Background Football is the most popular sport in Sweden today, however the interest for women’s football is decreasing (Sponsor Insight, 2014, Appendix II). The development of women’s football in Sweden has been remarkable during the last decades. Although, the image and value of women’s football are still perceived to be rather low in today’s modern society if looking at the low attendance figures, low exploitation in the media and difficulties with acquiring sponsorship. Sponsoring is the biggest source of income for almost every women’s football club in Sweden in order for women’s football to develop there has been a shift in the way clubs acquire sponsorship from the commercial aspect to a more CSR related aspect. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to develop a model on how to increase the commercial value and total sponsoring of women’s football. Method This thesis is based on a qualitative research approach. The secondary data was collected through academic, peer-reviewed articles and the primary data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The data was later on analyzed through a qualitative analysis. Conclusion Our study shows that CSR can be a contributing factor to increase the commercial value of women’s football. By using other values of women’s football than merely the commercial value, clubs can attract sponsors that want to brand themselves as contributors to society. The authors have developed a model for women’s football clubs on how to increase the commercial value and total sponsoring of women’s football in Sweden. Furthermore, the thesis contributes academically by providing empirical insights in the field of sport sponsorship and sponsorship relationship. The research expands the view on CSR in relation to sport sponsorship. The thesis also focuses on sponsorship within women’s football, which has not been extensively investigated in academia, hence, it contributes with a unique context.

Det finns stora skillnader i hur ekonomiska resurser fördelas i dam- och herridrotten, trots att fördelningen mellan antalet utövare är mer jämnt fördelad mellan män och kvinnor. Sponsring är en stor och betydande del av de ekonomiska resurserna för idrottsverksamheter, likväl går de största sponsringsinsatserna till herridrotten. Det anses dock finnas en kunskapslucka i vilka marknadsfördelar som kan finnas i sponsring av damidrott. Studiens syfte är därför att ta reda på vilka motiv som kan ligga till grund för att företag väljer att sponsra eller att inte sponsra damidrott, vilka marknadsfördelar det kan leda till att sponsra damidrott samt identifiera potentiella utvecklingsområden för sponsring av damidrott. Forskningsdesignen på denna studie är en kvalitativ metod i form av expertintervjuer som utgick från en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Det framkom att samhällsnytta och exponering är de vanligaste motiven till sponsring av dam- och herridrott. Då det nuförtiden finns ett större krav på företag att ta ett socialt ansvar anses det vara en fördel till damidrotten. På grund av den höga konkurrensen som finns inom herridrotten har det blivit svårare för sponsorer att urskilja sig från andra konkurrenter i det mediebrus som uppstår. Det anses därför vara en fördel för damidrotten i och med en ökad möjlighet för företag att differentiera sig från övriga konkurrenter. Avslutningsvis kom vi fram till att det finns en stor okunskap generellt om sponsring och om sponsring av damidrott. Både hos företag men också hos rättighetsinnehavare, vilket identifieras som ett utvecklingsområde. / There are substantial differences in how financial resources are distributed in the women’s and men’s sport, even though the number of athletes is more equally distributed between men and women. Sponsorship is a large and significant part of how these investments are distributed as the largest sponsorship efforts go to men’s sport. However, we see a knowledge gap in how market benefits can be used in sponsoring women's sports. The purpose of this study is to find out which motives companies have to sponsor or to not sponsor women's sports, discover what market advantages sponsoring women’s sport can lead to, and identify potential development areas for sponsoring women's sports. This is a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with experts. The results of this study reveal that CSR and exposure are the most common motives for sponsoring women's and men’s sports. Since there is now a greater pressure on a company to adopt social responsibility, it is considered to be an advantage to women's sports. Due to the high level of competition that exists in men’s sport, it is more difficult for sponsors to differentiate themselves in the marketing clutter. Sponsoring of women’s sport is then considered to be an advantage. Lastly, the findings of this study show that there is a great deal of ignorance in general about sponsorship and the sponsorship of women's sports, both in companies and also in rightsholders, which can be seen as an area of improvement.

