US$62.8 billion is spent on sports sponsorship globally, and this is only increasing, but until recently, there hasn’t been much evidence that sponsorship is actually effective.
This is risky - without a business case for sponsorship, companies will likely limit or withdraw their support in the long run, which may threaten the very existence of sports.
Until recently, there have been little more than rules of thumb and anecdotal evidence about sponsorship. These showed that company executives and directors sponsor sports so they can get good good seats, for example.
According to TC Beirne School of Law Associate Professor Sarah Jane Kelly, the growing field of sports law requires a commercial understanding of the operation of sports, events and sponsorship as a key revenue driver.
Associate Professor Kelly currently teaches sports law. She has conducted research and consultancy in sport, governance and marketing with industry, government and the not-for-profit sector nationally and internationally.
Read Associate Professor Kelly's full article in The Conversation.
