 2021). Viewers began using video conferencing services like Zoom or other third-party apps and Websites (e.g., Twitch, Facebook Live) to watch live sports events together in real time. The M. J. Soni · S. Sarkar (B) Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi, India e-mail: [email protected] M. J. Soni e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_12

271

272

M. J. Soni and S. Sarkar

lockdowns thus necessitated the sports fans to spread across large distances to seek out various platforms for this purpose. Based on the variety of avenues, the consumers have been able to create for watching live sports in their homes, spatially separated but temporally together, we define co-viewing as “concurrent online viewing and consuming live sports events taking the help of technology platforms along with real-time interactions with fellow viewers through online chat or discussions.” Within the ambit of this chapter, the terms “co-watching” and “co-viewing” have been used synonymously as different sets of stakeholders have used these terms to convey the same activity. “Watch party” is a more commonly used term for this practice, but since it is a name used by a commercial platform, we stick to co-viewing. As discussed above, uncertain times have compelled consumers to remain confined inside their homes, putting a break into friends and fans meeting, and watching the game together at some location. These co-viewing options have given a new lease of life to the sports consumers, their fan groups, and their co-watching partners. As the possibility of watching games together dimmed, sports fans felt the absence of social connections, drama, entertainment, and group affiliation (Simmons et al., 2022). For most people, the social nature of sports consumption is the biggest attraction. The longing to spend time with people with similar preferences is a strong draw for watching sports (Gantz & Wenner, 1995). The social connections created from watching sports together have improved psychological health by protecting against depression (Samra & Wos, 2014). These aspects were not available in a solitary viewing situation. Group affiliation is a powerful driver for a devoted or fanatical fan, based on the terminology created by Samra and Wos (2014). This chapter is an attempt to understand the factors that have spurred sports consumers to go for online co-viewing. Limited research in this area (Fang et al., 2018; Li et al., 2021; Wang, 2021; Zhang et al., 2020) suggests that these factors are primarily divided into needs and benefits. This study presumes that sports consumers will have specific needs to be satisfied through online co-watching. Also, the consumer expects several benefits to be generated out of the needs, which will encourage them to participate in co-watching. The needs that happen to be posited by this study are those for belonging, entertainment, and cognition. On the other hand, the benefits that a viewer looks for are social and personal integration, hedonism, and cognition. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey from a global sample of respondents who have co-watched a live sporting event. It is found that co-viewers have a higher need for entertainment and cognition than non-co-viewers. Co-viewers derive primarily hedonic and social benefits from co-viewing. Based on the findings mentioned above and later in the chapter in more detail, an academic glance into the core reasons for co-viewing is an important endeavor. The learnings from this research work will add to the knowledge about the consumer psyche toward taking an online substitute option for a deeply physical and social activity. Researchers can unearth the specific forces at play that can impact online coviewing and try to understand the sustainability of this behavior. The learning will also have implications for managers since they will try to comprehend the sustainability of such technology-related features. Industry experts opine that this phenomenon

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived …

273

has been able to anchor itself in the consumer mind space for a longer term (Agora, 2020). It will continue to exist until consumers stop needing entertainment and social belongingness. Team Agora (2020) suggests that the return to stadia will not create an end to this popular feature. Other technology businesses have been looking at watch parties as another source of priceless data for product management, betting firms, etc. (Burns, 2021).

2 Literature Review The attention on co-viewing started in the context of television. It slowly got extended to different media, including social TV, YouTube, other interactive apps like DanMu, video apps, pre-recorded videos, etc. With respect to television, studies on co-viewing have explored parents watching TV shows along with their children and its impact on the learning of the latter (Strouse et al., 2018), drinking intentions among adolescents (Russell et al., 2021), attitude toward the program (Tar-Or, 2016), liking or disliking of the program (Bellman et al., 2012). The reaction of a co-viewer affects the individual’s attitude through the processes of transportation and identification (Tal-Or, 2016). The presence of an enthusiastic fellow viewer positively influences transportation. Transportation happens more when a co-viewer elicits a positive reaction to the watched content than a negative. The impact of co-viewing TV on advertisements aired between the programming is another area of research. Bellman and others (2012) have found a significant negative effect of co-viewing on delayed ad processing and ad recall. This negative effect on the ad is equivalent to channel surfing. The “mere presence” effect is the cause, wherein there is an extra demand on the cognitive capability of each person during exposure to the TV commercials that otherwise could have been used to decode the ad message. Increasingly, viewers are posting about the content they are watching on the TV on social media. The act of posting helps them connect with the people at remote locations while watching the same TV program. Social TV/mediated Social TV, i.e., watching the content on television and at the same time monitoring, expressing, and connecting to other viewers (entire community) via social media, has also been explored. It is suggested that the need to belong influences mediated co-viewing (Cohen & Lancaster, 2014). Social TV facilitates live TV viewing, leading to less ad avoidance and thus higher ad effectiveness (Bronnenberg et al., 2010). Lower ad avoidance happens because the higher level of emotional arousal in the context of social TV due to the presence of others makes more cognitive resources available for information processing. More resources make the processing of advertising on TV easier, especially if the conversation is about the ad. But social TV has also been found to have an enjoyable distraction effect, reducing the recall of the ad and brand attitude (Bellman et al., 2017). The distraction effect is enjoyable because the viewer gets involved in the conversation on social media, which could be engaging while watching TV. Researchers have also found that physical TV engagement predicts

274

M. J. Soni and S. Sarkar

social TV engagement and enjoyment, i.e., those who enjoy physical co-viewing often engage in virtual co-viewing on similar TV content (Kim et al., 2020). Another format of co-viewing that has emerged lately is interactive and real time, wherein viewers can watch the same content as others and connect with them (via comments, chats, etc.), e.g., DanMu in China (or Bullet screen in English). The technology-enabled videos allow viewers to comment online, and the commentary subtitles are broadcast to all viewers in real time, thus creating a feeling of watching together (Fang et al., 2018). Various aspects of co-viewing regarding the recent interactive platforms have been explored, like the viewers’ loyalty to the medium through the social presence, perceived benefits including utilitarian, hedonic, and social value, and group identification (Fang et al., 2018). In contrast, sports fans’ core motives for using the OTT platform for Bullet screen are entertainment, gathering information, interaction, and finding belonging (Li et al., 2021). Wang (2021) specifies the motives behind impoliteness in DanMu as social interaction, entertainment, relaxation, expression of opinions, and finding connections. In contrast, Zhang et al. (2020) have found Bullet screen to be more engaging than traditional online videos and the importance of information for more involved individuals. Apart from the Bullet screen, the OTT platforms also offer the facility to co-view the content via Watch Party or Group Watch features. There are third-party apps like Discord and Twitch which facilitate co-viewing the content available on OTT platforms like Netflix. Viewers also co-view on video calling and meeting applications like Google Meet, Zoom, etc., and interact right there. The viewer groups can also watch the content and simultaneously comment on the same platform. Usually, this kind of co-viewing happens within a smaller group of people, most known to each other. The research on this kind of co-viewing is scant. Given that there is a difference between how a network-based community (here Bullet screen or social TV) functions against a small group community (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 2006), it is essential to understand the core motivations of consumers behind co-viewing on these platforms. Bagozzi and Dholakia (2006) have differentiated between a network-based or culture-based brand community from that based on small friendship-based groups. Small group brand communities typically have few members having close friendships with each other and keep engaging through regular face-to-face interactions. Members of a small brand community tend to have high personal and social involvement. Owing to those involvements, the relationships among the community members tend to be stronger than network-based ones. Such a community is multifaceted because it goes beyond brand-related interactions (Han et al., 2017). Despite being in a large network-based brand community, the Harley Owners Group members actually interact in smaller groups for rides and social interactions. They meet in pubs and restaurants and participate in other activities beyond brand-related and brandinitiated activities (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 2006). Similarly, consumers opting for watch parties tend to have shared enthusiasm toward a particular sport or a player and are highly involved with each other regarding the game and beyond that.

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived …

275

However, unlike small group brand communities, consumers joining for coviewing usually know each other beforehand. They are already aware of some characteristics of their fellow members, like the teams they are a fan of, their likes or dislikes in general, etc. Mostly, the fellow members are colleagues, friends, and close acquaintances. The prior proximity creates a well-knit social group way beyond the knowledge of association due to sports. Hence, understanding the co-viewing of sports in small groups is the broad focus of this study. We aim to understand the practice of co-viewing in light of three types of needs— the need to belong, the need for entertainment, and the need for cognition. In addition, we also explore the role of expected gratification that people get from co-viewing by understanding the influence of perceived benefits from uses and gratifications (U&G) comprising cognitive benefits, social integrative benefits, personal integrative benefits, and hedonic benefits on co-viewing.

2.1 Consumers’ Core Needs and Benefits 2.1.1 (i)

Needs

Need for entertainment: Entertainment encompasses various forms of media used by people for the primary purpose of enjoyment or experience of pleasure (Bates & Ferri, 2010). Referring to the previous research, these authors assert that such media consumption is “motivated more by internal than external causes” (p. 8). Such an assertion indicates that entertainment is considered a need by academics. Entertainment can inform and amuse, which are strong contenders as drivers for the need for entertainment. Brock and Livingston (2004) assessed three sub-constructs to explain the overall need for entertainment—drive (the push for getting entertained), utility (the usefulness of the entertainment), and passivity (the extent of participation in the process). Wang (2017) rationalizes these three sub-constructs in his study for developing a scale. (ii) Need for cognition: NFC, or need for cognition, is the innate need of an individual to think and “make sense of the world” (Petty et al., 2009, p. 318). In their seminal article, Cacioppo and Petty (1982) defined the need for cognition as the difference between individuals in their tendencies to participate in activities high on cognition and appreciate the process. Petty and others (2009) say that the focus is on the process than on the results. Moreover, the need for cognition affects the quantum of the thought needed to reach a decision. It has been seen that people having a higher need for cognition will be more active in smaller groups (Henningsen & Henningsen, 2004), which can have a bearing on co-viewing communities. (iii) Need to belong: Belongingness is a fundamental human need. As a natural consequence of this fundamental need to connect with other humans, people crave being “socially accepted and included” (Cohen & Lancaster, 2014,

276

M. J. Soni and S. Sarkar

p. 513). One will keep the need satisfied through productive and regular interactions. It is not necessary that the interactions only be interpersonal. Group affiliations also satisfy the belongingness need (Hornsey & Jetten, 2004). Hogg (2000) suggests that belonging to groups and conforming to group norms can be a sure-fire way to reduce uncertainties about the world at large. The finegrained need to belong to a group can get satisfied through co-viewing in small, meaningful groups. Users derive gratification from different types of benefits from co-viewing, e.g., social interaction, finding connections (Wang, 2021), feeling of social presence (Fang et al., 2018), emotional contagion (Cohen & Lancaster, 2014), learning, utilitarian (Fang et al., 2018; Strouse et al., 2018), entertainment (Wang, 2021), hedonism (Fang et al., 2018; Westmattelmann et al., 2021), etc. In sum, these benefits seem to satisfy the core need for entertainment (Wang, 2021), cognition (Fang et al., 2018; Strouse et al., 2018), and belongingness (Cohen & Lancaster, 2014). Since these are the benefits sought by the co-viewers and not non-co-viewers, it is postulated that these core needs of the co-viewers were higher than non-co-viewers that are satisfied through co-viewing. Therefore, H1: Individuals who have done co-viewing of sports have a higher need for entertainment than those who did not do co-viewing to watch sports. H2: Individuals who have done co-viewing of sports have a higher need for cognition than those who did not do co-viewing to watch sports. H3: Individuals who have done co-viewing of sports have a higher need to belong than the ones who did not do co-viewing to watch sports H4: Need for entertainment, need for cognition, and need to belong would predict the co-viewing behavior. 2.1.2

Benefits

To understand the core motivations of viewers to opt for co-viewing sports using features like watch parties, we followed the uses and gratification theory (UGT) because it is a predominant theory to understand the usage of any mass media from the perspective of the audience. Besides, researchers have lately tried to understand consumers in the co-viewing context through UGT (Li et al., 2021; Wang, 2021). The core assumption of UGT is that any media used by people is to gratify certain psychological needs and interests (Katz et al., 1973). The UGT framework was initially applied to the radio and TV audiences to understand their motivations for different content (Bellman et al., 2012; Cohen & Lancaster, 2014; Katz et al., 1973). With the proliferation of the Internet and social media, the theory has been applied to these contexts as well, including video Websites, LinkedIn, Websites, and virtual environments, among others (Fang et al., 2018; Florenthal, 2015; Huang & Zhou, 2018; Li et al., 2021; Wang, 2021). On the one hand, studies have explored and tested the benefits of media or contexts, taking UGT as a theoretical lens. These include motives to use LinkedIn by college

