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The overall aim of this study is to improve our understanding of the strength of attraction factors of professional football club brands with foreign fans, and of the influence of demographics and individual characteristics on the influence of these factors in the context of sport spectatorship services.

This research was based on a quantitative study surveying 1,160 Chinese fans of English Premier League clubs and its results were produced through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. They identify the relative importance of 21 organisation– (e.g. star players, charismatic managers, team kits, partnerships and alliances, etc.), market and environment– (e.g. peer influence, TV coverage, etc.), and experience– (e.g. personal bonds, past attendance, etc.) induced service brand attraction points that were categorised into six main factors: star players, on-the-field performance, brand identity, marketing and merchandising, localism and experience.

Organisation-induced factors are the most important club brand attraction factors for Chinese fans. ANOVA analysis showed that demographic (i.e. gender, age, and education) and individual (i.e. brand identification and loyalty levels) characteristics influence the importance of attraction factors for fans. For instance, fans who had previously supported a different club brand rated the marketing and merchandising dimensions lower, localism higher, on-the-field performance lower and brand identity lower than those who had always supported the same club.

These results emphasise the importance of segmentation when considering consumer attraction to professional sport brands. They also provide specific practical knowledge that is useful when expanding into new foreign markets.

This research aims to examine the fundamental elements regarding Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) marketing strategy. Specifically, the objective of this analysis is the implementation of globalizing the club brand of PSG.

The author held three 2-h face-to-face meetings. Given that the main criterion in the choice of the respondent for a case study was the quality of the information that could be obtained during the interview, the professionals were selected because of their direct involvement in the PSG’s global marketing strategy. Data collection was conducted with the aid of several in-depth interviews with the Deputy General Manager (in charge of commercial activities), Frédéric Longuépée, the Corporate and Brand Communications Manager, Nicolas Serres and the Brand Diversification and Development Manager (in charge of eSports), Fabien Allègre.

It appears that since the acquisition of PSG by Qatar Sports Investments, the club has entered a new era and has set in motion a strategy to compete with the biggest sports brands in the world. The results of this research reveal that the globalization strategy of PSG is itself part of Qatar’s internationalization approach. The findings also suggest that the global marketing strategy of the club is based on three key steps. First was the reorganization of the club to create an omnisports brand with a new CEO at its head, which is highlighted here. The rebuilding of the brand followed, through the creation of new identity and logotype, the acquisition of brands-athletes and controlled communication. Finally, the development of the club which is based on the diversification of growth drivers.

Overall, these results contribute to the enrichment of sports clubs and global marketing research This research offers a unique perspective and insights on the marketing strategic globalization of a professional sports club linked with the internationalization of a country. Best practices become visible through this analysis, which might serve as guidelines in other contexts.

Sponsorship rarely occurs in a one sponsor-one sponsee dyad (single sponsorship), yet a large portion of sponsorship research takes this perspective. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model that reflects the complexity and rich diversity inherent in the field. The sponsorship network model considers the plurality of stakeholders to a sponsorship and their potential relationships to each other.

This conceptual paper develops a theoretical and conceptual framework to better identify the effect of sponsorship networks on consumer behavior.

Based on a review of the multiple sponsorships literature, the authors propose an innovative theoretical framework and a set of research propositions. The model considers simultaneously the potential relations between sponsors, sponsees and ambushers at the cognitive, affective and conative levels.

This research emphasizes the managerial implications for stakeholders involved in sponsorship and ambush marketing actions in order to maximize their investment. The model provides a comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of sponsorship networks and their ability to influence consumer behaviors. These effects are more complex than is currently recognized.

This study investigates the regulation and restriction of ambush marketing during the London 2012 Olympic Games, with analysis of actions taken via social networks and digital marketing related to the mega sports event. Results show that, where this issue was concerned, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) was the most restrictive OCOG in history. However, there are neither specific legal tools nor international agreements to prohibit ambush marketing and protect official sponsorships. This paper looks at the proliferation of ambush cases during the London 2012 Olympics and underlines the widespread growth of this practice, despite reinforcement of existing laws. Findings show that brands were very imaginative at the expense of official sponsors and that social networks can be powerful publicity channels.

The purpose of this paper is to provide better understanding of potential foreign customers or satellite fans' perceptions of professional‐football brands, as this constitutes a necessary step toward setting up an internationalisation strategy to create a global professional‐sport brand.

Twelve semi‐directed individual interviews with French satellite fans about how they perceive the English Big Four brands of Arsenal Football Club (FC), Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC and Manchester United are conducted.

The paper found the common and specific features of each club's brand equity and the typical fans' perceptions of the clubs, which constitute major dimensions upon which the clubs are differentiated in the customers' minds. It also identified such key antecedents to building strong professional‐sport brand equity in the French market as the fit between the image, the values or both of the foreign club and the local club a fan supports.

The main limitation is the size of the sample, even if the saturation‐semantic criterion is applied.

This paper emphasises the need for professional‐sport clubs not to underestimate the need for strategic‐marketing steps different from those used at home before implementing foreign marketing operations and constitutes a first step toward future research into the analysis of the perceptions of potential foreign customers or satellite fans in broader contexts.

Although many studies have dealt with the perception of local professional‐sport brands, this paper represents one of the first empirical studies of the perceptions of professional‐football brands in a foreign market.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the perceived brand equity of professional football clubs on foreign markets as these clubs firmly want to expand and reach a global brand status.

Fitting with an inductive approach, 12 semi‐structured interviews are conducted in order to analyse the perceptions of Chinese fans of four English Premier League clubs.

The results of this research highlight the fact that the strength of professional football brand equity on the Chinese market is strongly determined by the level of brand awareness and perceived quality but, due to the increasing competition on foreign markets, professional football clubs need to clearly define their strategic marketing in order to improve the two other dimensions of brand equity, which are brand image and loyalty, which represents crucial stake to distinguish themselves.

The results provide useful information for professional clubs in general which want to become global but also provide relevant ways to improve brand equity for the four clubs investigated. This paper is one of the first to analyse perceived brand equity of professional clubs in direct competition among foreign potential or current customers.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Identification of influential attraction points can help European soccer clubs to exploit soaring interest among football supporters in China. Such points can enable teams to differentiate themselves from rival brands and consider various demographic and individual factors in order to target different fan segments.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.