Assessing sports sponsorship effectiveness through fans loyalty engagement among Malaysian football league fans

The findings of this study show that fan loyalty has a strong and significant relationship with sports sponsorship engagement among Malaysian Football League fans (r=0.78, p < 0.001), indicating that loyal fans from deeper connections with sports sponsors based on their involvement, attachment and satisfaction. These results carry practical implications for sports sponsors and football club, suggesting the need for stronger activation strategies, better sponsor-event fit, and more consistent visibility to reduce risk and enhance investment returns. Theoretically, this study extends existing sports sponsorship and fan loyalty literature by highlighting how fans loyalty and sports sponsorship factors such as sponsor event-fit, favourability, and perceived ubiquity influence the dan responses within a Malaysian context. However, this study is limited to one league and uses a quantitative approach, which restricts generalisability and causal interpretation. Future research could include qualitative, cross sport comparisons, or longitudinal studies methods to deepen the understanding of fan and sports sponsorship engagement.