Sponsorship in Sport
Sponsorship in sport is usually in the form of financial assistance offered by a commercial organization to a person or a team in return for publicity.
Most people admit that sponsorship in sport is necessary. For one thing, sport has become increasingly expensive to manage, and players need money to be able to participate at a high level. For another, watching sport has become a major form of social entertainment, so sponsorship of sporting events helps companies to promote their products. 1[■] The only negative aspects for a sponsor are if an athlete should play badly or misbehave, but generally sport creates a good image (形象) for a company by conveying health and fitness.
2[■] The organizers of the Olympic Games have been criticized for accepting sponsorship from fast food companies. People question why the organizers take money from such companies. Public health experts believe if we really want to promote health alongside excellence in sport, then it must be linked by approvals for products which support good health. 3[■]
Nowadays sponsorship is no longer limited to major events and professionals. Local teams and young players are also sponsored. There is a trend also for amateurs to rely on sponsorship for equipment, clothing, and to cover their expenses of training and competing even though they are not full-time sportspeople. So sponsorship enables major world events to become more impressive. 4[■] Besides, sponsorship enables us to view our favorite sporting event on television, even though it is taking place on the other side of the world.
However, such commercialization sometimes means compromise, and in fact, for some less popular sports it may be a negative factor, and it may even result in the end of that sporting code. Sports which are seen as less popular and therefore less commercially successful can no longer attract sponsors. 5[■] The uneven distribution of sponsorship could lead to the end of some less popular sports, and could reduce our freedom of sporting choice.