Commercial challenges of clubs in the English Football League Championship: the supporters’ view

Abstract

Research question: The research aims to focus on fan perceptions of the commercial challenges in relation to English Football League (EFL) Championship clubs and, to discover whether there are differences between fan perceptions based on their club experiences. Research methods: A total of 548 supporters of English Football League Championship clubs took part in the study answering a self-designed survey with twelve 5-point Likert scale questions during the 2020-2021 season. Results and Findings: Significant differences were found in eight of the twelve questions. In relation to commercial activity driving results and success within their clubs' participants accepted this notion but this in turn did not impact their experiences as a supporter. Further findings in relation to financial risk (“gambling”), player salaries and betting and gaming were also observed. Implications: 1) The study indicates a necessity for football club owners to engage with their key stakeholder group [the fans] to understand their desires for “their” football club, and 2) The current study presents evidence of fan perceptions of the business, financial, and sports performance management of football clubs outside the English Premier League.