Abstract

     The aim of this study is to examine whether students of a sport management undergraduate course can gain knowledge in the management of a professional soccer club, by participating in a commercial serious game. Serious is considered the cyber game that its purpose exceeds entertainment. For this case study, the serious sport club management game was “Top Eleven”. The theoretical model that this study was based on, is Misfeldt’s “scenarios based learning” for the transformation of a serious game into an educational means. It includes dimensions that cover part of the sport management class content in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Physical Education and Sport Science. The transformation consisted of educational scenarios vested to the serious game, in order to add educational parameters to its basic elements with the purpose to relate further to the sport management class. The application showed that Top Eleven covers adequately Misfeldt’s model dimensions; therefore it can be used as an educational tool. Furthermore, an evaluation of the class gamification was conducted by the participating students (n = ۶۲). The data collected showed that the majority of the students (f = ۶۱, ۹۸٫۴%) agreed that the participation in the serious game was “helpful” to their sport management class education process. They further agreed that they gained “very” or “very much” knowledge related to the management of a professional soccer club (f = ۴۱, ۶۶٫۱%) and that 59.7% (f = ۳۷) of them would choose to work in a position of “sport club manager” as a result of the experience they gained by participating in the serious game.

Introduction

     Technology dominates modern times. Smart devices and internet are present in everyday life. Part of it is virtual reality, used to imitate the human activity in many areas, with a way increasingly like physical life. This allows using technology for fun, but also for gaining experiences that would not otherwise be possible, especially when it involves risk; economic, social, or physical. Therefore, such technology has also been entered the feld of education to better train learners (Baalsrud et al., 2013; Boskic & Hu, 2015). The main reason is that due to students’ inexperience, they cannot address work problems or make decisions that would jeopardize an organization’s relationship with its customers, investors, suppliers, or governmental agencies. Consequently, in education, especially in higher education, digital programs in form of simulators and/or serious games run as virtual work environments with complex conditions, very close to reality. As a result, learners can see, almost immediately, the efects of their work decisions as they apply the knowledge they have acquired during their professional education. Another reason for using serious games in higher education is the cost for obtaining the very expensive stimulators (Carvalho, 2017; Aldrich, 2009).

Conclusion

     The purpose and the original contribution of this study compared to current research already published is that it investigated the feasibility of converting a commercial, online, popular, and free to use serious sports club management game, into a simulator for providing the students with relevant awareness/knowledge using a game environment, The innovative approach to this was that we extended the original concept of the game by vesting educational assignments that students need to complete by using data and situations extracted from the game. It also provides lengthy sport management education scenarios, which ft to vest the serious game Top Eleven in order this popular, user-friendly, no cost game, applies as an auxiliary educational means, for an introductory class of sport management. On that, the students who participated in the study, admitted that they acquired knowledge on what it means to manage a soccer club and therefore based on their simulating job experience can now express their opinion on whether they would like to pursue this career path. It further presents one of the most attractive and no cost simulators, for teaching an introduction to sport management, which is missing from the current relevant bibliography.