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived …

277

graduates found different benefits including interpersonal communication, online identity, and information (Florenthal, 2015), distinct gratifications from the usage of text messages between male and female students (Grellhesl & Punyanunt-Carter, 2012), three types of gratifications from a hotel’s Facebook page (Choi et al., 2016), gratifications through Web personalization in mobile shopping (Huang & Zhou, 2018), etc. On the other hand, studies have also employed pre-established benefits according to UGT and explored the relationship of these benefits with other constructs, e.g., Zollo et al. (2020) explored the relationship between benefits as per UGT and brand experience, social media marketing activities, and consumer-based brand equity. The scholars following UGT concur that four different types of perceived benefits can be derived from any media (Nambisan & Baron, 2009; Verhagen et al., 2015; Zollo et al., 2020). In general, any virtual community like co-viewing offers these four benefits (Nambisan & Baron, 2009; Verhagen et al., 2015): (a) Cognitive benefit refers to the information acquisition and learning about favorite brands as well as products; by extension, in the co-viewing situation, this would be gathering information and learning about the sports as well as the players; (b) social integrative benefit refers to the ties of the customers with relevant others in the form of encouraging interactions and social relationships which in the context of co-viewing reflects in the discussions and interaction about sports activities with the relevant others; (c) personal integrative benefit refers to the enhancement of the status, reputation, confidence, and realizing self-efficacy which in a co-viewing situation arises whenever an individual is able to enhance their status while co-viewing; and (d) hedonic benefit refers to esthetic or pleasurable and entertaining experiences; the co-viewing of sports includes fun, enjoyment, and an overall experience of entertainment. These four benefits positively influence the intention to stay as an active community member (Verhagen et al., 2015) and enhance consumer participation in brand communities and value creation (Nambisan & Baron, 2009). Members of co-viewing, like a small group community, are likely to derive these benefits from co-viewing as well. Co-viewers of sports tend to engage in this mechanism for hedonic purposes as sports is a very high involvement activity for a fan (Fang et al., 2018; Verhagen et al., 2015). They gain knowledge from co-viewing, like new information about the player or the sport. However, perceived hedonic benefit is significantly higher than utilitarian or cognitive benefits in co-viewing situations (Westmattelmann et al., 2021), indicating that hedonic benefit from actual co-viewing may be higher than cognitive benefit. The reason can be that a higher emotional level of arousal tends to recruit more cognitive resources to process information (Lang, 2000). As a result, cognitive benefit follows from higher hedonic benefit. It is, therefore, hypothesized that the perceived hedonic benefit from co-viewing would be higher than the perceived cognitive benefit. H5a: Perceived hedonic benefit from co-viewing of sports is higher than perceived cognitive benefit. The heightened affective reaction in co-viewing is attributed to the presence of others that allows emotions to spread contagiously (Cohen & Lancaster, 2014;

278

M. J. Soni and S. Sarkar

Hocking, 1982). Scholars suggest that this process, in co-viewing, increases the enjoyment of the viewing experience (Cohen & Lancaster, 2014), as social interaction with the people closer to oneself elicits a higher hedonic response (Venaglia & Lemay, 2017). Given that social interaction enhances hedonic response, co-viewers seem to have higher hedonic benefit than social benefit for both social and personal integrative. Therefore, H5b: Perceived hedonic benefit from co-viewing of sports is higher than perceived social integrative benefit. H5c: Perceived hedonic benefit from co-viewing of sports is higher than perceived personal integrative benefit. When the viewers get immersed in co-viewing, the perceived cognitive benefit, e.g., gaining information and knowledge from co-viewers, is expected (Fang et al., 2018; Verhagen et., 2015; Zollo et al., 2020). With information and knowledge readily available today, especially for a fan interested in sports events, informational benefits can be gained when watching alone too. But, the social benefit of co-viewing tends to become important as it helps in the interaction with peers, which gives a sense of social presence that helps gain positive behavior like e-loyalty (Fang et al., 2018). It indicates that the perceived social integrative benefit related to interactions with peers is likely to be higher than the cognitive benefit. Therefore, H6a: Perceived social integrative benefit from co-viewing sports is significantly higher than perceived cognitive benefit. Small group brand communities, like in co-viewing, tend to have a less established hierarchy (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 2006; Han et al., 2017). As and when needed, there tends to be a limited or infrequent hierarchy. When a new member joins, one or few existing members may exert implicit hierarchy to share group information (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 2006). Since the opportunity for personal integrative benefits like image or status enhancement seems to be limited in these kinds of communities, it is expected that in co-viewing, the role of personal integrative benefit would be the least of all the benefits. Therefore, among the social benefits, social integrative benefit seemed to be derived more than personal integrative benefit. Hence, H6b: Perceived social integrative benefit from co-viewing sports is significantly higher than perceived personal integrative benefit. H7: Perceived cognitive benefit from co-viewing sports is significantly higher than perceived personal integrative benefit.

3 Methodology The chapter used primary data to understand the attitudes and intentions of consumers toward co-viewing live sports events. The data was collected through an online survey among consumers who follow and/or watch sports online.

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived …

279

3.1 Sample It was vital that we get the respondents’ consent to fill out the survey. Also, it was necessary to ensure that only those respondents who followed or watched sports were considered for the study. Hence, two filter questions were asked, one for providing consent and the other to check if the respondent follows sports. The responses where the respondents refused to fill the survey were deleted. The responses received were then cleaned for any discrepancy. The initial average response time was 15 min and 45 s. However, there were few responses with very high response times, even up to 11 h and 55 min, and there were few with exceptionally low times, e.g., 15 s. Data points with response times less than 3.5 min and above 30 min were deleted as these were considered invalid. Eight respondents did not watch sports and were thus removed from further analysis. The cleaning resulted in 93 responses, out of which 34.06% had co-viewed sports. The majority (63.4%) of the respondents used OTT platforms to watch sports, and the remaining watched it on TV. The demographic details of the final sample are provided in Table 1. The majority of the respondents were male, representing the population, indicating that watching sports was a predominantly male activity. Respondents seemed to be fairly dispersed across different income groups and metro versus non-metro cities, while most respondents were graduates or post-graduates. The majority of the respondents were either salaried/professional or students between 18 and 45 years of age. Thus, the sample profile seemed to be with a majority of males in the age group of 18–45 years, salaried/professional or student, and graduate or post-graduate.

3.2 Measures Need for entertainment utilized a 12-item entertainment need scale (Brock & Livingston, 2004). Originally, Brock and Livingston (2004) had developed and tested a 19-item scale consisting of 3 factors—drive for entertainment, entertainment passivity, and entertainment utility. However, the 12-item drive for entertainment scale has been used separately as entertainment need (Wang, 2017), arguing that the authors found that entertainment utility is highly correlated with the drive for entertainment, and everyone does not believe that entertainment is passive. Hence, entertainment need is covered only through the 12-item drive for entertainment scale. Appendix contains all the scales discussed in this section. The need to belong construct was measured using a 10-item Likert scale developed by Leary et al. (2013), which has been found robust across studies (Aw & Labrecque, 2020; Wang et al., 2018). The original NFC scale developed by Cacioppo and Petty (1982) had 34 items. Later, Cacioppo et al. (1984) developed an 18-item scale to measure NFC efficiently, and it became the most commonly used scale (e.g., Bruinsma & Crutzen, 2018; Horcajo et al., 2019). Recently, researchers have developed a short version of the scale

280 Table 1 Demographics

M. J. Soni and S. Sarkar Demography

Category

% of total sample

Gender

Male

77.4

Female

22.6

18–30

58.1

31–45

36.6

Age (in years)

46 and above Marital status Annual family income

Education

Unmarried

60.2

Married

39.8

Up to 5 lakhs

18.3

6–10 lakhs

12.9

11–15 lakhs

23.7

16–20 lakhs

10.8

20–25 lakhs

10.8

Above 25 lakhs

23.7

Till high school

15.5

Graduate

26.9

Post-graduate

49.5

Above PG Profession

Type of city of residence

5.4

8.6

Student

45.2

Salaried/professional

50.5

Business owner/self-employed

4.3

Metro

48.4

Non-metro

51.6

(Chiesi et al., 2018; Lins de Holanda Coelho et al., 2020). Owing to the parsimony and the fact that the scale had shown good psychometric properties, this study used the 6-item NFC scale (Lins de Holanda Coelho et al., 2020). The scales for benefits have been developed based on the UGT (Katz et al., 1973). It divides the benefits into four categories, namely cognitive benefits, social integrative benefits, personal integrative benefits, and hedonic benefits. A 14-item scale developed by Nambisan and Baron (2009) was used to measure all the four benefits. This scale has been widely used in the consumer community context (Verhagen et al., 2015; Zollo et al., 2020).

3.3 Analysis and Results Among all the respondents, more than 60% used OTT platforms, which suggested that OTT platforms are becoming preferred among those who watch sports. However,

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived … Table 2 Reliability analysis

Scale

No. of items

281 Cronbach alpha

Consumer benefit–learning

3

0.879

Consumer benefit–social integrative

3

0.825

Consumer benefit–personal integrative

4

0.919

Consumer benefit–hedonic

4

0.897

Entertainment need

10

0.837

Need for cognition

5

0.711

Need to belong

8

0.813

only about a third of the respondents used the co-viewing feature, indicating that coviewing may not be that popular an option. One of the reasons for this could be that co-viewing was only used when watching in stadiums or together with friends was not possible in the lockdown-like situation. Before the analysis of needs and benefits, the reliability of the scales was tested. Item numbers 1 and 4 from entertainment need, item number 6 from the need for cognition, and item numbers 1 and 3 from the need to belong scale were deleted due to very low item-to-total correlation values. The significant increase in reliability after dropping these items also validated the deletions. The final scale results are provided in Table 2 and were found to be above the lowest acceptable limit (Hair et al., 2014). Each scale’s mean and standard deviation are also provided (Table 2). A comparison of the needs of individuals who opted for co-viewing with those who did not was carried out through independent sample t-tests. The scores of needs for entertainment for individuals who opted for co-viewing (M = 3.31, SD = 0.643) were found to be significantly higher than the individuals who did not co-view sports (M = 2.97, SD = 0.675); t (91) = 2.347, p < 0.05. Similarly, the score of need for cognition for individuals who opted for co-viewing (M = 3.88, SD = 0.0787) was found to be significantly higher than the individuals who did not (M = 3.54, SD = 0.604); t (91) = 2.362, p < 0.05. However, there was no significant difference in the scores of need to belong for individuals who did co-viewing compared to those who did not (p > 0.05). Therefore, H1 and H2 are supported, while H3 is not. For H3, we posit that respondents who have not co-viewed already, just like co-viewers, have their need for belongingness satisfied by the sheer presence in the sports community. To assess whether the above results appeared because the average need to belong was lower than the average need for entertainment and the average need for cognition, we conducted three paired comparison tests of the core needs. The results (Table 3) suggest a significant difference between all three pairs of needs, p < 0.05. Hence, the decreasing order of the average score of core needs is need for cognition (M = 3.652), need to belong (M = 3.311), and need for entertainment (M = 3.087). It suggests that the need to belong does not have the lowest average score and hence rules out the possibility that no difference between the groups in need for cognition is because its mean score is low.

