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Cultural Factors of U.S. Sports Franchises

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What cultural factors must U.S. sports franchises overcome to increase popularity abroad?
Sports are very important part of the culture of the United States. When planning to expend a U.S franchise overseas, you must think of the factors of local cultures. To successfully serve new customers, you must understand the cultural differences of their countries. Culture can include social structures, religion, manners and customs, values and attitudes, language, and personal communication” (Nickels, McHugh & McHugh, 2013).

In the past our American teams were comprised of primarily only American athletes or American trained athletes. But now as the U.S. sport franchises try and go global they are scouting and recruiting foreign athletes, which makes not only that team but also it might make that sport popular with that country of which these foreign players come from. Just like with any business wanting to go global they have to be willing to adapt to that countries customs and rules, for sports it might mean how they play the sport or the rules of the sport and the overall sportsmanship.

One of the potential problems of expanding into other countries is overcoming the cultural barriers. Just because something is popular in the United States does not necessarily mean that it will be popular in other countries. Every country has its own culture, and you may not be able to accurately predict what people in that culture will enjoy. Before getting involved in another country, it makes sense to do some market research so that you can minimize this risk. (What Cultural Factors Must U.S. Sports Franchises Overcome to Increase Popularity Abroad? Why?., March 15, 2014)
How can franchises ensure their products are appropriate for international markets? First they must adapt their product to appeal the local culture while maintaining the same consistency. With the

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