International Journal of Strategic Communication

Strategic Sports Communication

As a field with unprecedented social impact and numerous close ties to and dependencies on other domains such as the economy, politics, culture, education, media, and – ultimately – the general public, sports enormously rely on communication to ensure survival and sustained success. Consequently, strategic communication – defined as the “purposeful use of communication by an entity to engage in conversations of strategic significance to its goals” (Zerfass et al., 2018, p. 487) – plays a crucial role in the world of sports, shaping how teams, leagues, athletes, sponsors, and governing bodies engage with stakeholders, build brands, manage crises, and navigate the digital media landscape. The increasing commercialization of sports, growing social and political engagement of athletes, and the digital transformation of fan engagement and sponsorships present new challenges and opportunities for strategic sports communication. This special issue aims to explore the theoretical, empirical, and practical dimensions of strategic communication within the realm of sports.

Background:

Sports entities such as clubs, federations, athletes, but also organized fan scenes operate in a dynamic environment where communication is central to reputation management, stakeholder engagement, crisis response, commercial, and, subsequently, sporting success. As sports have become highly mediatized (Frandsen, 2019; Ličen et al., 2022) and globalized (Sage, 2015), the interplay between strategic communication and sports has gained heightened scholarly and industry interest (Pedersen, 2013). The rise of digital platforms (Sanderson, 2022), the disruption of legacy sports journalism (McEnnis, 2021), shifting expectations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Bachmann & Ingenhoff, 2017; Crane & Glozer, 2016), the impact of athlete activism (Harrison et al., 2024; O’Neill et al., 2025), and the increasing role of data analytics in audience engagement (Nelson & Webster, 2016) all highlight the growing importance of strategic sports communication. This is reflected by recent publications (e.g., Pedersen et al., 2025; Coombs & Harker, 2021) that offer valuable syntheses of the field, providing structured overviews of its multiple facets, clarifying key concepts, outlining theoretical foundations, and mapping professional contexts and areas of practice. While such handbooks represent indispensable reference points for scholars and practitioners alike, their primary focus is not on curating and presenting original empirical research in this domain. It is precisely this gap that the proposed special issue seeks to address.

While some research has addressed specific aspects of strategic sports communication – e.g., crisis communication in sports (e.g., Frederick & Pegoraro, 2023), social media engagement (e.g., Abeza, 2023; Kavanagh et al., 2023; Nölleke & Birkner, 2019), sponsorship strategies (e.g., Jacobs et al., 2025), and athlete branding (e.g., Doyle et al., 2022) – there is a need for more comprehensive and interdisciplinary scholarship that critically examines the evolving landscape of strategic communication in the sports domain. This special issue seeks to bridge that gap by inviting research that deepens our understanding of strategic sports communication in various contexts.

Themes and Topics:

We invite scholars to explore strategic sports communication from diverse perspectives, including but not limited to:

• Sports Crisis Communication: How do sports organizations, athletes, and governing bodies manage reputational crises, scandals, or organizational controversies? What role does strategic communication play in mitigating negative publicity?
• Branding and Reputation Management: How do sports organizations, leagues, and athletes develop and maintain strong brand identities? What strategies are effective in managing sports brands in an era of heightened fan expectations and social activism?
• Athlete Activism and Social Responsibility: How do athletes and teams strategically communicate their stances on political and social issues? What are the risks and opportunities of sports organizations engaging in activism?
• Digital and Social Media Strategies: How has the rise of digital platforms transformed strategic communication in sports? How do social media strategies shape fan engagement, sponsorship effectiveness, and crisis responses?
• Sponsorship and Corporate Partnerships: What role does strategic communication play in the success of sports sponsorships? How do organizations align their sponsorship strategies with brand values and audience expectations?
• Fan Engagement and Community Building: How do sports organizations use communication strategies to cultivate fan loyalty, enhance engagement, and build global communities?
• Media Relations and Sports Journalism: How do sports communicators manage relationships with legacy media and to what extent do sports entities employ their own media channels to shape public narratives?
• Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion in Sports Communication: How do strategic communication practices in sports address diversity, equity, and inclusion? How do gender dynamics shape communication in sports organizations and media?
• The Role of AI and Data Analytics: How are AI-driven insights and big data analytics influencing strategic decision-making in sports communication?
• Event and Crisis Communication for Mega Sports Events: How do organizers of major sporting events (e.g., Olympics, FIFA World Cup) manage strategic communication before, during, and after such global spectacles?

