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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of the Champions League teams using the entropy-integrated Multi Attribute Ideal-Real Comparative Analysis (MAIRCA) and super-slack-based data envelopment analysis for the 2012–2022 period.

This study consists of two sections. First, this study uses the entropy-integrated MAIRCA approach, which is a novel multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique developed by Gigović, to measure the performance of Champions League clubs. Second, this study proceeds with the super-slack-based DEA to evaluate the efficiency of the Champions League clubs.

As per the empirical results, Real Madrid is found to be the best-performing club over the past 10 years in terms of financial and sportive performance. Over the analyzed period, teams from the five Major Leagues of Europe perform better.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, performance measurement studies in football have focused on either DEA or MCDM. This study aims to present novelty for football literature by evaluating holistically both the sportive and financial dimensions. This paper also analyzes Champions League teams from the perspective of both MCDM and super-slack-based DEA methods.

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.

Today, in the sports arena, the status of a sports team brand is vital. The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain how a team can become an international global brand. Following a conceptual approach, it articulates a model for a team's brand internationalisation and proposes four strategies relevant to the sports arena - Brand Reputation; Brand Affinity; Brand Challenger; and Brand Conquistador. It illustrates this internationalisation process via three case studies: Football Club Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille.

The purpose of this is to analyse co‐branding as leverage for both teams and equipment manufacturers in their internationalization endeavours. In other words, how can teams and equipment manufacturers benefit from their association in order to expand internationally?

The study involves four football cases for the 2009‐2010 season: Paris Saint‐Germain and Nike, Olympique de Marseille and Adidas, Olympique Lyonnais and Umbro, and the French national football team and Adidas. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with managers involved with the four teams and their respective equipment manufacturers. The managers were marketing directors, VPs of marketing, sales managers or presidents of their respective organization. Sponsors, university professors and journalists who interact closely with the teams and equipment manufacturers were also interviewed.

It seems as if the team and its equipment manufacturer do not have a formal strategy to jointly benefit from their association. That would be very important for a successful collaboration and for joint internationalization. Currently, the actions appear a little too ad hoc and opportunistic, with some exceptions (i.e. PSG and Emirates Cup). In other words, the commitment does not really transpire yet in the co‐branding partnerships studied.

Other teams in other sports and other countries should be studied in the next stage of the research. All the more so since the paper focused on a convenience sample, comprised of only French teams. Furthermore, special attention should be paid to the differences between North America and Europe. Indeed, in North America, the league is very much involved and controlling in the international expansion of its teams to the point that the league dictates the internationalization of its teams, brands and merchandising offering; whereas in Europe, teams have much more freedom to expand abroad.

The global brand strategy, which refers to a new market and an existing co‐brand name, would be the most appropriate for sports teams and equipment manufacturers. This would be especially true when both the equipment maker and the sports team benefit from a strong brand equity, which they could carry into international markets and use to trigger a strong synergy abroad. The global brand strategy bears some resemblance with the “Brand Conquistador” strategy, where partnership, either between two teams or between a team and an equipment maker, is used in order to expand internationally.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to highlight the heterogeneity of the organizational aims within the professional football teams in Ligue 1. Second, to understand why some teams swing from a win orientation towards a soft budget constraint from year to year, and vice versa.

Financial data from annual reports for the period 2005/2015 was collected for the 35 Ligue 1 clubs. To define the degree of compliance with the intended strategy for those clubs, an efficiency analysis was conducted thanks to the data envelopment analysis method. This measure of performance was supplemented with the identification of productivity and demand shocks to identify whether clubs suffered from such shock or changed their strategy. It enables to precise the nature of the evolution in the utility function, with regards to the gap between expectation and actual performance.

The paper suggests that a team can switch from one orientation to another from year to year due to the uncertain nature of the sports industry. The club director’s utility function could also be maximized under inter temporal budget function in order to adjust the weight between win and profit according to the opportunities in the environment.

The paper sheds new light on the win/profit maximization. The theoretical model provides an assessment of the weight between win and profit in Ligue 1 and then identifies a new explanation for persistent losses in the sports industry.

The purpose of this study is to use design thinking principles to understand the failure of the ‘new’ European Super League, and also understand how it could be redesigned.

This case has been developed from secondary sources, including news reports, social media sites, annual reports and websites of the Union of European Football Associations and the European football clubs. This case was classroom-tested with post-graduate management students in a design thinking course in May 2021 at an Indian business school, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, in Mumbai, India.

In April 2021, a new football league – the European Super League, is announced as a breakaway rebel league, in direct competition with United European Footballers Association's Champions League. It is backed by the top 12 European clubs and officials in European football, besides the US investment bank, JP Morgan. The new league is touted as one intended to save football. It is, however, denounced by fans and shunned almost universally. The league, which has been planned for the past three and half years, faces collapse. Why did the European Super League fail? How could the founders design a new league?

This case could be used in an undergraduate or MBA classroom or an executive education programme in a design thinking course. It can also be used to teach marketing courses such as marketing strategy, new product development and consumer behaviour.

This paper analyses the marketing strategy, marketing mix and brand development of SF Paris rugby union club, which succeeded in attracting huge crowds (around 75,000 spectators) for several regular season games and in building strong brand equity. Parallels with American professional sports are drawn and differences from other European clubs highlighted. Finally, planning, consistency and in particular innovation are identified as key factors for success in implementation of the club's marketing strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the increasing commercialisation of professional football in France, and its implications for clubs’ governance and management.

A historical analysis using a narrative approach based on historical data from various sources, will allow for identifying the emergence of and shifts in institutional logics. Due to the role of the state in the subject in question, particular attention was paid to parliamentary documents.

Rather than replacing the former logic, a new commercial logic coexists alongside this, leading to institutional pluralism.

The paper outlines the governance implications of institutional pluralism of football clubs; thus opening up new perspectives for future research on clubs’ governance. It does not, however, provide a response to these implications and therefore further research is needed to analyse how clubs’ managers can shape organisational identity and make it more consistent.

Governance and management issues in football might be explained by the multiple logics clubs are facing. Football clubs’ managers thus need to take these logics into account when addressing their key stakeholders, and have to work on shaping a consistent organisational identity.

This article is original in that it analyses the commercialisation of football as a move towards a more complex institutional pluralism, rather than a change in the dominant logic. This perspective is valuable for managers because it helps them to identify the levers they should work on to better manage clubs’ stakeholders. It is also useful for academics in terms of opening up new ways to conceive clubs’ governance.