282

M. J. Soni and S. Sarkar

Table 3 Comparison test of core needs Needs

Mean

Std. Dev

Need for entertainment

3.087

0.681

Need for cognition

3.652

0.687

Need to belong

3.311

0.713

Pairs

Mean difference

T-statistic

p-value

Need for entertainment–need for cognition

−0.564

− 5.502

0.000

Need for entertainment–need to belong

−0.223

−2.671

0.009

0.341

3.006

0.003

Need for cognition–need to belong

Next, to explore whether these needs can predict co-viewing behavior, a stepwise binomial logistic regression was run with the three core needs as independent variables and “whether one has used co-viewing feature;” with a response as “Yes” or “No” as the dependent variable. It was found that need to belong did not significantly contribute to the model (p > 0.05) and was dropped from the equation. Then, age and gender were incorporated as independent variables, and only age was found to contribute to the model, so gender was also dropped (p > 0.05). Thus, the final model contained need for entertainment, need for cognition, and age as independent variables predicting the usage of the co-viewing feature. This final model for predicting the co-viewing behavior has an acceptable fit as χ 2 (8) = 0.352, p > 0.05 (Hosmer and Lemeshow Test). As p < 0.05 in Hosmer and Lemeshow test shows poorer fit, p > 0.05 shows acceptable fit, which is the case here. The model explained 30.2% (Nagelkerke R2 ) variance in using co-viewing feature and correctly classified 71% of the cases. Further, an increase in entertainment need [exp(β) = 3.182] and need for cognition [exp(β) = 2.432] were associated with an increase in usage of the co-viewing feature, whereas age [exp(β) = 0.903] was associated with a decrease in the use of the co-viewing feature, i.e., younger age is associated with an increase in usage of the co-viewing feature. Hence, H4 was partially supported. Finally, we conducted paired sample t-tests to assess if the mean perceived benefits derived are different from one another for all possible pairs of perceived benefits gained from co-viewing. This analysis compared 6 pairs (4 C2 ) of means (Table 4). The mean values of the perceived benefits in descending order are hedonic benefits, social integrative benefits, learning, and personal integrative benefits. It suggests that people opted for the co-viewing feature chiefly because of hedonic and social integrative benefit. It is important to note that perceived personal integrative benefit, an element of perceived social benefit, from co-viewing is the lowest. The results (Table 4) of the t-tests suggest that there is a significant difference between perceived hedonic benefits (M = 3.927, SD = 0.830) and personal integrative benefits (M = 3.427, SD = 1.041); t (30) = −3.215, p < 0.05 as well as between social integrative benefits (M = 3.817, SD = 0.981) and personal integrative benefit (M = 3.427, SD = 1.041); t (30) = 2.613, p < 0.05. Hence, H5c and H6b are supported. The results assert that people derive hedonic and social integrative benefits from co-viewing

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived …

283

Table 4 Comparison of benefits derived from co-viewing feature to watch sports documentaries Needs

Mean

Std. Dev

Learning

3.709

0.942

Social integrative

3.817

0.981

Personal integrative

3.427

1.041

Hedonic

3.927

0.830

Pairs of benefits

Mean difference

T-statistic

p-value

Learning–social integrative

−0.108

−0.874

0.389

Learning–personal integrative

0.282

1.753

0.090

Learning–hedonic

−0.217

−1.570

0.127

Social integrative–personal integrative

0.390

2.613

0.014

Social integrative–hedonic

−0.110

−0.742

0.464

Personal integrative–hedonic

−0.500

−3.215

0.003

features more than personal integrative benefits. Mean perceived learning benefit is lower than the hedonic and social integrative benefits. Thus, the means of the other benefits are in the hypothesized direction. However, the significance of the difference could not be achieved for the rest of the hypotheses, which seemed primarily due to low sample size, which can be explored further.

4 Discussions and Conclusion Against the backdrop of the pandemic and other uncertainties, this chapter looks into a fascinating and important phenomenon in sports consumption. The embargo on the physical movements and assemblage of people had affected the enjoyment of sports fans. Fans always look forward to meeting fellow fans and getting engulfed in the energy and enthusiasm of watching high-octane live games together. The uncertain world of lockdowns took it all away from the fans. The innovativeness of the consumers and the technologies utilized by various platforms led to the upsurge of co-viewing—the phenomenon that made fans enjoy live sports again in the presence, albeit remotely, of their fan community co-members. This chapter looked into the driving forces that make sports consumers opt for co-viewing amid uncertainties. Prior research in related domains indicates that coviewing improves a consumer’s enjoyment quotient. The recent consumer trend of social TV or second screening is the precursor of the practice of co-viewing (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2015). Social television creates an enjoyable distraction for the viewer as her attention to the social media keeps her engaged with the main program and not get drawn away by commercial stimuli, i.e., advertisements. The form of co-viewing that we study in this chapter is the real time one wherein co-viewers watch the same program and interact with one another. Fang et al. (2018) suggest that consumers

284

M. J. Soni and S. Sarkar

use OTT platforms for co-viewing to obtain entertainment, information, the feeling of belongingness, and interaction. Bagozzi and Dholakia (2006) talk about small brand communities, which are pretty similar to co-viewing parties. Smaller brand communities are built on much stronger inter-member relationships, and the members engage in activities beyond those mandated for the brand. The consumers in a coviewing group also congregate together to satisfy their needs for belongingness, entertainment, and cognition. People want to join such co-viewing groups to gain certain cognitive, social, and personal integrative benefits and also, hedonic. The data analysis was done in two phases. In the first, we compared the needs of the individuals who had done co-viewing with those who had not. The individuals who went for co-viewing had higher entertainment and cognition needs than those who did not opt for the feature. This aligns with what the literature has suggested (Fang et al., 2018; Wang, 2021). However, as per the data, the need to belong was contrary to the existing literature. There is no significant difference between the groups that went for co-viewing and those that did not. However, it does not imply that the need to belong had the lowest mean value among all the three. The need to belong for non-viewers (and co-viewers) was already in place due to their very presence in the sports community before co-viewing. It turned out that not all the three needs are good predictors of using the co-viewing feature. The need to belong did not significantly contribute to the predictive model. Age was a predictor among the demographic variables, albeit in a reverse direction. As the age of the respondent increases, the possibility of co-viewing will decrease. Nee and Barker (2020) have been able to establish this relationship. The needs for entertainment and cognition have a positive effect as a higher degree of the needs will lead to a greater possibility of co-viewing. These findings corroborate the inferences made in prior research, as in the case of need for entertainment (Kim et al., 2020; Wang, 2021) and the need for cognition (Henningsen & Henningsen, 2004). In the second phase of the analysis, we compared the benefits derived from coviewing to understand the relative importance of the benefits to the co-viewing audience. Hedonic benefit derived was the highest, followed by social integrative, cognitive, and personal integrative benefits. The viewers seemed to opt for co-viewing primarily for the hedonic benefit, which is in line with the literature (Fang et al., 2018; Wang, 2021; Westmattelmann et al., 2021). Co-viewing enhances hedonism due to the intra-audience effect (Hocking, 1982) and the mere presence effect (Bellman et al., 2012), which amplify their emotions to give a sense of fun and enjoyment. Sports followers get a feel of on-field experience in co-viewing as far as social presence is concerned (Fang et al., 2018). Due to this, the social integrative benefit was found to be the next highest, also in line with the literature (Fang et al., 2018; Wang, 2021). Co-viewing allows the viewers to interact with each other, otherwise missing in the lockdowns, thereby making the social integrative benefit an important one. The cognitive benefit was found to be third in the order. Though co-viewing can help in satisfying the cognitive need through sharing of knowledge and information, we believe that the third rank is due to the free availability of objective information or knowledge from various platforms, but social interactions, fun, and enjoyment cannot be generated alone. The least derived benefit from co-viewing is personal

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived …

285

integrative, contrary to the literature (Verhagen et al., 2015; Zollo et al., 2020). In a small group community, there is little role of hierarchy (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 2006), and hence less opportunity to demonstrate status or rank. In sum, the major benefits derived from co-viewing are hedonic and social integrative benefits, and the least is the personal integrative benefit. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of the role needs and benefits which play in opting for co-viewing in a lockdown-like situation. It highlights that co-viewers tend to have higher core needs like the need for entertainment and the need for cognition. It also highlights certain needs like the need to belong is getting satisfied by being a part of the community itself, and co-viewing has little role to play. Studies have already explored the relationship between perceived benefits and consumers’ responses in the context of co-viewing (Verhagen, 2016; Zollo et al., 2020). However, this study further contributes to this existing literature by underscoring that there is relativity in various forms of benefits that are derived from co-viewing, e.g., it was found that hedonic benefit from co-viewing was significantly higher than personal integrative benefit, and the social integrative benefit was also significantly higher than personal integrative benefit. This study suggests that marketers can design marketing plans beyond only the conventional characteristics like demographics. Managers can promote the co-viewing feature by focusing on hedonic and/or social integrative benefits in all their marketing strategies to target the right audience. They can also focus on the core need for entertainment and/or need for cognition in their marketing communication. This study explored the role of three types of needs and four types of benefits of co-viewing. Still, it is limited in academic scope without exploring moderation by any other external variables. Future studies may look at other factors that may moderate the effect of needs and benefits on co-viewing, e.g., the role of brand attachment, brand loyalty, and viewers’ cognitive capacity. These constructs can impact the influence needs, and benefits have on co-viewing behavior. Since not all the needs are found to be higher for co-viewers than non-co-viewers, future studies may look at the situations and boundary conditions of a need being satisfied through co-viewing vis-a-vis by being a part of the sports community itself. The results of the benefits do provide the information about one benefit being derived more than the other in co-viewing, but the sample size limits the interpretation and external validation. Future research may look into this through larger sample sizes and different populations, which could not be attained due to a dearth of resources. This study provides valuable insights for academia and practice with future direction toward further exploration as co-viewing of sports is a relatively recent phenomenon, especially in lockdown-like uncertain situations. Acknowledgements We sincerely acknowledge the efforts of Soumitra Mukherjee toward the culmination of this chapter.

286

M. J. Soni and S. Sarkar

Appendix: Scales Used in the Study

Scale

Scale items

Reference

Consumer benefits

Learning Nambisan and Baron (2009) 1. Enhances my knowledge about the sports and its various aspects 2. Co-viewing helps to obtain solutions to specific sports related problems 3. Co-viewing enhances my knowledge about advances in sports, related field, and technology in sports Social integrative 1. Co-viewing sports expands my personal/social network 2. Co-viewing enhances the strength of my affiliation with fellow sports viewers 3. Co-viewing sports enhances my sense of belongingness with this community Personal integrative 1. Co-viewing enhances my status/reputation as product expert in the community 2. Co-viewing sports reinforces my product-related credibility/authority in the community 3. In co-viewing, I derive satisfaction from influencing others into watching sports 4. In co-viewing sports, I derive satisfaction from influencing the discussion on match strategies Hedonic 1. I spend some enjoyable and relaxing time while co-viewing sports 2. I derive fun and pleasure while co-viewing sports 3. Co-viewing sports entertains and stimulates my mind 4. I derive enjoyment from problem solving, idea generation, etc., in sports co-viewing (continued)

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived …

287

(continued) Scale

Scale items

Entertainment need (EN)

1. Entertainment is the most Wang (2017) enjoyable part of life 2. I tend not to seek out new ways to be entertained. (R) 3. I spend a lot of money on entertainment expenses 4. I do not spend much time during the week on entertaining activities. (R) 5. I enjoy being entertained more than my friends do 6. I need some entertainment time each and every day 7. If I do not have enough fun in the evening, I find it hard to function properly the next day 8. I think life should be spent being entertained 9. I spend most of my free time seeking out entertainment 10. I am always on the lookout for new forms of entertainment 11. Very little of my money is spent on entertainment. (R) 12. I could be described as an “entertainment-oholic.“

Reference

Need for cognition (NFC)

1. I would prefer complex to Lins de Holanda Coelho et al. simple problems (2020) 2. I like to have the responsibility of handling a situation that requires a lot of thinking 3. Thinking is not my idea of fun. (R) 4. I would rather do something that requires little thought than something that is sure to challenge my thinking abilities. (R) 5. I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems 6. I would prefer a task that is intellectual, difficult, and important to one that is somewhat important but does not require much thought (continued)

288

M. J. Soni and S. Sarkar

(continued) Scale

Scale items

Need to belong (NTB)

1. If other people do not seem to Leary et al. (2013) accept me, I do not let it bother me. (R) 2. I try hard not to do things that will make other people avoid or reject me 3. I seldom worry about whether other people care about me. (R) 4. I need to feel that there are people I can turn to in times of need 5. I want other people to accept me 6. I do not like being alone 7. Being apart from my friends for long periods of time does not bother me. (R) 8. I have a strong “need to belong.“ 9. It bothers me a great deal when I am not included in other people’s plans 10. My feelings are easily hurt when I feel that others do not accept me

Reference

References Agora, Team (2020, October 2). Watch party: Fad or future? Agora. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://www.agora.io/en/blog/watch-parties-fad-or-future/ Aw, E.C.-X., & Labrecque, L. I. (2020). Celebrity endorsement in social media contexts: Understanding the role of parasocial interactions and the need to belong. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 37(7), 895–908. Bagozzi, R. P., & Dholakia, U. M. (2006). Antecedents and purchase consequences of customer participation in small group brand communities. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 23(1), 45–61. Bates, S., & Ferri, A. J. (2010). What’s entertainment? Notes toward a definition. Studies in Popular Culture, 33(1), 1–20. Bellman, S., Robinson, J. A., Wooley, B., & Varan, D. (2017). The effects of social TV on television advertising effectiveness. Journal of Marketing Communications, 23(1), 73–91. Bellman, S., Rossiter, J. R., Schweda, A., & Varan, D. (2012). How coviewing reduces the effectiveness of TV advertising. Journal of Marketing Communications, 18(5), 363–378. Brock, T. C., & Livingston, S. D. (2004). The need for entertainment scale. In L. J. Shrum (Ed.), The psychology of entertainment media: Blurring the lines between entertainment and persuasion (pp. 255–274). Erlbaum Psych Press. Bronnenberg, B. J., Dubé, J. P., & Mela, C. F. (2010). Do digital video recorders influence sales? Journal of Marketing Research, 47(6), 998–1010.

