VIRTUAL REALITY AS A STRATEGIC SPORT MARKETING TOOL IN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL: EVIDENCE FROM EUROPE AND GREECE

Panagiota Tsekeri, Panagiotis Alexopoulos, John Douvis, George Kipreos, Emmanouil Choustoulakis

Abstract


This research article examines the strategic use of virtual reality (VR) as a sport marketing tool in professional football, with particular attention to the European and Greek contexts. The study investigates whether immersive VR applications can strengthen fan engagement, emotional attachment, perceived commercial value, sponsorship appeal and organizational marketing effectiveness. A mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative evidence was collected through a structured questionnaire administered to a sport-related sample of 166 respondents, while qualitative evidence was gathered through semi-structured interviews with sport organization executives and marketing decision makers. The quantitative analysis used descriptive statistics, one-sample t-tests against the neutral point of five-point Likert scales, Pearson correlations and linear regression models. Interview data were examined thematically. The findings show that VR is perceived as a powerful mechanism for enhancing fans' emotional connection with football clubs, increasing participation in live and digital events, improving social-media engagement and creating new commercial assets for sponsors and clubs. The results further indicate that European football organizations are perceived as more advanced than Greek organizations in adopting and strategically integrating VR. Cost, lack of specialized personnel, technological infrastructure and organizational readiness remain the most important barriers in the Greek market. The article contributes to sport marketing research by positioning VR not merely as an entertainment technology but as a strategic, experiential and commercial platform for value creation in football. It also provides practical recommendations for phased implementation, sponsor integration, fan-centered content design and evaluation of VR campaigns in markets with different levels of digital maturity.

 

JEL: M31, L83, O33, M15, Z20


Keywords


virtual reality, sport marketing, football, fan engagement, technology adoption

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejmms.v11i2.2215

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