ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the evolution of (sport) marketing theory and practice and shows how the role of stakeholders from a sport marketing perspective has changed throughout this evolution. Interaction with stakeholders has always been essential for sport marketing, because various actors, including sporting competitors, must collaborate to create an outcome. Recent theory explains the role of sport marketing as helping customers to co-create value by facilitating their interactions with resource-providing stakeholders. Applying this perspective, the chapter illustrates how sport marketers can utilise sport engagement platforms to provide the touchpoints for actor collaboration. Using the examples of a sports federation and sport sponsorships, the chapter shows that the sport engagement platform serves both the achievement of marketing goals of the provider engaging in marketing of sport and other actors seeking to use the platform for marketing through sport. Therefore, the interests of all actors must be balanced.
