The commercialization of football as a communication crisis? An analysis of the dissatisfaction of German fans

Summary The paper assesses the perceived influence of commercialization on the relationship quality with clubs and the consumer behavior of German football fans. For a deep and broad understanding, this paper combines two different methodological approaches: The quantitative approach in study 1 (N = 821) focuses on fans’ views on different aspects of commercialization. When differentiating between fan groups, active fans generally display a very critical attitude, which can also be attributed to their relationship and communication with the clubs. Therefore, the qualitative study 2 (27 interviews with club and association representatives as well as fans) focuses on communication of dynamics related to commercialization between football’s major stakeholders. The findings show that both active fans and casual spectators express an understanding for general commercialization but feel that the limit of commercialization has been reached. The fans neither feel that their opinions are considered, nor do they feel sufficiently involved in communication processes on the issue.