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived …

289

Bruinsma, J., & Crutzen, R. (2018). A longitudinal study on the stability of the need for cognition. Personality and Individual Differences, 127, 151–161. Burns, M. (2021, June 24). Watch parties: How shared viewing is boosting fan engagement. IBC365. Retrieved May 2, 2022 from www.ibc.org/trends/watch-parties-how-shared-viewing-is-boostingfan-engagement/7681.article Cacioppo, J. T., & Petty, R. E. (1982). The need for cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42(1), 116–131. Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., & Feng Kao, C. (1984). The efficient assessment of need for cognition. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48(3), 306–307. Chiesi, F., Morsanyi, K., Donati, M. A., & Primi, C. (2018). Applying item response theory to develop a shortened version of the need for cognition scale. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 14(3), 75–86. Choi, E. K., Fowler, D., Goh, B., & Yuan, J. (2016). Social media marketing: Applying the uses and gratifications theory in the hotel industry. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 25(7), 771–796. Cheng, X. (2020). User engagement on social media platforms: Firm response, sponsored posts, and co-viewing experience. Doctoral dissertation. Indiana University. Cohen, E. L., & Lancaster, A. L. (2014). Individual differences in in-person and social media television coviewing: The role of emotional contagion, need to belong, and coviewing orientation. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(8), 512–518. Fang, J., Chen, L., Wen, C., & Prybutok, V. R. (2018). Co-viewing experience in video websites: The effect of social presence on e-loyalty. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 22(3), 446–476. Florenthal, B. (2015). Applying uses and gratifications theory to students’ LinkedIn usage. Young Consumers, 16(1), 17–35. Gantz, W., & Wenner, L. A. (1995). Fanship and the television sports viewing experience. Sociology of Sport Journal, 12(1), 56–74. Gil de Zúñiga, H., Garcia-Perdomo, V., & McGregor, S. C. (2015). What is second screening? Exploring motivations of second screen use and its effect on online political participation. Journal of Communication, 65(5), 793–815. Grellhesl, M., & Punyanunt-Carter, N. M. (2012). Using the uses and gratifications theory to understand gratifications sought through text messaging practices of male and female undergraduate students. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(6), 2175–2181. Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2014). Multivariate data analysis. Pearson. Han, H., Meng, B., & Kim, W. (2017). Bike-traveling as a growing phenomenon: Role of attributes, value, satisfaction, desire, and gender in developing loyalty. Tourism Management, 59, 91–103. Henningsen, D. D., & Henningsen, M. L. M. (2004). The effect of individual difference variables on information sharing in decision-making groups. Human Communication Research, 30, 540–555. Hocking, J. E. (1982). Sports and spectators: Intra-audience effects. Journal of Communication, 32(1), 100–108. Hogg, M. A. (2000). Subjective uncertainty reduction through self-categorisation: A motivational theory of social identity processes. European Review of Social Psychology, 11, 223–255. Horcajo, J., Santos, D., Guyer, J. J., & Moreno, L. (2019). Changing attitudes and intentions related to doping: An analysis of individual differences in need for cognition. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(24), 2835–2843. Hornsey, M. J., & Jetten, J. (2004). The individual within the group: Balancing the need to belong with the need to be different. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8(3), 248–264. Huang, J., & Zhou, L. (2018). Timing of web personalisation in mobile shopping: A perspective from uses and gratifications theory. Computers in Human Behavior, 88, 103–113. Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1973). Uses and gratifications research. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 37(4), 509–523. Kim, J., Merrill Jr, K., & Collins, C. (2020). Touchdown together: Social TV viewing and social presence in a physical co-viewing context. The Social Science Journal, 1–15.

290

M. J. Soni and S. Sarkar

Lang, A. (2000). The limited capacity model of mediated message processing. Journal of Communication, 50(1), 46–70. Leary, M. R., Kelly, K. M., Cottrell, C. A., & Schreindorfer, L. S. (2013). Construct validity of the need to belong scale: Mapping the nomological network. Journal of Personality Assessment, 95(6), 610–624. Li, B., Naraine, M. L., Zhao, L., & Li, C. (2021). A magic “Bullet”: Exploring sport fan usage of on-screen, ephemeral posts during live stream sessions. Communication & Sport, 1–22. Lins de Holanda Coelho, G., Hanel, P. H. P., & Wolf, L. J. (2020). The very efficient assessment of need for cognition: Developing a six-item version. Assessment, 27(8), 1870–1885. Nambisan, S., & Baron, R. A. (2009). Virtual customer environments: Testing a model of voluntary participation in value co-creation activities. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 26(4), 388–406. Nee, R. C., & Barker, V. (2020). Co-viewing virtually: Social outcomes of second screening with televised and streamed content. Television & New Media, 21(7), 712–729. Petty, R. E., Briñol, P., Loersch, C., & McCaslin, M. J. (2009). The need for cognition. In M. R. Leary & R. H. Hoyle (Eds.), Handbook of individual differences in social behavior (pp. 318–329). Guilford Press. Russell, C. A., Buhrau, D., & Hamby, A. (2021). Reducing television influences on U.S. adolescents who are high reactance. Journal of Children and Media, 15(2), 153–164. Samra, B., & Wos, A. (2014). Consumer in sports: Fan typology analysis. Journal of Intercultural Management, 6(4), 263–288. Simmons, J. M., Stensland, P. J., & Slavich, M. A. (2022). COVID-19 and sports fans: Examining the pandemic’s impact on need fulfillment and psychosocial outcomes. Managing Sport and Leisure, 1–19. Stout, A. (2021, April 27). Watch parties flourish during pandemic. Viaccess-Orca. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from www.viaccess-orca.com/blog/becoming-social-how-watch-parties-have-flourishedduring-the-pandemic Strouse, G. A., Troseth, G. L., O’Doherty, K. D., & Saylor, M. M. (2018). Co-viewing supports toddlers’ word learning from contingent and noncontingent video. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 166, 310–326. Tal-Or, N. (2016). How co-viewing affects attitudes: The mediating roles of transportation and identification. Media Psychology, 19(3), 381–405. Venaglia, R. B., & Lemay, E. P., Jr. (2017). Hedonic benefits of close and distant interaction partners: The mediating roles of social approval and authenticity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(9), 1255–1267. Verhagen, T., Swen, E., Feldberg, F., & Merikivi, J. (2015). Benefitting from virtual customer environments: An empirical study of customer engagement. Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 340–357. Wang, D. (2017). A study of the relationship between narcissism, extraversion, drive for entertainment, and narcissistic behavior on social networking sites. Computers in Human Behavior, 66, 138–148. Wang, J. (2021). How and why people are impolite in Danmu? Internet Pragmatics, 4(2), 295–322. Wang, P., Xie, X., Wang, X., Wang, X., Zhao, F., Chu, X., Nie. J., & Lei, L. (2018). The need to belong and adolescent authentic self-presentation on SNSs: A moderated mediation model involving FoMO and perceived social support. Personality and Individual Differences, 128, 133–138 Westmattelmann, D., Grotenhermen, J. G., Sprenger, M., Rand, W., & Schewe, G. (2021). Apart we ride together: The motivations behind users of mixed-reality sports. Journal of Business Research, 134, 316–328. Zhang, Z., Zhang, L., & Li, Y. (2020). The analysis of influence factors of user experience in bullet screen. In T. Ahram & C. Falcão (Eds.), Advances in usability, user experience, wearable and assistive technology. AHFE 2020: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 1217. Springer.

Fan Communities in Online Co-viewing of Sports: Impact of Perceived …

291

Zollo, L., Filieri, R., Rialti, R., & Yoon, S. (2020). Unpacking the relationship between social media marketing and brand equity: The mediating role of consumers’ benefits and experience. Journal of Business Research, 117, 256–267.

Mayank Jyotsna Soni is working as Assistant Professor of Marketing with Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ranchi, India. She is a Fellow from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India. She has worked with T.A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal, India for almost three years before joining IIM Ranchi. Her area of research interest includes Consumer Behavior, Advertising, Sales Promotions, Marketing Strategy, and Marketing Research. Soumya Sarkar is an Associate Professor of Marketing in the Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, India. He is a Fellow (Ph.D.) and MBA from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. He teaches Marketing Management, B2B Marketing and Sports & Entertainment Marketing in IIM Ranchi and has also taught in IIM Udaipur, India, and XIM Bhubaneswar, India. Soumya’s research interests include Corporate Branding, B2B Marketing, Popular Culture, and Sports Marketing and has papers in Journal of Strategic Marketing, Journal of Brand Management, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Corporate Reputation Review, among others.

The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown on the English Premier League Rahul De and Aaromal DCruz

1 Conceptual Framework On 13 March 2020, the English Premier League (also referred to as EPL) suspended all matches in response to the growing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were still eight league matches remaining, and at the time of suspension, no one had any idea when football would restart. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic showed no signs of slowing down, EPL resumed in June 2020 and finished the matches behind closed doors, per lockdown protocol. While far more important social issues were affecting the world, there were legitimate fears within the football business about the long-term impact of the COVID-19 lockdown. The football business is predicated on monetising fans, and the prospect of fans being unable to attend matches in the foreseeable future depressed the outlook of the business. In September 2020, the EPL started its new season without fans coming to watch matches; consequently, a real threat to the declining popularity of football was palpable. This article attempts to understand the impact of this crisis on the future of EPL and the sports business. The English Premier League is truly a global sensation and just in the 2018/19 season, had ‘a cumulative global audience of 3.2 billion for all programming between August 2018 and May 2019, an increase of six per cent on the previous season’ and was shown in 188 out of the 193 countries as well (Premier League, 2019). The oldest English football clubs date back to the nineteenth century as an association of workers in a community. These clubs were built around social and cultural identity rather than an economic rationale. English football clubs in the latter half of the twentieth century were comparable to modern businesses with owners, workers/staff, business R. De (B) Azim Premji University, Bangalore, India e-mail: [email protected] A. DCruz Ambedkar University, Bangalore, India e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_13

293

294

R. De and A. DCruz

models built around financial sustainability, local businessmen investing in the clubs, etc. However, in the early 1990s, with the formation of the English Premier League and the selling of media broadcast rights for a substantial sum, football entered the era of profitable businesses. The revenue that Premier League clubs started earning outside the traditional matchday revenue made football a speculative business worth investing in. Fast forward to the second decade of the 2000s, and football had become embedded within the global capitalist economy. Aside from the speed at which revenues and valuation of Premier league clubs have increased, a host of global enterprises and venture capitalists from the USA, Russia, and the Middle East has invested huge sums into clubs without any guarantee of profits. Aside from the usual interest groups, club owners, staff and players, media broadcasters, and commercial sponsors, a whole host of businesses depends on football ranging from athletic and leisurewear, fitness products, gyms and sports facilities, pubs and restaurants, and brands linked to the clubs and players. This article provides a conceptual framework to make sense of the growth of the EPL through the lens of political economy. It provides a novel conceptual grammar to understand economic and institutional changes in the EPL. In particular, it situates the trends in the business within two key events: the rise of the EPL as the biggest global football league with the acquisition of a record broadcasting deal in 2013 and the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020. These two events occurred parallel to the rise of new business opportunities due to changing media technology: digital infrastructure, social media, and an exponential increase in people’s access to the Internet. This period provides an interesting case study of the developments in the football business and how they responded to external events.

