Integrated women's football teams can attract larger stadium crowds
A summary of the article:
The article "Integrated Women's Football Teams Can Attract Larger Stadium Crowds" examines the impact of integrating women's football teams with men's clubs on stadium attendance in Germany, France, and Sweden. Using data from 1,506 matches over 11 seasons, the study explores whether integrated clubs—where both men's and women's teams share a brand—can generate higher fan attendance. The results show that while integrated women’s teams can attract larger crowds, this is not solely due to brand spillover effects. Instead, club managers must actively create synergies, such as hosting special events or relocating games to larger men's stadiums, to draw fans. The study emphasizes that integrating clubs does not automatically result in increased attendance, and poorly executed integration may even have negative effects on crowd size.
The findings suggest that integrating women's teams can be beneficial, but only if efforts are made to treat the women's team as more than just a secondary arm of the club. The study highlights the need for proactive management and promotional strategies to unlock the full potential of integration, warning that forced integration policies could backfire if not implemented carefully.
Key Takeaways:
Active management is essential: Integrated clubs must go beyond brand association to actively promote and create events that encourage fan attendance.
Relocation to men's stadiums boosts attendance: Special matches held in men's stadiums significantly increase crowd size, suggesting that these events should be strategically used.
Forced integration could have negative effects: Without proper planning, mandatory integration of women’s teams with men's clubs could lead to lower attendance, particularly if the women's team is overshadowed by the men's brand.
Authors: Julian Hadwiger, Sascha L. Schmidt & Dominik Schreyer
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