Role of a professional football team in the development of a city branding: a literature review

Abstract

Football is one of the most popular sports in the world, it generates millions of dollars a year through its professional teams, in addition to creating jobs, social changes and also as generators of peace. Nowadays, the brand of places and more specific to cities has gained an extraordinary boost among city officials. Unlike mega sporting events like World Cups and the Olympics, professional football teams have sparingly applied practice and research to city branding or city branding strategies. The purpose of the research is to identify the relationship between professional football teams and the strategy to transform and promote the image of a city through a literature review. The results of the literature review allow us to visualize the theoretical status, evolution and role of professional football teams in the development of a city brand. The results of the literary review show that professional football clubs influence the brand of a city and several of its interest groups, such as tourists, investors and residents.