Sports management and sponsorship; towards a new paradigm

Abstract

Academic literature on sports management has become more relevant over the last two decades as the economic importance of sports events and companies has increased. For some time now, sports managers have realised that the methodologies and techniques that were usually applied in other industries could not be extrapolated to their companies. The main reason for this was that the sports industry had particularities that made it difficult to apply the knowledge acquired in other areas. One of the areas of management that suffered the greatest development with the increase in the scope and popularity of sport was the area of marketing, especially advertising. Sponsorship is an advertising technique considered unconventional (below the line) that has had an extraordinary economic development in the last decade thanks to sport, since then sports sponsorship has meant a significant academic development. It is recognized that sponsorship can create brand awareness, enhance image, increase sales and even create a bond with the consumer.