Women's 2011 Football World Cup: The impact of perceived images of women's soccer and the World Cup 2011 on interest in attending matches

The popularity of women's soccer has increased in Germany since the inauguration of the sport in 1970 by the German Football Association. The purpose of this study is to analyze the current image of women's soccer in general and the pre-event image of the World Cup 2011 in particular, as well as the key drivers and indicators that trigger interest in attending women's soccer matches. The study sample consists of sport-interested individuals who were questioned concerning their attitudes and actions related to the attendance at women's soccer matches at different leisure facilities and sport events in Germany in 2009 (n = 1284). Additive image indexes were created in order to evaluate the respective images of women's soccer and the Women's World Cup. Regression analyses were applied to test the key drivers for interest in attending matches. The results suggest that age is important in determining the perceived image of women's soccer and the Women's World Cup and gender influences the perception of the pre-event image of the Women's World Cup. Moreover, various image indicators influence future behavior which applies as well to age. No differences were found regarding an effect of gender on future behavior. Regarding women's soccer it can be said that the more interesting, exciting and cheerful it is perceived to be, the higher the interest in attending matches. These attributes can be used in marketing communications to foster game attendance. (C) 2011 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.