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The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), sport and the metaverse.

The authors overview the metaverse, sport applications and ways multilevel theory can help explain the influence of DEI.

Drawing from multilevel theory, the authors identify parallels between the sport metaverse and traditional sport as well as unique DEI opportunities in the sport metaverse.

The manuscript contributes to the nascent body of research regarding sport and the metaverse, with a specific focus on social issues and the importance of considering unique DEI opportunities.

This paper aims to provide an integrated legal and marketing perspective on the imminent trademark challenges and opportunities for sports organizations operating in the metaverse.

The approach is a legal commentary that explores the ways in which the current legal framework, especially in the context of trademarks, might need to transform to offer robust protection for sports brands in the virtual marketplaces emerging within the metaverse.

Our analysis reveals that the traditional legal frameworks for trademarks are often inadequate to address the unique challenges posted by the metaverse, such as the issue of virtual goods replication and the global accessibility of branded content. The findings indicate that sport organizations must adopt proactive strategies to monitor and enforce their trademark rights effectively within these expansive digital environments. Moreover, legislative bodies may need to consider reforms or new regulations specifically tailored to the complexities of trademark protection in the digital realm to prevent dilution and misuse of sport brands.

In light of legal and branding issues related to metaverse-based trademarks, this paper is dedicated to examining the legal principles and foundations necessary to enhance the protection of sports brands within the virtual marketplace of the metaverse.

The sudden COVID-19 epidemic in 2019 has frustrated China's overall economy, and the implementation and development of the National Fitness Program has encountered huge obstacles. At a new historical starting point, in order to realize the dream of becoming a powerful country in sports, it is necessary to transform the successful experience gained since the reform and opening up into regular understanding and systematic theories, so as to make a theoretical response to the new contradictions and challenges faced in development and give full play to the National Fitness has comprehensive values and multiple functions in improving people's health, promoting people's all-round development, promoting economic and social development and demonstrating the country's cultural soft power.

Taking the topic of national fitness as an example, this paper sets out from the three dimensions of knowledge input, knowledge output and knowledge production, using citation analysis, social network analysis, co-word analysis and cluster analysis, to measure the characteristics and knowledge structure of interdisciplinary knowledge exchange.

China's national fitness is still in the primary development stage, and the strong boost of the national top-level policy is the biggest driving force of its development, driven by the policy together with the settlement of many major events, constantly improving and enriching the wings. The main body of knowledge production on the topic of national fitness is mainly colleges and universities, with low participation of government and enterprises, high degree of cooperation among authors, obvious interdisciplinary characteristics and strong application of research themes.

This study provides a strong theoretical basis for the promotion of the Healthy China strategy. Especially under the influence of COVID-19, this paper can contribute to the comprehensive value and multimodal functions of national fitness in improving the health of people, promoting economic and social development and demonstrating the soft power of national culture.

This study investigated how sources of information across social media platforms influence fantasy users’ sport consumption and enhance their performance expectancy. Specifically, we examined the effects of social media-related motivation on fantasy users’ playing skills, sense of competition and performance expectancy based on the uses and gratifications theory.

Data were collected from 453 fantasy sport users on social media platforms. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis to assess a measurement model and used serial mediation techniques to examine the relationship between social media-related motivation and fantasy sport users’ performance expectancy.

Results showed that social media-related motivation had significant and positive impacts on fantasy users’ playing skills, sense of competition and performance expectancy. Additionally, we found that fantasy users’ playing skills increased their sense of competition and performance expectancy. A sense of competition was found to positively affect fantasy users’ performance expectancy.

This study provided a valuable contribution to the existing body of knowledge on social media by investigating the influence of social media-related motivation on fantasy sport users. The findings reveal that sharing content-based information on social media platforms plays a vital role in attracting and motivating individuals to engage in fantasy sports. The updated information enhances the playing skills of fantasy users, fosters a sense of competition and improves performance in virtual sport.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between food sponsorships and gender stereotypes, focusing on how patriarchal beliefs influence consumers’ purchase intentions in sports.

The research comprised two studies. In Study 1, n = 161 participants participated via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform. Study 2 involved n = 250 participants who completed a cross-sectional and self-administered survey.

Study 1 indicated an apparent gender-based categorization of certain foods and beverages: beer and red meat were predominantly perceived as masculine, while yogurt, salads, and wine were seen as feminine. Further, brands like Budweiser and Red Bull were mainly seen as masculine, while Chobani and Smoothie King were perceived as feminine. Moreover, findings indicate that foods, especially those rich in protein or linked to BBQ and spicy tastes, are considered more masculine by men than women in sports settings. Further, Study 2 findings unveiled a significant relationship between patriarchal beliefs and both attitudes (ß = 0.327, p < 0.01) and subjective norms (ß = 0.525, p < 0.01) towards masculine brands.

