Background

Football is the most popular sport in Sweden today, however the interest for women’s football is decreasing (Sponsor Insight, 2014, Appendix II). The development of women’s football in Sweden has been remarkable during the last decades. Although, the image and value of women’s football are still perceived to be rather low in today’s modern society if looking at the low attendance figures, low exploitation in the media and difficulties with acquiring sponsorship. Sponsoring is the biggest source of income for almost every women’s football club in Sweden in order for women’s football to develop there has been a shift in the way clubs acquire sponsorship from the commercial aspect to a more CSR related aspect.

Purpose

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a model on how to increase the commercial value and total sponsoring of women’s football.

Method

This thesis is based on a qualitative research approach. The secondary data was collected through academic, peer-reviewed articles and the primary data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The data was later on analyzed through a qualitative analysis.

Conclusion

Our study shows that CSR can be a contributing factor to increase the commercial value of women’s football. By using other values of women’s football than merely the commercial value, clubs can attract sponsors that want to brand themselves as contributors to society. The authors have developed a model for women’s football clubs on how to increase the commercial value and total sponsoring of women’s football in Sweden. Furthermore, the thesis contributes academically by providing empirical insights in the field of sport sponsorship and sponsorship relationship. The research expands the view on CSR in relation to sport sponsorship. The thesis also focuses on sponsorship within women’s football, which has not been extensively investigated in academia, hence, it contributes with a unique context.