The relationship between sports fans identification and basketball team name sponsorship

Sports enjoy the affections of a solid and growing fan body since it grew beyond the status of a mere activity, into a domain of its own. Given the context in which the concept of sponsorship refers to the transfer of a brand's value, the sports industry with its substantial fan volumes is well positioned to make utmost use of sponsorship services. Indeed, the fans develop significant associations with the firm sponsoring the sports club, with which they have an emotional connection. The present study based on the said associations and identification process focuses on the cases of the basketball teams of Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray sports clubs. Discussing the connection between the fans of the team and sponsorship, the study aims to understand the image perception in the minds of the supporters of the team, as well as their willingness to buy into the brand, against the background of the identification with the club, on the basis of survey questions and graphs based thereon. The average figures found in the Sports Fans Identification Scale, Sports Fans Image Scale, and Willingness to Buy in Scale were discussed in the study, based on an analysis employing SPSS 22 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). The surveys developed in this context found, as attested by the graphs based on the responses by the fans of the three clubs, that the fans were satisfied with the sponsorship services of their clubs, that, yet, sponsorships in basketball teams was not sufficiently effective in terms of developing a positive image in the minds of the fans, and that the sponsorship activities did not have a direct influence on the purchasing preferences of the fans.