Sustainability in the football industry: An approach to the gap between theoretical formulation and practical application, through the results of the social fair play project

Abstract

This paper discusses the first experiences and results of a project titled Social Fair Play (SFP), whose objective is to install the principles of sustainability and social responsibility (SR) at the core of Spanish professional football. The project was implemented in clubs and foundations belonging to some of the categories of the Spanish National Professional Football League (LaLiga). Generally speaking, the football industry, despite its strong economic and social impact, has entered the debate on strategic management in SR late. This study's interest lies in determining whether these first results and evidences can contribute to the debate, reflected in the specialised literature, around the gap between the theoretical formulation and the practical application of SR and sustainability principles. A second source of interest is the question of whether, on the basis of this experience, a system of social performance measures can be developed for the whole industry which would enable us to compare results and ease their communication, along the lines of other economic sectors, taking as a model internationally recognised standards such as the GRI.