1.1 What is Commodification: How is Football Commodified To understand how football clubs became big businesses is to understand how football got increasingly commodified with the creation of the EPL. A commodity is a packaged form of a good or a service which can be exchanged for money; for example, water can be consumed freely from a stream, but we pay for bottled mineral water; one of the characteristics of a commodity is having a price. Historically, many goods and services were produced within the household or available for free. However, with urbanisation and breaking up of joint families, many of these services were bought and sold and became commodities. For example, child and elderly care were provided within the household but as women increasingly entered the job market in the twentieth century, care work was monetised through hiring nannies, nurses, tutors, etc. Historically, the viewing of football has been commodified, and different forms of media translated into different modes of commodification. Initially, the only way to consume football was by coming to the stadium, but over time, it could be consumed through newspaper reports and radio commentary. As ownership of television increased over the 1970s and 80s, watching football on TV became popular and

The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown …

295

brought in new audiences. The English Premier League was formed to commodify the media broadcast and explore new avenues of monetising the increased fan base watching on TV. In the Premiere league era, football was packaged and presented on-screen through the pre-post-match presentations, commentary, advertising, and innovative use of TV technology such as replay to induce more fans to watch it. They were trying to attract viewers from other television content; in some ways, EPL made football more entertaining through its presentation and narrativising. With the rise of digital and social media, new forms of commodification of football have been created. This paper contextualises this process of commodification of football within a period of high profit and sudden losses.

1.2 What is the Political Economy Lens? Political economy’s structural accounts follow from two basic observations: first, that capital accumulation is fundamental to the system’s perpetuation; and, second, that capitalism’s inherent contradictions make it prone to accumulation-threatening crises. (Corrigan, 2014, p. 45)

To expand the conceptual grammar required to study the business of the Premier League, we take recourse to a political economy analytical framework. Microeconomics conceptualises a business/firm as an entity that maximises its owners’ profits by increasing production and reducing cost. Grant (2007) has argued that a political economy framework situates the business of football within an economic and political context and provides concepts to understand the conflicting pressures faced by the business, which includes the vantage point of the owners, media broadcasters, sponsors, and other companies dependent on the product for revenue, employees of the club, fans who see it as a source of identity and leisure, and the government as a means of promoting social policy objectives. Within this framework, we can understand the actions of a club as constantly negotiating other interest groups, in some cases even antagonistic interest groups. We will also take recourse to the concept of contradiction and crisis within Marxian Political Economy to understand the changing landscape of football. Marx theorised that capitalist systems were embedded within contradictory relations; the tensions within these contradictions create dynamism and innovation within the accumulation process. Traditional Marxist literature has focussed on the contradiction within the distribution of surplus value and the fundamental antagonistic relationship between the owner and the worker. However, Marx had demonstrated that contradictions exist within any capital accumulation process and manifest during a crisis period. Within this conceptual analysis of the growth of the Premier League business, we focus on the contradiction between social relations and productive capacity or, as Marx referred, ‘relations in production and relations of production’. The contradiction was that as technology evolves, the relations and power structure that shape a commodity change. Crucial in this analysis is who controls the means of production, or the

296

R. De and A. DCruz

productive technology also controls the distribution of the accumulation process. Social relations refer to the hierarchy of businesses and relations between owners and workers. For example, with the birth of the EPL in 1992, the primary media broadcasters and the Football Association (FA) were the most powerful interest groups involved in the EPL and clubs. They mediated the involvement of clubs, players, and other businesses stake in the EPL revenue pie. While Marx’s analysis focussed on the role of contradiction and crisis on the scale of an overall economy, our current case study can be seen as a concretised example of Marx’s abstract principles. Marx also argued that crisis plays an important role in resolving contradiction by creating a condition that makes the current accumulation process untenable. Crisis exaggerates the contradictions within an economy and provides opportunities for institutional changes to alleviate these contradictions.

1.3 What Are the Contradictions in the English Premier League? As the football industry entered the newest growth phase, it faced conflicts due to this fundamental contradiction created by new broadcasting technology, which threatened to de-stabilise the industry. This phenomenon translates into changing technology and new opportunities for monetising the commodity. The COVID-19 lockdown crisis compelled clubs and media broadcasters to change their business strategies and FA to make changes in regulatory institutions to cope with the losses to the business. If we consider the original product of football to be the experience of watching football in the stadium, the EPL made the television broadcast of football a profitable commodity. This commodity could be converted into broadcasting revenue for football clubs, while broadcasters could convert this into subscription and advertising revenue. Historically, British media company Sky TV had a monopoly over the broadcast rights and controlled the channels through which it could be turned into a revenue stream. The ability of clubs to directly interact with fans was mediated through Sky TV. Clubs also tried to create their own media channels—such as the Manchester United TV channel (MUTV), but that had limited reach, especially overseas, because it needed local carriers to broadcast it. There was contestation between the media broadcaster, the FA, and the clubs about the control and marketing of the prime commodity: the media broadcast. However, over the last decade, digital media challenged the monopoly of broadcasters and provided opportunities for other enterprises to get a share of the revenue pie. Digital and social media have allowed anyone to create football content cheaply and directly reach the consumer base without mediation from big media broadcasters. Marx argued that contradictions were part of any accumulation process and provided the conditions for both growth and stagnation within the process. The fundamental contradiction with changing technology in the football business played out

The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown …

297

as competition over the increased revenue stream and expanding fan base generated with the advent of social media. There is a constant tension between the large media broadcasters, the club broadcasting its content, smaller media distributing content, and players distributing content. Each party has a monopoly over its content and could explore independent channels to monetise it. We will discuss this in detail in the next section on the emergence of social media and how it has reshaped the economics of the business and threatened the traditional monopoly of the broadcast. We will then discuss how social media has allowed clubs and players to build their brands and become financially independent from the Premier League brand. Branding is one particular response to the heightening contradiction in the accumulation process. The second consequence of this contradiction was the tendency of the top 6 clubs to increase their financial gap in the Premier League. We will discuss empirically how the Big 6 tried to expand their gap in the social media era, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdown crisis, through individual business strategies and a plan to restructure the PL called ‘Project Big Picture’. The third consequence was the tension between being a primarily domestic and global business. Till 2010, the clubs’ main business was focussed on fans who came to the stadium to watch football and local and European fans. As digital media created opportunities to monetise global fans, the clubs became more focussed on global audiences and sponsors, even at the cost of alienating local fans. This trend was influenced by the clubs’ increasingly expanding foreign fan base. We will discuss how there have been attempts since the COVID-19 crisis to create one global football product rather than multiple leagues, culminating in the proposal for an alternative football league called the European Super League. It tried to commodify the idea that large clubs had a global brand and could attract viewers outside the EPL. These are the issues that saw innovation or institutional changes during the COVID-19 crisis. The following section will focus on the football business and empirical trends in this period. The last section will focus on the business strategies after the COVID-19 lockdown crisis and how they are manifestations of the original contradictory relations.

2 The Structure of Football Business—Revenue and Competition 2.1 An Empirical Analysis of Finances of EPL Clubs Football is a complex business to understand, as only part of a club’s revenue comes from a team’s performance on the pitch. The Premier League is a collective business where the FA is responsible for regulating the league and expanding and marketing the league’s brand: maintaining a certain product quality, creating governance rules, and expanding the audience.

298

R. De and A. DCruz

Any analysis of the financial data of EPL football clubs is tricky because many football clubs are not publicly listed and are under no obligation to share their financial data publicly. Our analysis depends on the findings of Swiss Ramble, a financial football reporter, who has compiled financial data of football clubs through accessing the club’s public financial documents. He presents this data independently and free of charge to other interested parties. We started our empirical analysis from 2013, primarily due to a consistent availability of data. This period marked a sharp rise in broadcast revenue, demonstrating that the EPL had become the biggest football business in the world. While the broadcast rights were sold for £1.7 billion in two cycles from 2007–10 to 2010–13. It increased significantly to £3.01 billion from 2013 to 16 and further to £5.13 billion (BBC Sport, 2015) in 2016–19. This escalation in broadcast revenue by more than 60% in every cycle was unlike the period between 2000 and 2010. Historically, broadcasters such as Sky Sports (formerly Sky TV) have monetised the broadcast rights through subscription and selling advertisement slots during their coverage. Their ability to attract advertisers was contingent on the number of viewers and their economic background. There are three distinct categories of revenue earned by a football club: broadcast, commercial, and matchday income. The lion’s share of a club’s revenue comes from broadcasting revenue, and the FA sells this to media broadcasters for threeyear cycles, including rights over specific matches and regions. And that is why we consider it the main form of commodifying football. The FA shares the broadcast money across clubs based on their performance in the previous year. However, since the size of broadcast revenue has been increasing significantly, clubs performing poorly in the EPL are still richer than some of the biggest clubs in other countries. The next biggest source of revenue is commercial or sponsorship revenue. Commercial deals are contingent on the club’s ability to attract fans, especially fans who are coveted by commercial sponsors—high-income consumers. An essential aspect of the football business is focussed outside the field and is based on building a brand for a club. We will cover the importance of branding and social media in the development of the football business in depth later in this paper. Manchester Utd is the world’s biggest earner of commercial revenue in football earned £1992 million between 2014 and 2020 in commercial deals. Arsenal earned around £764 million, Everton £240 million, and West Ham £207 million in the same period. This highlights the importance of commercial deals and sponsorships in the football business. Matchday revenue is determined by stadium capacity and the number of fans attending a match and purchasing food, beverage, and merchandise in the stadium. The top clubs have more money to invest and more fans to commercialise and have converted that into significantly larger stadia and matchday revenues. Arsenal earns the highest matchday revenue, around £100 million a year because they have the largest stadium and can charge the highest for tickets. In comparison, a team like Everton earns about £17–18 million even with a strong fan base. West Ham United, another London-based club, earns between £20–30 million.

The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown …

299

2.2 Why EPL Clubs Are Oligopolistic Businesses? The Premier League can be classified as an oligopolist market, with each club having an independent fan base and brand. There is a high cost of entry and exit in the market, each club’s strategies influence the others, and clubs compete for fans and commercial deals; however, the existence of one does not foreclose the market for others. Moreover, some clubs are at the forefront of investments and innovation, while others follow and react to the strategies of the first movers. In the EPL since 2010, six clubs tended to dominate the top end of the league table, earning the largest revenue and transforming into globally recognisable brands. The clubs referred to as the Big 6 include Manchester City, Manchester Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspurs. While there is intense competition between these clubs on the football field, there has been an increasing awareness that the Big 6 are dependent on each other to make the Premier League brand more popular globally. With increasing revenues for all clubs, smaller clubs have also modernised the club’s organisation recruiting better players and staff each year. Consequently, the football performance on the pitch has become competitive over the last few years. The Big 6 have, however, managed to increase their revenue at a faster rate than the other clubs. It is difficult to demonstrate this statistically as the clubs in the EPL keep changing, and it is not possible to generate an objective comparison. However, we can compare two of the Big 6 Clubs—Manchester Utd (the wealthiest club in EPL) and Arsenal (one of the oldest) and two other big clubs which have been challenging the top 6 clubs for a decade—Everton and West Ham United. The following are their total earned revenue between 2014 and 2020 (limited by the availability of data): • • • •

Manchester United—£3650 million Arsenal—£2528 million West Ham United—£1067 million Everton—£1103 million.

Of increasing interest is that the differences in broadcast revenue are not as significant amongst the clubs (Swiss Ramble, 2021a, 2021b): • • • •

Manchester United—£1163 million Arsenal—£1068 million West Ham United—£689 million Everton—£754 million.

The huge gap in revenue between the Big 6 and other big clubs in the EPL is due to differences in matchday and commercial revenues. These two components determine the economic strength of the top 6 clubs over the others.

