Are Three Points Enough - A Study of Football Supporters' Perceptions of Club Ownership Structures and Types of Owners

Abstract: This essay aims to investigate different sorts of ownership structures that have risen in recent times to become more or less popular among the supporters, as they in several ways are an integral part of the sport played on the pitch. With innumerable supporters around the globe, they naturally want the owners to act in the best interest of their favorite club. The perceptions of different ownership structures and types of owners are important to collect and understand, as they have great implications for the overall reputation of the clubs and owners as well as the relationships with the supporters - something which concerns both management- and marketing aspects of operating football clubs. The implications of the results are presented based on the thesis' findings, which suggest that the member ownership structure is preferred by supporters to a higher degree than the private- and public ownership structure, and that the factors of Ideal ownership and Fandom are the most crucial factors in determining it. Furthermore, opinions on different types of owners were investigated in the form of presented scenarios, which showed that a scenario involving a member owned club was preferred ahead of the ones involving privately owned clubs.