eSports Branding in a Globalized Era: A Multimethod Analysis of the FIFAe World Cup

Purpose: The research focuses on esports branding in the era of globalization, with a multimethod analysis of the FIFAe World Cup.Methodology: This research was conducted in two parts: quantitative and qualitative. The statistical population of this study was experts in the field of brand and esports. Twenty people from the research community were interviewed and selected as the statistical sample of the research. This research uses Fuzzy Delphi, the balanced scorecard, and the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchical Process.Finding: The qualitative section identified the most critical challenges in developing the FIFAe World Cup brand using the Fuzzy Delphi method, resulting in 17 concepts. In the quantitative part, the fuzzy analytic hierarchical process determined the priority of each challenge affecting brand development. The study found that Weakness in the management structure was the most critical challenge from the perspective of internal processes, neglect of research was the most significant challenge from the perspective of growth and learning, ignorance of new methods of monetization and sponsorship were the most critical challenges from the standpoint of financial aspects, and Weakness in service quality was the most vital challenge from the perspective of customers.Originality: The implications of this research suggest that using this model can help familiarize managers with priorities for addressing brand development challenges of the FIFAe World Cup and enable the integration of brand performance evaluation. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the challenges and strategies for developing the brand of the FIFAe World Cup and offers a structured approach for addressing these challenges.