'If there is no football, then we have nothing to discuss': a phenomenological study on football fandom and COVID-19 pandemic

Ekaterina Glebova (), Fateme Zare, Michel Desbordes () and Gabor Geczi
Additional contact information
Ekaterina Glebova: CIAMS - Complexité, Innovation, Activités Motrices et Sportives - UO - Université d'Orléans - Université Paris-Saclay
Fateme Zare: Hungarian University of Sports Science
Michel Desbordes: CIAMS - Complexité, Innovation, Activités Motrices et Sportives - UO - Université d'Orléans - Université Paris-Saclay
Gabor Geczi: Hungarian University of Sports Science

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: This paper aims to identify and describe changes in football fans' lives brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Meeting at the intersection of football fandom and COVID-19, the objective of this study was to understand and describe how and why football fans experienced the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of their sports' spectating habits. The findings are structured around seven overlapping areas at the intersection of football fandom and COVID-19: 1) emotions; 2) socialising; 3) demand for technologies; 4) temporality; 5) stadium attendance; 6) benefits; 7) stability and changeability. Findings indicated that the pandemic has negatively affected fans' social and emotional responses, which increase the demand for technologies such as: immersive technologies, performance advanced analytics with user friendly interfaces, and e-sports. The findings could be useful to sports management professionals and allow them to build strategies to deliver better fan experiences in extraordinary circumstances.

Keywords: COVID-19 impact; football fan; fan experience; COVID-19 pandemic; fans' habits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2023, 23 (5), pp.373-390. ⟨10.1504/ijsmm.2023.10057398⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04312205

DOI: 10.1504/ijsmm.2023.10057398

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().