300

R. De and A. DCruz

2.3 Empirical Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis The COVID-19-imposed lockdown had an immediate financial impact on the EPL but also increased fears of its long-term effect on the business. It is difficult to formally estimate the financial impact of the COVID-19 lockdown because of the following reasons: (i) only three months of play were impacted in the 2019/20 season, (ii) clubs used different accounting procedures for this period, including some deferring their losses to the next accounting year, and (iii) EPL clubs had to pay a £160 million rebate to broadcasters due to lockdown which was reimbursed in the following season. Some income was thus completely lost to the football industry, while some were deferred. The discussion below is based on Swiss Ramble’s analysis (Swiss Ramble, 2021a, 2021b). The overall losses due to the COVID-19 lockdown on the 2019/20 season—not including the three promoted teams—were £683 million in broadcast revenue, £95 million in matchday revenue, and £138 million in commercial revenue. Clubs that were more dependent on broadcasting and matchday revenue were hit the worst, with Bournemouth and West Ham losing 27% of revenue. Manchester United was the worst hit of the top 6 clubs, losing 19% of revenue. EPL clubs fared much better than other football leagues in 2019–20, with 13 of the 20 EPL clubs featuring in the top 30 richest clubs in the world. The high ranks were mainly due to a lucrative broadcast deal and clubs being better at attracting commercial sponsors. One important point to note was that the COVID-19 lockdown did not impact commercial revenue as these are long-term contracts; consequently, the top 6 clubs with a disproportionately higher percentage of commercial revenue were not adversely affected by the lockdown. The total loss due to COVID-19 in the 20/21 season was £1049 million, of which the most considerable loss of £698 million was from matchday revenues as fans were not coming to the stadia. The top 6 clubs lost more than £100 million (Swiss Ramble, 2021a, 2021b). To account for the deferral of TV revenue, we will look at revenue trends from 2019 to 2021 to estimate the overall impact of the COVID-19 lockdown. The EPL lost £1.4 billion, of which £845 million was the loss in matchday revenue. The top 6 clubs lost more than £120 million; however, the percentage loss was much higher for the other clubs in the league as they did not earn much commercial revenue (Swiss Ramble, 2021a, 2021b). Three broad empirical trends contextualised the Premier League in the last decade: (1) All clubs have gotten bigger based on revenue and spending. (2) The gap between the top 6 clubs and other clubs has been increasing. (3) The COVID-19 economic crisis has affected all clubs, but lucrative commercial deals cushioned the losses of the top 6 clubs. The following section will demonstrate how clubs have reacted to the COVID-19 crisis and negotiated the contradictions in the industry.

The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown …

301

3 How Clubs are Coping with the Losses Caused by the COVID-19 Lockdown? 3.1 Branding and Importance of Social Media Digital media are different, though. Compared to analogue formats, digital media’s basis in binary code means content (sic) is more easily reproduced, transferred, and manipulated. Moreover, the Internet’s networked infrastructure means that text, photographs, moving images, audio, and live content can all be produced, distributed, and consumed on the same multimedia (or converged) platform and devices). (Croteau et al., 2012) Most traditional mass media were characterised by high production costs and low reproduction (or copy) costs. This meant, first, that media production was restricted to small numbers of wealthy individuals and well-capitalised corporations. And, second, that profitability hinged on maximising audiences for successively cheaper copies. These economics incentivised a largely one-way, one-to-many communication model focussed on the creation and distribution of escapist fare, such as sports. (Corrigan, 2014, p. 48)

A change in productive media technology changes the modes of monetising a commodity and how the competition responds to it. Traditional big media is an oligopolistic industry due to high entry costs. As digital media supported through Internet technology became affordable, it changed the economics of broadcasting. Overnight, anybody could produce media content through a personal computer and directly engage with fans through social media sites. There was no additional cost to reproducing the content, so there is no cost to scaling up or reaching more fans. The size of the fanbase that could be engaged through social media would keep increasing as more and more people worldwide gained access to the Internet. The production of content also has become cheaper due to the cheap availability of computers and software with anybody capable of making video and audio content. As the size of the revenue pie was increasing, digital media broke the broadcast monopoly but also created business opportunities for social media content creators to earn revenue from the EPL brand. While the main media broadcasters had a monopoly over the live broadcast, social media technology provides infrastructure for content about the EPL to be created in small consumable forms to cater to the needs of specific audiences. For example, Arsenal Fan TV, a fan-run YouTube channel, would get reactions from fans leaving the Emirates Stadium and has built up a following of over 100 million subscribers on their channel. Further, digital media allowed clubs, players, and content creators to interact with fans who could not be monetised in the past, namely satellite fans.

3.1.1

The Economics of Satellite Fans

Sky sports had a monopoly on the telecast of EPL, and they controlled the content’s production and distribution. They sold overseas rights to other broadcasters. Traditionally, clubs have attracted satellite fans through media events, off-season friendly

302

R. De and A. DCruz

matches, and fan clubs. But changing technologies have allowed new ways of accessing these fans and tapping into a new range of sponsors and sources of commercial revenue. A person in England knows what Manchester United means to the city and its people, but the clubs have quickly learned to make the club relatable to someone in, say, Bangalore. Now, the question arises, why is it important for a football club to do this? Especially, when this person from Bangalore is improbable to visit the stadium for a match. We had argued in the empirical analysis of EPL club finances that the revenue earned from commercial and broadcast revenue is much higher than matchday revenue. Football clubs have adapted their branding strategy to specific regions and cultures with merchandise stores in all major cities, fan events across the country, and country-specific ads and ambassadors as well. For example, Arsenal invited Bollywood star Ranveer Singh to watch matches to create interest in India, or they wish their Indian fans on Indian festivals such as Holi or Id through their social media account. By building different forms of association in India, Arsenal hopes to attract new fans to support their club. The huge increase in popularity and profitability in this period has been due to the PL’s ability to attract fans from around the globe, also referred to as satellite fans: fans who may have no connection to a region or a club and may never visit the stadium to watch a match. With the advent of satellite television, football fans around the globe have started supporting EPL football clubs. Manchester United has controversially claimed to have over 1 billion fans worldwide, including 250 million in China (White, 2008). However, with the rise of digital media and the entry of multinational corporations into economies of the global South, there were expanding opportunities to monetise this fan base. Firstly, international broadcast rights have become increasingly profitable—for example, Disney+ Hotstar, the Indian OTT platform which streams EPL matches, paid $13.6 billion (Poindexter, 2022) for the current threeyear cycle of EPL broadcasting rights. Equally importantly, international brands can use the club’s recognisability to enter new markets. Sports brands such as Adidas and Puma come to mind, but increasingly non-traditional sports brands. For example, the Rwandan government has paid Arsenal £30 million to Place a ‘visit Rwanda Logo’ on players’ jersey sleeves (Thomson, 2018). There is no direct association between Arsenal and Rwanda, but the government believes that this greater visibility will boost tourism in their country. Social media is different from traditional media and has successfully attracted more fans by creating two-sided interaction between clubs and fans. Peate states Facebook and Twitter give fans a direct link to the club in between matchdays. The site allows clubs the chance to reward fans for their loyalty with exclusive offers and competition as well as news and updates direct from the stadium and training ground. Peate states that engaged fans will pass on information and offers, and visit the club’s website more regularly. When leveraged properly, social media can allow sports/football organisations to build fan participation and interaction, drive traffic to their official website and even develop sponsor programmes to increase revenue (Kuzma et al., 2014, p. 8)

Fans constantly engage with their club on social media by viewing content, sharing their opinions, liking, or forwarding it and consuming the product being sold. From giving the club clicks on their advertisements to buying their official merchandise, any

The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown …

303

increase in fan interaction is converted by the clubs into securing bigger sponsorship deals. Therefore, you see clubs posting various kinds of posts, even when there are no matches, from celebrating a goal or a victory to celebrating festivals in countries far from England. The monetisation scale explains why these clubs have started investing significant amounts on social media to secure and maintain a large loyal base of supporters. ‘The use of social media is seen as a driver of traffic to the official site which is monetised via advertising revenue and sales of commercial products, such as online player TV, ticketing, and merchandise’ (McCarthy et al., 2014). Barcelona and Real Madrid (both amongst the top three most followed teams) have more than 250 million social media followers, and their average commercial revenue per social media follower stands at around 1.30 Euros for both clubs. Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur get around 2.1, 3.3, 2.5, 1.9, and 4.3 Euros per social media follower (KPMG, 2021). In 2018, Juventus FC, then champions of Italy, saw its social media presence grow by 320% to 110 million. This sudden jump also coincides with Cristiano Ronaldo’s signing and the social media marketability that he possesses, with around 400 million followers just on Instagram. As a result, Juventus’ marketing strategy, along with the signing of important players, boosted their commercial revenue by 145% (KPMG, 2021). Social media has become the primary tool for marketing for both the club and the sponsor. A club like Manchester City, which has a large stadium capacity, makes £41.7 million from matchday revenue, which is nothing compared to £190.3 million from broadcasting revenue and £246.3 million from commercial revenue (Swiss Ramble, 2021a, 2021b). The demand for the club from fans is sticky as the clubs do not lose fans to other clubs easily, especially ‘serious fans’—those who watch matches, consume digital content, identify with the club’s brand, and purchase merchandise. There is a far higher chance of losing a fan to another sports product or a different form of television content. Advertisements currently showcased during football matches or the sponsorship deals directly relate to their fan demographic: young, male, and working class. The broadcaster promotes everything from perfumes to athletic wear to sports betting websites during the match. But an interesting transition that social media has allowed is that now clubs can target non-traditional fan bases, from casual watchers and different age groups to other genders. Social media provides the opportunity to cater content according to the audience; clubs have used this to attract new fan bases without alienating their older fans. Increasing its fan base makes the club more attractive to sponsors who want to attach their brand with the club and tap into its fan base, but also for broadcasters who convert the telecast into advertising revenue. Sponsors are increasingly interested in the locations, profile, demographic, and value of a clubs’ fans, in addition to the size of the fan base, to ensure the sponsorship is a good strategic opportunity for their brand and to Maximise Returns on Investment (KPMG, 2021).

Social media has also allowed football players to monetise their image and appeal. It has allowed players, especially the global superstars, to become financially independent from the club and create a brand based on their popularity. Even in the early days of social media, one could build partnerships with commercial brands and

304

R. De and A. DCruz

monetise their pages on Facebook or Instagram. Not only can players promote their long-term deals much more efficiently, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Nike, but they can also take part in smaller, one-time deals that earn them large bonuses, like Ronaldo with the crypto-companies. It is reported that Ronaldo makes over $1 million per Instagram post through this type of advertisement strategy. (Sweney, 2021). Players with a significant social media presence can negotiate better contracts with their clubs due to expanding the club’s reach and appeal. Considering that social media is still a new way to monetise your product, clubs are still wary of how to utilise it best. One big worry they possess is how to preserve their brand image and not let it get distorted by the large fan base and their varying opinions. Of late, with the digital influencer economy rising, the club brand is also being affected by other avenues. YouTube channels such as Stretford Paddock and Arsenal Fan TV (with 630,000 and 1.3 million followers, respectively) have started influencing fan opinions by becoming vocal critics of the club and indirectly affecting the club’s image. They produce content that analyses and criticises the club’s footballing and non-footballing decisions. For example, during the first lockdown, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Arsenal laid off non-playing staff due to budget cuts while at the same time spending millions on buying new players; these channels came together to criticise and build awareness amongst fans. They were able to attain so much traction that the decisions became much more widely known; this led to country-wide criticism, and Arsenal was forced to take back many of its mandates. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the various applications available on one’s phones became the only method of communicating with others, far or close. Once people were forced to stay at home and in-person interaction with other humans reached a standstill, social media’s use rose exponentially. Digital technology and social media have both increased the fan base and monetising opportunities and allowed clubs, players, and digital influencers to get a larger share of the expanding revenue pie. This changing power structure within the football business has been further heightened after the pandemic and threatens to change the football industry permanently.

3.2 Branding Information differs from material goods in two ways: it is not inherently scarce, and it is not consumed with use. Rather it is inexhaustibly reproducible….Indeed the value of information is in most cases enhanced by being shared: it grows and it finds new uses. Its value is social but it is inherently difficult to create economic value from it. (Frow, 2002, p. 56) Brand and corporate identities help companies create barriers to competition. To some degree, a company or a brand can obtain a legally sanctioned monopoly over certain aspects of the identity so as to create these barriers. (Frow, 2002, p. 65)

In an era where anybody could produce, distribute and monetise media content, clubs had to find ways to differentiate themselves. For the big clubs, branding became

The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown …

305

a tool to demarcate itself and build barriers to competition. As quoted above, branding is a form of packaging information, so it is easily recognisable and monetisable. In the past, clubs had to depend on media outlets—broadcasters, newspapers, etc.—to build brand consciousness, but social media allowed clubs to engage with their fans directly. The value of a brand is mainly social, and its value increases as it circulates. Social media provides the infrastructure for constant and endless brand building.

3.2.1

What is the Brand Identity of a Club?