Bakgrund: All professionell idrott är mer eller mindre beroende av sponsorer för att kunna bedriva en bra verksamhet. Problematiken ligger i att herridrotten får en betydligt större del av den totala sponsringssumman. Sponsring inom damidrott är ett relativt outforskat område. Leksands IF är en välkänd förening i Sverige som har ett damlag i den högsta divisionen SDHL. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att förstå och beskriva vilka faktorer som är avgörande för företag i valet av sponsring av LIF-Dam i ishockey. Teori: Vi har använt oss av teorier som är relevanta för att beskriva och förstå varför företag sponsrar LIF-Dam. Metod: En kvalitativ metod valdes för uppsatsen där intervjuer genomfördes för att få en djupare förståelse om vilka faktorer som är avgörande för sponsring av LIF-Dam. Slutsats: Det finns flera faktorer som spelar in i beslutet att sponsra LIF-Dam. Två faktorer framstår som prominenta: värderingar och samhällsansvar. Det finns fortfarande väldigt mycket kvar att forska om inom detta område. / Background: All professional sports are dependent of sponsorship to run a good operation. One main issue is that men’s sports receive far more of the funds than women’s sports. Sponsorship in women’s sports remain an unexploited area. Leksands IF is a well-known club in Sweden and their women’s team plays in the SDHL. Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to understand and describe factors that are key when a company decides to sponsor LIF-Dam. Theory: We have used theories that are relevant to understand and describe why companies choose to sponsor LIF-Dam. Method: A qualitative method was used in this essay and interviews were made to better understand the different factors that are prominent when deciding to sponsor LIF-Dam. Findings: Several factors were identified of why companies sponsor LIF-Dam. However, two of the factors are prominent: core values and social responsibilities. This area of sponsorship remains unexplored.

Sponsorship is an essential part of marketing communications within sports (Biscaia et al., 2014). Congruence, or the degree to which a sponsor and an event mesh, is one of the main factors influencing sponsorship memory accuracy (Evans, 2019). It is found that, within women’s sports, demand for research on how to maximize the efficiency of sponsorships exists.The research aims to find if sponsors and sponsees could look towards sponsorships with more external congruence to increase the value of the sponsorship to both the sponsor and sponsee. The study uses a survey to find correlations between the amount of external congruence and the degree to which sponsorship objectives are reached. The External Sponsorship Congruence Scale (ESCS), developed by Evans (2019), is used as a basis for measurement of external congruence. The key finding is that the perceived quality of a brand seems to correlate with having a sponsorship that is high in external congruence. Furthermore, both areas of brand awareness and brand image could possibly see some correlation to external congruence. However, those areas were not found to be statistically significant in this study. These findings are important to develop the concept of external congruence and find possible ways of measuring external congruence. For instance, it is found that the ESCS and its constructs seem to be useable in the field of women’s and niche sports. On a theoretical level, changes to the ESCS’s geographical congruence are proposed and a revised ESCS is presented. Moreover, managers within women’s and niche sports, as well as sponsors of those, can use the findings of this study to improve the chances of finding successful sponsorships.

Cette thèse lève en partie le voile sur l’histoire des sports féminins au Québec de 1919 à 1961, soit de l’âge d’or des sports féminins au Canada jusqu’à l’adoption de la Loi sur la condition physique et le sport amateur par le gouvernement fédéral. Elle montre comment les rapports de genre ont été re/produits dans les sports féminins en étudiant les discours et les pratiques, tout en portant une attention particulière à l’influence qu’exercent l’appartenance de classe, l’ethnicité et la religion sur les sports féminins. L’analyse se penche d’abord sur les discours des médecins, des professeurs d’éducation physique et des clercs de l’Église catholique pour étudier les prescriptions qu’ils ont formulées à l’égard de la participation sportive des femmes. Les idées de deux Montréalaises, Myrtle Cook et Cécile Grenier, sont ensuite examinées pour montrer comment elles contestent les discours dominants. Enfin, les pratiques sportives des femmes dans deux centres sportifs montréalais, soit la Palestre nationale et le Young Women’s Christian Association, ont été étudiées de manière détaillée afin de mettre en lumière les différences, mais aussi certaines similitudes, entre l’organisation des sports féminins dans les communautés francophones et anglophones de la ville. Cette thèse met en évidence les tensions qui découlent des rapports de genre, de classe, d’ethnicité et de l’appartenance religieuse, et qui sont présentes à la fois dans les discours et les pratiques. Comme ailleurs en Amérique du Nord et même ailleurs en Occident, les discours dominants au Québec ne sont pas univoques, alors que des vues divergentes les contestent et que les pratiques sont plurielles. Tout en s’inscrivant dans le mouvement plus large d’accès des femmes aux sports en Occident, les discours et les pratiques observables à Montréal s’en distinguent, notamment par la forte influence de l’Église catholique et par les tensions ethniques. Le Québec est donc un cas d’espèce tout indiqué pour mettre en lumière la complexité de la re/production des rapports de genre à travers l’analyse des sports féminins, l’étude de ce champ constituant en même temps une avenue de recherche fort stimulante pour mieux saisir l’entrée de la province dans la modernité. / This dissertation analyses women’s sports in Quebec from 1919 to 1961 from the golden age of women’s sport in Canada to the adoption of the Fitness and Amateur Sport Act by the federal government. It shows how gender relations have been re/produced in women’s sport by studying discourses and practices, while also considering the influence of class, ethnicity, and religion on women’s sport. The analysis studies first the way doctors, physical education teachers, and the Catholic Church conceived women’s participation in sport. The ideas of two active participants in women’s sport organization in Montreal, namely Myrtle Cook and Cécile Grenier, are then analyzed in order to see how they contested dominant discourses. Finally, women’s sports played at the Palestre and Young Women’s Christian Association, two sport centers of Montreal, are detailed in order to show the differences, but also some similarities, in sport organization in the Francophone and Anglophone communities. This dissertation highlights the tensions ensuing from gender, class, ethnicity, and religion, all of which were present in discourses and practices. As elsewhere in North America, and even in Occident, dominant discourses on women’s sport in Quebec were not homogeneous, as different points of view contested them, and practices were numerous and varied. While taking part in the larger movement of women’s access to sport in Occident, discourses and practice in Montreal had also their own particularities because of the Catholic Church influence and the ethnic tensions. The province of Quebec is thus an interesting case study to highlight the complexity of re/production of gender relations in women’s sport. Moreover, women’s sport is a greatly stimulating research avenue to better grasp the entry of the province in modernity.

