Fundraising for a sport club in the changing world

Abstract

The importance of sports clubs for physical activity for both adults and children, along with community engagement, cannot be emphasized enough. However, many sports clubs rely on external funding and face the challenge of risking losing their main fund sources, like sponsorships and live audience, due to economic and geopolitical changes. Especially in recent years global events, such as Covid-19 and war in Ukraine, have affected overall economy which in turn affects the main funding sources and challenge sports clubs to adapt to changing world. This thesis aims to examine how these developments affect fundraising for sports clubs.

This thesis used a mix-method research approach. Quantitative data was collected through a survey sent to sports clubs of different sports with both professional and semi-professional backgrounds and different competition levels. Qualitative data was accumulated by conducting semi-structured interviews in partnership with representatives from sports clubs. The data collected was broken down to identify key themes and trends related to fundraising methods and challenges faced by sports clubs.

The findings suggest that sponsorships and match events are still the most important sources of funding for sports clubs. However, economic uncertainty and rising costs have affected fundraising and made it more challenging for sports clubs. Social media and digital marketing have risen as one of the key methods sports’ clubs aim to improve their visibility and attract new sponsors and audiences.

The results imply that sports clubs must constantly adapt their fundraising strategies to remain financially sustainable in constantly changing environment. Changing and verifying fundraising methods and putting more effort into digital marketing appears to be important element for the future development of sports clubs