The two studies’ results underscore the profound impact of gender stereotypes shaping sports fans’ perceptions of food items and the brands sponsoring them. This inquiry significantly augments the current understanding of the nuanced interrelation between the paradigms of social role theory and the theory of planned behavior, particularly within the ambit of sports-related sponsorship by food and beverage brands and its consequent influence on consumer purchasing inclinations.

From the buying club’s perspective, the transfer of a player can be interpreted as an investment from which the club expects uncertain future benefits. This paper aims to develop a decision-oriented approach for the valuation of football players that could theoretically help clubs determine the subjective value of investing in a player to assess its potential economic advantage.

We build on a semi-investment-theoretical risk-value model and elaborate an approach that can be applied in imperfect markets under uncertainty. Furthermore, we illustrate the valuation process with a numerical example based on fictitious data. Due to this explicitly intended decision support, our approach differs fundamentally from a large part of the literature, which is empirically based and attempts to explain observable figures through various influencing factors.

We propose a semi-investment-theoretical valuation approach that is based on a two-step model, namely, a first valuation at the club level and a final calculation to determine the decision value for an individual player. In contrast to the previous literature, we do not rely on an econometric framework that attempts to explain observable past variables but rather present a general, forward-looking decision model that can support managers in their investment decisions.

This approach is the first to show managers how to make an economically rational investment decision by determining the maximum payable price. Nevertheless, there is no normative requirement for the decision-maker. The club will obviously have to supplement the calculus with nonfinancial objectives. Overall, our paper can constitute a first step toward decision-oriented player valuation and for theoretical comparison with practical investment decisions in football clubs, which obviously take into account other specific sports team decisions.

This study explores match related factors and their impact on the batting strike rate in Twenty20 cricket – an aspect which can generate excitement and fan engagement in cricket matches.

Data was collected from www.cricinfo.com using a web scraping tool based on R programming from February 17, 2005, to October 25, 2022, numbering 4,221 men’s Twenty20 international innings featuring 41 national teams that had taken place in 85 venues across 11 countries of play. Hypothesis testing was conducted using one-way ANOVA.

The findings indicate that batters score faster in the first inning of a match, and mean strike rates also vary significantly based on the country of play. Further, the study analyses the top performing national sides, venues and country of play in terms of mean batting strike rate, thus providing insights to cricket boards, international regulating bodies of cricket, sponsors, media companies and coaching staff for better decision-making based on batting strike rate.

The originality of the study lies in its focus on using non-marketing strategies to increase fan engagement. Further, this study is the first one to examine different venues from the perspective of batting strike rate in men’s Twenty20 international matches.

The study aims to provide a reference for market segmentation in a relatively new market. Esports consumer profiles are developed based on consumption motives, structural factors, game genres, interests, demographics and behavioral intentions. It delivers managerial advice for a growing esports market.

A quantitative approach using an online survey was implemented to identify homogenous groups. The study employed the Motivation Scale for Sports Consumption (MSSC) to investigate the consumption motives of esports consumers. A two-step market segmentation was conducted based on the motives, applying hierarchical clustering. Moreover, descriptor variables were used to create distinct esports consumer profiles.

This research divides the esports market into four clusters based on MSSC, which is new and relevant in a constantly changing environment. The clusters are named Low Intention Novices, Leisure Warriors, Socializing Learners and Dedicated Enthusiasts.

This adds to the limited literature on esports market segmentation and highlights the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.

Users are key stakeholders in event facilities, and therefore facilities management (FM) services must meet their needs and expectations. The paper aims to assess users’ perceptions of FM practices and sustainability in event facilities in higher education institutions.

The study used a descriptive design approach to explore the perceptions of end-users of event facilities. Using Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology as a case study, 384 users of the event facilities were contacted through the email directory of the event facilities. Questionnaires were used to collect data and analysed in descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v22.0).

The study categorised users’ perceptions into customer care, security and safety and service quality dimensions. The results revealed that constituent key important indices of these three dimensions were not significant at both the composite and individual levels. Thus, the users generally perceived FM practices in the event facilities to be below standard. None of the three sustainability constituents was significant, suggesting that users perceived event FM sustainability practices as below standard.

The study presents users’ perceptions of FM practices in event facilities. It has also suggested effective ways of managing event facilities to improve user comfort, safety and satisfaction.

The study provides relevant information on users’ perceptions of FM practices. It specifically has sustainable FM as a key component, which is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals.