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Technical University of Munich

When image and reality diverge: Why authentic fan centricity matters in professional football

Lehrstuhl-News |

Many professional football clubs claim to put fans at the heart of everything they do – but do fans actually feel the same? A new study by Dr. Siemen Kampen-Schmidt, Prof. Dr. Jörg Königstorfer (TUM), Prof. Dr. Sebastian Uhrich (German Sport University Cologne), and Prof. Dr. Johannes Berendt (Hannover University of Applied Sciences), published in European Sport Management Quarterly, shows that a mismatch between a club’s self-portrayal and fans’ perceptions can damage management credibility and reduce fan engagement.
SC Freiburg fans

Background

Fan centricity has become more than a buzzword – it represents a club’s strategic commitment to building strong, reciprocal relationships with its supporters. Yet in practice, many clubs struggle to align their public communication with how fans actually experience them. The research team empirically investigated this "fan centricity gap" using data from both the German Bundesliga and the English Premier League.
 

Study and findings

Across two studies with more than 2,300 participants, the authors analyzed how the (mis)alignment between a club’s self-assessed fan centricity and fans’ actual perceptions affects two key outcomes: management credibility and fan engagement. The findings are clear:

  • When clubs overrate their own level of fan centricity compared to fans’ views, management credibility decreases, leading to lower fan engagement.
  • In contrast, clubs with realistic or even understated self-portrayals enjoy higher credibility and stronger engagement from their fans.
  • These effects were consistently observed across both the Bundesliga and Premier League contexts.
     

Implications for practice

The message for club executives is clear: credibility is earned through authenticity, not image campaigns. Fan centricity must be demonstrated through real opportunities for involvement, transparent communication, and a willingness to listen – not just claimed in marketing slogans.

Fan centricity is not a communications strategy – it is a strategic imperative. But it only works if fans recognize it as genuine.
 

About the study
 

Contact

Chair of Sport and Health Management

Prof. Dr. Jörg Königstorfer
Am Olympiacampus 11
80809 Munich

Phone +49.89.289.24559
Fax +49.89.289.24642

info.mgt@mh.tum.de

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