Investigating the role of stakeholders in leveraging sustainability strategies in sports

Research question: Football is increasing its commitment toward environmental sustainability. However, the research on understanding the role of stakeholders in leveraging the adoption of green strategies in grassroots football seems to be in its infancy. Amidst this context, this study compares the perceptions of football fans, players, and staff regarding green strategies in European grassroots clubs. Research methods: This study tests four hypotheses through structural equation modeling based on a sample of 1457 respondents from Belgium, France, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. Results and findings: The results show that the environmental sensitiveness and knowledge of the stakeholders positively shape pressures on green practices adoption in grassroots clubs. However, environmental sensitiveness and environmental expectations from the football world are less strong in the case of grassroots football fans as compared to players and staff. The results also highlight that the environmental knowledge of football fans does not influence their environmental expectations while their environmental sensitiveness does so. These stakeholders’ pressures are effective in the adoption of resource efficiency as well as environmental management practices by grassroots clubs. Implications: From an academic perspective this study corroborates the findings of previous studies focused on sports or related to the relationship between stakeholders’ pressures and green strategies in other industrial sectors. Moreover, this study suggests that the football world may follow its path in building fans’ loyalty through the adoption of environmentally responsible practices supported by powerful environmental communication, and by fostering fans’ engagement in environmentally responsible behaviors.