Application of the Perceived Popularity of Sports to Support the Sustainable Management of Sports Organizations

The operations of sports organizations must be managed to create value in the long run. This explicit management will support their efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainability. The key concept measured in this study was the popularity of sports. This concept is a pivotal element in influencing the acquisition of financial contributions for sports organizations (from the state and sponsors) as well as in attracting new members. We conducted an online questionnaire in 2021 focusing on the concept of the perceived popularity of sports in Slovakia. The number of observations was 338, out of the total population of Slovak citizens over the age of 15. We also applied other methods, including content analysis, induction, deduction, comparison, and synthesis analyses. The analysis of the data led to the following findings: in this context, the two most popular sports were hockey and European football; the greatest propensity for fan self-identification was observed for European football, hockey, and basketball; men who indicated a preference for cycling were significantly larger fans of the sport than women; European football and motorsports were almost exclusively preferred by men; skiing, volleyball, and tennis were preferred by women; and basketball was preferred by the youngest respondents. This study aimed to propose recommendations for approaching sustainability, assuming that increasing popularity represents an opportunity to increase a sport organizations' membership base.