Elevating self-esteem through sport team identification: a study about local and distant sport fans Yannis Lianopoulos and Nicholas D. Theodorakis School of Physical Education and Sport Science at Serres, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece Nikolaos Tsigilis and Antonis Gardikiotis Department of Journalism and Mass Media Communication, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, and Athanasios Koustelios Department of Business Administration, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece Abstract Purpose – The concept of sport team identification has been widely used as a theoretical framework in explaining sport fan behavior. However, limited attention has been devoted to the consequences of distant (i.e., foreign) team identification. The purpose of the current research was to examine the way in which fans (local and distant) can increase their levels of collective and personal self-esteem due to their team identification. Design/methodology/approach – Data were accumulated from three Greek websites (N 5 742). Among them, 623 subjects were grouped as local and 119 as distant football fans. A structural invariance analysis was followed. Findings – The results revealed how team identification, enduring team-related social connections, and basking in reflected glory are interrelated to affect collective and finally personal self-esteem. Moreover, no differences were found between local and distant fans regarding the paths from eam identification to collective self-esteem and from collective self-esteem to personal self-esteem. Originality/value – This is one of the first endeavors to examine the psychological consequences of distant team identification and to test the invariance across local and distant fans concerning the mechanisms that their personal self-esteem can be enhanced because their psychological connection to their favorite sport team. Keywords Local fans, Distant fans, Team identification, Self-esteem, Basking in reflected glory, Social connections Paper type Research paper Introduction Sport team identification indicates the degree of psychological connection between a fan and a team or player (Wann and Branscombe, 1993). In the earlier decades, a wide body of research has used the construct of sport team identification to explain several cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses of sport fans. Team identification has been found to be an antecedent of sport consumption decisions (Bodet and Bernache-Assolant, 2011), in-group bias (Dimmock et al., 2005), aggression (Wann et al., 1999), loyalty to a team despite its bad performances (Wann and Branscombe, 1990) and length of time as a fan (Mahony et al., 2002). One of the most important consequences of sport team identification and the focus of the present study concerns the psychological benefits that individuals enjoy because of their team attachment. A considerable number of studies have indicated that team identification positively affects various facets of psychological well-being (e.g., Branscombe and Wann, 1991; Wann and Craven, 2014; Wann et al., 2015b; Wann and Weaver, 2009). The most complete endeavor to understand the psychological outcomes resulting from team identification is that of Wann (2006c). He developed the Team Identification-Social Elevating self- esteem through sport team The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1464-6668.htm Received 23 October 2019 Revised 19 December 2019 Accepted 5 January 2020 International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship © Emerald Publishing Limited 1464-6668 DOI 10.1108/IJSMS-10-2019-0115