ABSTRACT

Aim: The concepts of branding and sport marketing have begun to gain importance along with the current developments in sport industry. The fans have great importance on teams’ branding in the world, especially in our country. As the importance of fans increases on teams’ branding, the number of studies carried out on these subject increases, as well

Methodology: These research studies are especially carried out within the framework of the Fan-Based Brand Equity model. This study investigates the impact of the brand equity dimensions (brand awareness, brand associations and perceived quality) on fan loyalty in football teams. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to reveal the relationship between the factors affecting fan loyalty and to evaluate the fit of model. This research was administered to 502 volunteer fans of Atiker Konyaspor Club, one of the leading clubs of Turkey Sport Toto Super League, in the 2018-2019 season of Lefter Kuçukandonyadis in Turkey.

Results and Conclusion: As a result, it was observed that while two of the brand equity dimensions, brand associations and perceived quality, had positive effects on fan loyalty, the third dimension, brand awareness, had no effect on the model, concerning fan loyalty. Upgrading sports clubs’ attributes and giving importance to the brand association had statistically significant influence on fan loyalty.