While work on responses to and effects of strategic communication is valuable, it should explicitly address the communicators’ perspective to be considered for publication in the special issue. In line with the general scope of the journal, “the relevance for communicators and for using communication to support organizational goals and objectives” should be elaborated.

Interdisciplinary and Methodological Approaches:

This special issue welcomes contributions from multiple disciplines, including communication studies, (sports) marketing, (sports) managerial communication, (sports) public relations, sociology, and sports policy. We encourage both qualitative and quantitative research, conceptual and theoretical papers, case studies, and comparative studies that contribute to the advancement of strategic sports communication scholarship.

 

 

Literature:

Abeza, G. (2023). Social Media and Sport Studies (2014–2023). A Critical Review. International Journal of Sport Communication, 16(3), 251-261

Bachmann, P., & Ingenhoff, D. (2017). How do media companies gain legitimacy? An experimental study on the (ir)relevance of CSR communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 11(1), 79-94.

Coombs, W. T., & Harker, J. L. (2021). Strategic sport communication: Traditional and transmedia strategies for a global sports market. Routledge.

Crane, A., & Glozer, S. (2016). Researching corporate social responsibility communication: Themes, opportunities and challenges. Journal of Management Studies, 53(7), 1223-1252.

Doyle, J. P., Su, Y., & Kunkel, T. (2022). Athlete branding via social media: Examining the factors influencing consumer engagement on Instagram. European Sport Management Quarterly, 22(4), 506-526.

Frandsen, K. (2019). Sport and mediatization. Routledge.

Frederick, E. L., & Pegoraro, A. (2023). Examining the intersection of sport, social media, and crisis communication. International Journal of Sport Communication, 16(3), 282-289.

Harrison, V. S., Overton, H., & Vafeiadis, M. (2024). Perceptions of athlete activism and contentious issues: Parasocial relationships, involvement, and athlete-cause fit as motivation for cause support. Journal of Public Relations Research, 36(6), 494-512.

Jacobs, K., De Jans, S., Evens, T., & Constandt, B. (2025). In the arena of debate: a systematic literature review on sports sponsorship by controversial industries. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 26(1), 204-225.

Kavanagh, E. J., Litchfield, C., & Osborne, J. (2023). Social media and athlete welfare. International Journal of Sport Communication, 16(3), 274-281.

Ličen, S., Frandsen, K., Horky, T., Onwumechili, C., & Wei, W. (2022). Rediscovering mediatization of sport. Communication & Sport, 10(5), 795-810.

McEnnis, S. (2021). Disrupting sports journalism. Routledge

Nelson, J. L., & Webster, J. G. (2016). Audience currencies in the age of big data. International journal on media management, 18(1), 9-24.

Nölleke, D., & Birkner, T. (2019). Bypassing traditional sports media? Why and how professional volleyball players use social networking sites. SCM Studies in Communication and Media, 8(3), 287-310.

O’Neill, F., Dickson, G., Ströbel, T., & Thompson, A. J. (2025). Elite athlete activism, advocacy, and protest: A scoping review. European Sport Management Quarterly, 25(1), 145-173.

Pedersen, P. M. (2013). Reflections on communication and sport: On strategic communication and management. Communication & Sport, 1(1-2), 55-67.

Pedersen, P. M., Laucella, P. C., Kian, E., & Geurin, A. N. (2025). Strategic sport communication. Human Kinetics Publishers.

Sage, G. H. (2015). Globalizing sport: How organizations, corporations, media, and politics are changing sport. Routledge.

Sanderson, J. (Ed.). (2022). Sport, social media, and digital technology: Sociological approaches. Emerald Publishing Limited.

Zerfass, A., Verčič, D., Nothhaft, H., & Werder, K. P. (2018). Strategic Communication: Defining the Field and its Contribution to Research and Practice. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 12(4), 487–505.