Cette thèse lève en partie le voile sur l’histoire des sports féminins au Québec de 1919 à 1961, soit de l’âge d’or des sports féminins au Canada jusqu’à l’adoption de la Loi sur la condition physique et le sport amateur par le gouvernement fédéral. Elle montre comment les rapports de genre ont été re/produits dans les sports féminins en étudiant les discours et les pratiques, tout en portant une attention particulière à l’influence qu’exercent l’appartenance de classe, l’ethnicité et la religion sur les sports féminins. L’analyse se penche d’abord sur les discours des médecins, des professeurs d’éducation physique et des clercs de l’Église catholique pour étudier les prescriptions qu’ils ont formulées à l’égard de la participation sportive des femmes. Les idées de deux Montréalaises, Myrtle Cook et Cécile Grenier, sont ensuite examinées pour montrer comment elles contestent les discours dominants. Enfin, les pratiques sportives des femmes dans deux centres sportifs montréalais, soit la Palestre nationale et le Young Women’s Christian Association, ont été étudiées de manière détaillée afin de mettre en lumière les différences, mais aussi certaines similitudes, entre l’organisation des sports féminins dans les communautés francophones et anglophones de la ville. Cette thèse met en évidence les tensions qui découlent des rapports de genre, de classe, d’ethnicité et de l’appartenance religieuse, et qui sont présentes à la fois dans les discours et les pratiques. Comme ailleurs en Amérique du Nord et même ailleurs en Occident, les discours dominants au Québec ne sont pas univoques, alors que des vues divergentes les contestent et que les pratiques sont plurielles. Tout en s’inscrivant dans le mouvement plus large d’accès des femmes aux sports en Occident, les discours et les pratiques observables à Montréal s’en distinguent, notamment par la forte influence de l’Église catholique et par les tensions ethniques. Le Québec est donc un cas d’espèce tout indiqué pour mettre en lumière la complexité de la re/production des rapports de genre à travers l’analyse des sports féminins, l’étude de ce champ constituant en même temps une avenue de recherche fort stimulante pour mieux saisir l’entrée de la province dans la modernité. / This dissertation analyses women’s sports in Quebec from 1919 to 1961 from the golden age of women’s sport in Canada to the adoption of the Fitness and Amateur Sport Act by the federal government. It shows how gender relations have been re/produced in women’s sport by studying discourses and practices, while also considering the influence of class, ethnicity, and religion on women’s sport. The analysis studies first the way doctors, physical education teachers, and the Catholic Church conceived women’s participation in sport. The ideas of two active participants in women’s sport organization in Montreal, namely Myrtle Cook and Cécile Grenier, are then analyzed in order to see how they contested dominant discourses. Finally, women’s sports played at the Palestre and Young Women’s Christian Association, two sport centers of Montreal, are detailed in order to show the differences, but also some similarities, in sport organization in the Francophone and Anglophone communities. This dissertation highlights the tensions ensuing from gender, class, ethnicity, and religion, all of which were present in discourses and practices. As elsewhere in North America, and even in Occident, dominant discourses on women’s sport in Quebec were not homogeneous, as different points of view contested them, and practices were numerous and varied. While taking part in the larger movement of women’s access to sport in Occident, discourses and practice in Montreal had also their own particularities because of the Catholic Church influence and the ethnic tensions. The province of Quebec is thus an interesting case study to highlight the complexity of re/production of gender relations in women’s sport. Moreover, women’s sport is a greatly stimulating research avenue to better grasp the entry of the province in modernity.