Brand identity—the complex of name, image, and slogan – forms a semantic matrix which is to a large degree autonomous both of the products it subsumes and corporations which owns (sic) and controls it. Its imaginary significance can thus be advertised independent of particular products. (Frow, 2002, p. 67)

Football brands create a narrative around a club connecting its history, identity, icons, and values. Still, equally, football clubs can erase parts of their history that do not match the brand they are projecting. For example, Manchester City erases its Qatari owners’ non-democratic roots and history of human rights violations. Brands are socially constructed to make the club appealing and distinct, but in modern times, clubs project values that resonate with their fan base and sponsors. Brands have a non-rational hold over the consumer’s mind; football clubs look to maximise this emotional hold, which translates into consumers willing to pay a higher price for goods with the club’s name. A football jersey becomes much more expensive when a famous player’s name is added to it. There is an insignificant increase in the cost for printing the name, but fans are willing to pay much more because of their emotional connection to the club. This irrational linking of a business brand to values is called branding. As a brand takes irrational hold of a customer’s mind, it can be monetised in multiple ways. The following is an example of the process of brand building. Since the early 1990s, Manchester United has been one of the biggest clubs in the world in terms of fanfare and commercial appeal, but this was not always the case. Manchester United fans were essentially local in the 1940s and 50s. On 6 Feb 1958, the aircraft carrying the Manchester United team from a European cup match crashed, killing almost the whole team. Referred to by the media as the Munich Disaster, the accident brought sympathy from football fans around Europe. Over the years, Manchester United has built its appeal by bringing iconic British attacking talent, including national captains such as Bobby Charlton, David Beckham, and Wayne Rooney. Their footballing brand of playing fast, attacking, and winning while never giving up epitomised by the 1999 Champions League final where they came back from the clutches of defeat to win the title in the last four minutes, was one that any global fan could identify with. Their brand has been made recognisable through the colour red and their mascot, the Red Devil. …brand are ideologies: they are regimes of marketing and authorisation which draws in rather similar ways on an imaginary of a unique person or personality; brands have a personality

306

R. De and A. DCruz

because they make use of strategies of personalisation to create something like a signature effect. (Frow, 2002, p. 71)

Football clubs try to make brands more relatable by giving the clubs a personality and bringing the club’s non-footballing side to fans. Such strategies are important so that the fans do not think of a club as being only associated with football but can identify with them at a more personal level. The brand provides a personality or a narrative that can be displaced onto the consumer. Instead of making straightforward content such as pictures of players’ training or in-match pictures, clubs have started curating high-quality ‘fun’ interviews that will allow fans to dive deeper into the lives of their favourite players and managers, which furthers their sense of loyalty and support the club. During the COVID-19 Lockdown, Manchester United expanded its association to non-profit endeavours. Players like Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata were made club ambassadors for their work in local communities. During the pandemic, Rashford took on the fight against youth hunger in the UK. With schools being online, many children remained underfed as they missed the meals served at school. He brought together different companies to create foodbanks for undernourished school children. Moreover, through his social media campaign, he made the UK government reverse its decision to reduce funding for providing vulnerable children with meals. Juan Mata started a pledge-based charity called Common Goal in 2017, which asks footballers to donate 1% of their wages to create sporting opportunities for underprivileged children around the world. This branding of Manchester United with social causes made their players more relatable and humane, especially when football seemed trivial to the COVID-19 crisis. Why is a brand important? A brand’s values can be transferred to another commodity, and they create barriers to competition—especially given the high cost of making a brand recognisable to consumers. Brands similarity of value is the only source of identity for products of a widely differing nature (2002, p. 64) Although at a certain stage in its life the brand name may function as a strict form of designation. It is only when it loses this function that it becomes a brand ‘in the full sense of the term’. Starting as a descriptor or a nonsense word, the brand acquires a semantic autonomy and a force of memory which transforms it into a self-signifying proper name (2002, p. 64).

The holy grail of a brand is to be autonomous or recognisable even when not put on recognisable products. Traditionally, a football club would sell merchandise and product connected to football or match viewings, such as athletic wear, shoes, sports goods, scarfs, and bottles: stuff to carry to the match. However, as football brands become increasingly recognisable, they can place their brand onto more diverse commodities. Today one can find the Man United brand or the Red Devil tag on products as divergent as Yanmar, the Japanese tractor company, Milly, their Chinese mattress and pillow partner, and Casillero del Diablo, their Chilean wine partner. None of these products has any direct association with football. As a brand becomes more recognisable outside its immediate fan base, it becomes an indicator of status.

The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown …

307

Its effect is similar to Veblen goods, where the more recognisable the good, the higher its demand. Sponsors will want the brand logo even if there is no direct connection to the good, as consumers will buy the good not just because they are a supporter of the club but because the brand indicates higher status.

3.3 Project Big Picture The pandemic lockdown affected all football clubs in England. However, the consequences of the financial losses were felt more harshly by clubs in the lower football leagues—EFL leagues. These clubs earned most of their revenue, unlike EPL clubs, from matchday income. Their business model was highly dependent on fans coming to watch matches in the stadium. Moreover, the broadcast revenue earned by these clubs is disproportionately lower than their EPL counterpart. Therefore, even though football was restarted in July 2020, these clubs continued to struggle financially because fans were not allowed in the stadium. Most clubs in the EFL league did not have the financial resources or wealthy owners willing to fund the club through these losses; many clubs were on the verge of insolvency, and some were actively considering selling or even shutting down. Amid this crisis, on 11 October 2020, Liverpool and Manchester United executives came up with a plan for restructuring the finances of the English football pyramid. The initial proposal was to give £250 million to the entire pyramid below the Premier League (EFL leagues) as a bailout payment to save clubs from going under due to the financial issues caused by COVID-19, along with 25% of revenue from any future TV deal which could amount to £100 million (Brand & Grounds, 2020). For context, in the past, only 4% of broadcast revenue from the EPL was given to the EFL clubs. They also offered to pay £100 million to the FA for their losses. These generous offers to support clubs in a crisis came with a catch. In exchange for this financial proposal, the big clubs wanted to restructure the voting dynamics within the EPL. Currently, for any rule change in the PL, 14 out of the 20 clubs must agree. Project Big Picture proposed that the power of changing rules should be restricted to 9 clubs within the EPL, and a rule change would require only 6 of these clubs to agree. The Big 6 were part of these nine clubs. It is quite clear why the Big 6 made such a generous offer because other clubs in the EPL would not agree to this change, and they needed the support of the larger football ecosystem. In addition, to changing voting patterns, the Project Big Picture made some substantial proposals that would provide more autonomy to clubs to monetise their brand; such a move would benefit larger clubs that were globally recognisable brands. Some significant proposals were: cutting the number of teams in the EPL to 18 and abolishing the EFL Cup and Community Shield, which would allow clubs to organise more profitable exhibition matches worldwide. There was a wide array of proposals alongside this, the most interesting of which was giving rights to all football clubs to stream eight matches live from their streaming platform. It was a clear indication of the intent of the Big 6 clubs to break up the monopoly over the broadcast rights held by Sky Sports.

308

R. De and A. DCruz

Project Big Picture is symptomatic of the contradictions within the productive capacity and social relations in the EPL emanating during the crisis. As the EPL grew richer, there was increasing financial equalisation amongst all clubs. While the pandemic threatened the entire football industry, its financial impact was greatest for the Big 6 clubs. This proposal was an attempt by the big six to increase their monopolistic position in the league through voting power. A Sky Sports reporter astutely commented, Big clubs have long wanted to be able to exploit the value of their international TV rights and this would give them the power to do that. All Premier League clubs would have the exclusive rights to sell eight live games directly to fans outside the UK on their own (sic) digital platforms (Brand & Grounds, 2020).

Revenue from the sale of international broadcast rights is shared by all EPL clubs, however, this proposal would allow clubs to monetise their matches. Given that the top 6 clubs have a bigger fan following and brand presence abroad, they would make much more money than the other clubs. Due to the adverse reaction from the fans, other clubs, and the general football audience, the Premier League rejected the Big Picture project. It made a different proposal to help all clubs without giving more power to the richer clubs. However, this demonstrates both the intent of the big six clubs to find opportunities to increase their power and is dependent on the FA resolving the financial difficulties of smaller clubs.

3.4 European Super League One of the consequences of the contradiction between changing media broadcast technology and the traditional hierarchy controlling business in the EPL was that the product did not have to be limited to the EPL. We discussed how the football business attracted and monetised satellite fans in the previous section. However, as the pandemic threatened the biggest clubs financially; a concrete version of an idea floating around returned: The European Super League. On 18 April 2021, the footballing world was shocked by the news of the European Super League. Twelve of the biggest football teams in Europe (Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, A.C. Milan, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal) went public with their intentions to form a breakaway league of their own with the possibility of adding three more permanent members and some temporary members. Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Juventus were the driving force behind the project that would disrupt the way club football is played in Europe. The announcement of the super league came after more than a year of financial hardship faced by the football clubs due to extended lockdown protocols. This was articulated in not so many words by the founders

The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown …

309

The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic model. … The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable commercial approach are required to enhance value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid. (The Super League, 2021)

Even before the pandemic, the Big 6 have been demanding a bigger share of the pie and more power in decision-making. Reports suggest that each founding member of the ESL would have gained around $400 million, plus the broadcasting and commercial income would have earned all these clubs more than $1 billion (Panja & Smith, 2021). This number would dwarf the current revenue opportunities for the clubs and contribute to repaying their long-term debts. Let us take a step back to understand what the product was in this case. By forming an independent European league with the biggest clubs—in terms of revenue, branding, and fan following—a new commodity was being created with a guaranteed market. Moreover, new media technology would allow these clubs to expand beyond their domestic boundaries to other European countries and monopolise the global fan base, which largely supported these historically successful clubs. Further, the broadcast of the product and its governance would be controlled by the clubs. The EPL is regulated by the FA, which works under the ordinances of the UEFA and FIFA (world football governing bodies). The FA is a public body whose principal mandate is to preserve and expand the popularity of football in Britain. It is not primarily a profit-making body and is accountable to the public and the government. The Super League would be controlled by the clubs and would be oriented towards maximising their business and financial interests. While the legalities were never cleared, the ESL could bypass the European and global football governance bodies that create guidelines and policies, make sanctions, and sustain the global brand. A privately owned sports league is not new; globally successful private leagues like the NFL and NBA have thrived in the USA. The clubs at the head of ESL can explore ways of monetising the broadcast and global brand, change rules and regulations to serve the league’s interest, and explore new forms of the football business. For example, the EPL requires teams to have at least eight home-grown players in the interest of developing talent in England, but the ESL can bypass this rule. Similarly, UEFA mandates certain financial requirements, such as clubs having to maintain a wage to turnover ratio. The clubs could re-configure the ESL to meet the needs of maximising the monetary benefit from the commodity. While two clubs controlled the league, all the big 6 EPL clubs were guaranteed permanent members with no possibility of dropping out; moreover, the ESL would be scheduled not to affect the club’s participation in the domestic league. The ESL also tried to create financial rules to equalise competition amongst clubs with different financial abilities. However, it was clear that ESL would be detrimental to the interest of other football clubs. For starters, members of the ESL would not participate in the prestigious and revenue-generating European club competitions—Champions League, etc. Secondly, the clubs might not take their leagues seriously, diluting the EPL brand. Further, the FA and UEFA ensure that revenue generated from football

310

R. De and A. DCruz

will be shared with lesser clubs and the development of the game. Reducing the overall revenue pile would affect clubs and players throughout the football pyramid. The ESL founders tried to compensate by promising ‘uncapped solidarity payments’ of more than e10 billion to the football pyramid and each founding club would get ‘e3.5 billion solely to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic’. (The Super League, 2021).

But at the same time, the clubs joining a new league will reduce the value of existing leagues, so the solidarity payments would never be enough to stop from the disparity increasing. Other than detailing that there would still be solidarity payments to those outside the Super League, it was never explained how it would benefit the rest of football (Marcotti, 2022).

The ESL faced a huge public backlash, which was focussed on the public spectacle of fans—especially of these clubs—protesting. It was evident that multiple interest groups such as other clubs, FA, media, sponsors of EPL, and business interests supported and fuelled this fan backlash. UEFA threatened sanctions on these clubs, though what was legally possible was not clear. Due to significant backlash from the sport’s governing bodies, fans, and even governments, all six English clubs withdrew from the league on the 20 and 21 of April. The withdrawal was perceived as a victory by sports fans. Still, UEFA has decided to introduce a new format for the UEFA Champions League, which is eerily similar to the ESL. With changing technology and the globally inter-connected business of football, the threat remains for a new football commodity to be formed by the most powerful— in this case, the biggest European club. This threat became a reality due to the financial loss and uncertainty wrecked by the pandemic crisis. The ESL, which never seemed serious in hindsight, has made the business’s infrastructure more conscious of the economic monopoly at the top of the hierarchy and points towards a future of football very different from the present.

