Cross-Cultural Lessons & Implications for Marketing Soccer in the USA

The purpose of this study is to build upon prior work about consumer motivations of sports fans. Using developed and validated scales, this paper explores different factors to gain a better understanding of soccer consumption in multiple countries. The most popular sport in Europe, inarguably, is soccer. However, in the United States, soccer is considered to be a niche sport. This study uses consumer motivation theory and sport interest inventory perspective to provide the explanation for the tepid interest in professional soccer in the USA. Furthermore, we explore these factors through a cross-national sample to gain insights. The current study identifies 10 of the 18 variables from the Sport Interest Inventory Scale (SII) that address our research questions. These are measurable variables that compare a cross-cultural sample, and explain how consumers embrace the sport of soccer. Data for this descriptive study was collected in the United States (n=237) and in Europe (n=270). Our findings indicate that there are significant differences in how consumers of different cultures consume soccer. The findings will be of interest to international marketers engaged in sport marketing.