A Study of Fan Loyalty among Spectators of Tractor Sazi Tabriz Football Club, Iran

Today, the implementation of loyalty programs is one the most common strategies developed by organizations in order to retain the customers. Loyalty plays a key role in retaining spectators and fans. This descriptive study aimed to investigate the level of loyalty among the spectators of Tractor Sazi Tabriz Football Club. The statistical population consisted of all Tractor Sazi Tabriz Football Club fans. A total of 384 fans, selected in the matches between Tractor Sazi Tabriz Football Club against Al-Nasr Dubai SC and Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C., were enrolled using simple, random sampling and Morgan table. Data were collected using the 19-item Mahony (2000) Loyalty Questionnaire. The questionnaire investigates the attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty. The one-sample t-test was employed to analyze the data. The results showed that the level of loyalty is optimal among the fans of Tractor Sazi Tabriz Football Club. The results also indicated that both attitudinal and behavioral loyalties are optimal. Retaining fans can be a huge capital for football sports clubs which is far more valuable and less costly. Therefore, football sports clubs are recommended to take essential measures to retain their fans and spectators.

Loyalty, Spectators, Tractor Sazi Tabriz Football Club