4 Conclusion The business of football is at the forefront of interaction between consumerism, digital technology, and speculative finance. The growth of the EPL in the last decade has made it a case study for understanding the future of the sports entertainment business. Therefore, understanding how the business is evolving provides a lens to understand other businesses based around media technologies: OTT streaming sites, online retail, the gaming industry, cryptocurrency, etc. The evolution of the English Premier League is a story of the increasing commodification of football and discovering new avenues of monetising this commodity. In this paper, we argue that as digital media became more affordable and social media became more popular, the traditional hierarchy controlling the oligopolistic football industry—large media broadcasters, football authorities, big clubs, and traditional sponsors such as athletic

The Changing Business of Football: The Impact of the Lockdown …

311

wear—was threatened. It provided opportunities for new economic interest groups to expand football’s revenue pie and get a larger share of it. We empirically demonstrate that EPL clubs have become economically dominant in the last decade. The gap between the EPL top 6 and the rest of the clubs increased due to their ability to monetise their brands, and the COVID-19 lockdown crisis affected all EPL clubs but hurt the bigger ones more. The COVID-19 lockdown-induced crisis provided a case study to analyse the consequences of changing media technology at the heart of the football business and coping strategies used by different economic interest groups—clubs, players, social media businesses, and sponsors who are not associated with football. During the lockdown, financial losses and bleak business prospects accelerated business strategy changes and led to concomitant power struggles in the football industry. Social media provided opportunities to capture new fan bases: women, young adults, and fans from countries of the global South. Branding allowed clubs to capture and monetise the attention of new fans. Project Big Picture and the European Super League were alternate institutional mechanisms to replace the current EPL. While both were unsuccessful, they did threaten the traditional institutional structure and pointed towards changes that will make the traditional big clubs more powerful in the football ecosystem.

References BBC Sport. (2015, February 10). Premier league TV rights: Sky and BT pay £5.1bn for live games. Retrieved from BBC https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/31357409 Brand, G., & Grounds, B. (2020, October 14). Project Big Picture Q&A: All you need to know about premier league shake-up proposal. Retrieved from Sky Sports https://www.skysports.com/ football/news/11096/12102347/project-big-picture-q-a-all-you-need-to-know-about-Premierleague-shake-up-proposal Corrigan, T. F. (2014). The political economy of sports and new media. In A. Billing, & M. Hardin (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport and new media (pp. 43–54). Routledge. Croteau, D., Hoynes, W., & Milan, S. (2012). Media/Society: Industries, images, and audiences. Sage. Frow, J. (2002). Signature and brand. In J. Collin (Ed.), High pop: Making culture into popular entertainment (pp. 56–74). Willey Blackwell. Grant, W. (2007). An analytical framework for a political economy of football. British Politics, 2(1), 69–90. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.bp.4200036 KPMG. (2021, March 30). Commercialisation supported by social media. https://footballbenc hmark.com/library/commercialization_supported_by_social_media Kuzma, J., Bell, V., & Logue, C. (2014). A study of the use of social media marketing in the football industry. Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences, 5(10), 728–738. Marcotti, G. (2022, April 20). European Super League: One year after its collapse, where does everything stand. https://www.espn.in/football/blog-marcottis-musings/story/4647009/eur opean-super-league-one-year-after-its-collapsewhere-does-everything-stand McCarthy, J., Rowley, J., Ashworth, C. J., & Pioch, E. (2014). Managing brand presence through social media: The case of UK football clubs. Internet Research, 24(2), 181–204. https://doi.org/ 10.1108/IntR-08-2012-0154

312

R. De and A. DCruz

Panja, T., & Smith, R. (2021, April 19). Europe’s new Super League, explained. https://www.nyt imes.com/2021/04/19/sports/soccer/super-league-explainer.html Poindexter, O. (2022, March 14). Disney renews Premier League deal in India. https://frontoffices ports.com/disney-renews-Premier-league-deal-in-india/ Premier League. (2019, July 16). Premier League global audience on the rise. https://www.Premie rleague.com/news/1280062 Ramble, Swiss. [@SwissRamble]. (2021a, January 17). Thread on Manchester City’s 2020/21 accounts. [Tweet Thread]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/148297658268802 6625 Ramble, Swiss. [@SwissRamble]. (2021b, August 23). Thread looking at the impact of COVID-19 on Premier League clubs. [Tweet Thread]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/142 9836969127907328 Sweney, M. (2021, June 30). Cristiano Ronaldo shoots to top of Instagram rich list. https://www. theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/30/cristiano-ronaldo-shoots-to-top-of-instagram-rich-list The Super League. (2021, April 18). Leading European football clubs announce new super league competition. https://thesuperleague.com/press.html Thomson, S. (2018, December 9). Rwanda’s £30M Arsenal sleeve. https://africasacountry.com/ 2018/09/rwanda-on-a-sleeve White, J. (2008). Manchester United: The biography: The complete story of the world’s greatest football club. Sphere.

Rahul De is an Assistant Professor in Economics at the School of Arts and Sciences. He has received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Hyderabad. His research interests include History of capitalism in India, Macro-Economics and Political Economy of Sports. He has written a book titled ‘Economic Policy in India: A history of Crisis, Contestation, and Consensus’ which will be published in July 2023 by CUP. This manuscript charts a history of economic policy in India, from colonial to contemporary times, for a non-specialised reader. He has produced a module on ‘sporting cultures in the era of mass media’, published as part of an online course on culture studies by the UGC—epathshala project. Aaromal DCruz has graduated with an MA in Development Studies at Ambedkar University, Delhi, and a BA in Economics Hons at Azim Premji University. He has published over 20 articles on football on different platforms from online sports magazines and the Indian Express. His undergraduate thesis is on ‘The Political Economy of the English Premier League’, dealing with issues like the commodification of football and its commercialisation. He recently worked at Azim Premji University as a Sports Consultant.

Adapting to a VUCA World Bhaskar Basu, Michel Desbordes, and Soumya Sarkar

Uncertainties in the environment like a pandemic, wars, geopolitical conflicts, and economic recession will be the norm for the future. Confronted with the dynamic, changing VUCA environment, it is all the more relevant to have the ability to react and adapt to changes in the sports ecosystem. As sports organizations/federations increasingly conduct business transactions according to market principles, they are exposed to numerous risks. Hence, the necessity to create competent sports managers within the sports business who could develop, implement, and evaluate compatible management strategies for the occurring risks risks is imperative. A case in point is the organization of the Olympics 2020, which was postponed to 2021 because of the pandemic and was uncertain even a few days before the event’s start due to tremendous pressure from citizens, media, and global health advocates. The ramifications of such a big-ticket event go far beyond the country or duration of the event. The chapters in the “Strategy and Governance” section look into the problems arising due to environmental uncertainties from the lens of a sports manager or administrator. The authors have also attempted to provide directions for mitigating these problems through frameworks and recommendations. Although sport at the elite level is returning to a controlled environment, the player’s supply line right from the grass-root level suffers the most. While the dearth in the supply line will be felt any time between next five to ten years, it is surprising that there is not much focus from the academic sphere to mitigate the risk. Chapter 2 suggests strategic intent followed by the means (through finance, operations, and technology) to limit the disruptive effect of COVID-19 or similar catastrophes. Many countries are shying away from hosting mega-events due to the expense, risks, and uncertainties involved. The USA, Canada, B. Basu (B) Xavier Institute of Management, XIM University, Bhubaneswar, India M. Desbordes University Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France S. Sarkar Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Basu et al. (eds.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, Sports Economics, Management and Policy 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7010-8_14

313

314

B. Basu et al.

and Mexico are co-hosting the next soccer World Cup in 2026. It is a relatively new concept and has not been widely researched yet. From this perspective, Chap. 3 talks about co-hosting as a potential alternative wherein several countries host sports events together, sharing related risks and benefits. Chapter 4 looks at the role of disruptions in shaping sports logistics management practices by assessing some popular sporting events and introduces a new framework refining the logistics of the existing sports management framework, enumerating the scope and functions of sports logistics management. Chapter 5 contributes to a better understanding of the complex nature of sustainability implementation and offers practical recommendations based on the results of in-depth interviews. It provides a basis for further research on the difference and overlap between CSR and sustainability. Given that the research of sustainability in the context of International Sporting Federations is in its infancy, it is also essential for researchers to keep investigating the progress on measuring the positive impact of sustainability efforts to overcome most of the challenges in sports management. The chapters in the section “Marketing, Technology and Innovation” explain how technology, along with the emergence of social networks, have transformed sports over the last few years, none more so than in the post-Covid era. Chapter 6 discusses creating value in sports marketing and shifting the balance based on television rights, sponsorship, ticketing, and merchandising over the years. The proliferation of social networks has facilitated the internationalization of sports brands and the generation of additional revenues like merchandising or “Fan monetization.” Chapter 7 highlights the importance of technology in sports and how the combination can be leveraged for the sustainability of sports in an uncertain environment characterized by disruptions like global economic recession, geopolitical conflicts, ecological imbalance, and pandemic situations. It identifies promising areas of further research in this field like sports education, NFTs, sports accessibility, sports consumption, sports training, immersive experience for fans, betting, and e-sports. It also highlights the risks and limitations of emerging technologies in terms of adverse health effects, viewing experience, and affordability. The authors in Chap. 8 consider technology as a critical tool and catalyst for transforming sports events and sports in general. They consider it as a broad and complex topic, largely unexplored in the academic literature. Technologies of different types play a crucial role for all the stakeholders regarding security, fan engagement, efficiency and effectiveness of resource use and allocation, sustainability, accessibility and inclusion, and sports video broadcasting. It affects all aspects of the sport, including performance, judging, training, physical activity, spectating, and management. The descriptive research in Chap. 9 highlights the importance of the trade-off between benefits earned and the costs associated with employing supply chain risk mitigation strategies. Supply chain managers are increasingly held responsible for their actions when risk situations exist and when the risk warrants action. Given firms’ limited resources, the author recognizes that taking steps to mitigate every single supply chain-related risk that may occur is almost impossible and highly wasteful—some supply chain risks can be classified as unacceptable, tolerable, or acceptable. Based on this classification, firms should endeavor to implement mitigation strategies only in contexts where the benefits of devoting resources to supply chain risk mitigation outweigh the costs.

Adapting to a VUCA World

315

The chapters in the “Consumption, Media and Economics” section are based on the premise that consumers have driven the winds of change that have altered sports consumption forever. Although live games are back in existence with pulsating stands, backed up by telecasts, webcasts, and podcasts, fans and consumers have realized that live sports will never be the same again. The lack of physical connection between sports and fans and between the viewers, constrained by the lockdowns, did affect sports consumption. This impediment to the social aspect of sports has compelled content creators and broadcasting technologists to come up with substitute options like a spate of sports documentaries (Chap. 10), online chess (Chap. 11), and co-viewing of live sports through online platforms (Chap. 12). Interestingly, none of the trends mentioned above was initiated during the pandemic-induced lockdowns. These options existed, but the intense craving for live sports pushed the fans to seek ways to satiate themselves. Thus, those possibilities took more robust shapes than what was envisaged by the platforms or the YouTube channels. For example, the spike in the popularity of online chess, buttressed by non-players like Samay Raina, gave the sport a completely new lease of life. Similarly, so far, wandering in the wilderness of reality-based films, sports documentaries suddenly started getting the spotlight, and social media mentions from live-action starved viewers. The creators and marketers of sports content in the digital space and sports marketing researchers need to stay on their toes to understand shifting consumer preferences, especially in the face of global uncertainties. The strategies to promote all such newer features and content must incorporate the insights from the chapters. The economic aspect of sports consumption has been covered in Chap. 13, wherein the authors focus on how speculative finance and consumerism play into each other, potentially affecting the future of the biggest sport in the world, football. Using the context of the English Premier League, the case for commodification has been created, a phenomenon that can be cut both ways. The authors point out the political economy created by the top six clubs in the English Premier League to build a monetary barrier for staving off future uncertainties, but only for themselves. Organizations, therefore, must learn to embrace innovation amidst waves of disruption and rapidly changing consumer habits, something that the recent pandemic taught us no less.