Sponsorship in cycling: Difficulties and motivations for practicing the sport
Keywords:
Cyclist, Sports marketing, Sports ManagementAbstract
Cycling is a sport that has been experiencing notable growth in demand and prominence, driven by intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, that is, by the search for pleasure and personal satisfaction or by external influences. However, it is important to highlight the challenges that athletes face when seeking sponsorship in cycling. Sports sponsorship, in turn, is a strategy that companies employ to connect with the public, offering financial support, to build a positive image. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the motivations and difficulties in practicing cycling and its relationship with sports sponsorship. To this end, the research adopted a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach. The sample was made up of 11 mountain bike (MTB) cyclists (10 amateurs and 1 professional) from Minas Gerais, 6 male and 5 female, practicing for at least 6 months. After approval by the Ethics Committee, semi-structured interviews were conducted based on a script composed of two sections: 1) Participants characterization 2) Sports sponsorship for cycling. The interviews were conducted in person or videoconference, using Google Meet, depending on the participant's preference. To analyze the interviews, content analysis was carried out (categorization technique). In the study, 14 categories were identified, distributed across two families. The first family “Motivation to Practice” relates to the factors that encourage athletes to practice cycling. This family comprises the following categories: “Encouragement from Neighbors”, “Health”, “Pandemic”, “Sponsorship Incentive”, “Comfort/Security” and “Support”. The second family “Difficulties in Practice” is related to the factors that can hinder the practice of the sport, as well as the role of sponsorship in overcoming them. The following categories make up this family: “Performance/Dedication”, “Visibility/Collection” “Financing/Sponsorship”, “Own funding”, “Football”, “Time to Practice”, “Sport Culture” and “Location”. It is concluded that cycling presents difficulties related to maintaining performance and remaining in the sport. Sponsorship and support can help to overcome these difficulties. Athletes report unpreparedness in working with the dissemination of results and sometimes do not see sponsors demanding results as fair. As a suggestion for future studies, we recommend an approach from the sponsors' point of view in this sport. This research can contribute in theoretical basis for developing other research in the area of sports management and sponsorship, by presenting a matrix of categories related to sponsorship in cycling. In practice, it can promote new formats of sponsorship contracts, avoiding excessive demands for results and also providing support to athletes in the area of communication.