ESMQ New Researcher Award (NRA) 2026
This award is a competition organised by European Sport Management Quarterly (ESMQ) and is sponsored by Routledge Journals. The New Researcher Award is for the best original theoretical or empirical advance and significant unpublished contribution in sport management. The research should be appropriate for presentation at the European Association for Sport Management (EASM) conference and for publication in ESMQ.
To be eligible for the Award, researchers must be near to completion of their PhD or have graduated less than three years prior to entering the competition. The author of the best paper will receive a prize of €500, donated by Routledge Journals. The New Researcher Award aims to stimulate dissemination of new ideas and innovative research in sport management by encouraging researchers at the start of their career.
In addition to the cash prize, the winner will receive a complimentary one-year membership to the European Association for Sport Management, which includes a free annual subscription to ESMQ. The winner will also be invited to submit their work to ESMQ, considering the comments and feedback of the reviewers on how the paper could be strengthened for publication. The normal ESMQ review process will then take place.
The two runners up will both receive a book prize, courtesy of Routledge Journals and a certificate to mark their achievement of being a shortlisted candidate. A New Researcher Award jury oversees the competition. which will be weighted as follows:
- 50% will be based on the Round 2 written paper;
- 30% will be based on the Round 3 oral presentation; and
- 20% will be based on a qualitative assessment of Rounds 2 and 3 by the jury.
Round 1:
All applicants submit a standard abstract (see Call for Papers section) AND a short paper (maximum 2,500 words; including tables, figures and captions, but excluding references) via the online EASM Conference 2026 Conftool.
Applicants should select the ESMQ New Researcher Award track to submit their conventional abstract and their short paper.
Three shortlisted candidates will be invited to participate in Rounds 2 and 3. Further details about Rounds 2 and 3 will be provided to the shortlisted candidates at the conclusion of Round 1.
All candidates not shortlisted for the subsequent rounds, will have their standard Abstract reviewed for consideration in other tracks of the EASM 2026 conference automatically. These candidates will also receive up to eight separate sets of feedback from the jury members.
Round 2:
The shortlisted candidates submit a Full Paper to the New Researcher Award 2026 Special Issue section of the ESMQ portal, adhering to the journal’s instructions for authors and selecting the ESMQ New Researcher Award Special Issue.
Round 3:
The shortlisted candidates are invited to present their papers as part of the EASM Conference in September 2026. The presentation should not be a response to the reviews, rather it should focus on the contribution of the work to the sport management literature.
Also, please consider the following information:
All applicants must provide a statement regarding the stage of their academic career, including where appropriate, the date of graduation for their doctoral degree in the“Remark/Message to the Programme Committee and Chairs” section of the ConfTool.
The research paper must not have been presented or published previously in any scholarly outlet.
If the paper is co-authored, a note as to the distribution of work among the authors must be provided by the submitting author.
Candidates are allowed to submit one NRA paper only.
The ESMQ New Researcher Award 2026 jury is chaired by Professor Simon Shibli (Loughborough University, s.shibli@lboro.ac.uk), who can be contacted for informal enquiries. Members of the 2026 NRA include the EASM President, the ESMQ Editor, and a host of distinguished academics.
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Dr Aila Ahonen | Jamk University of Applied Sciences |
| Professor Kathy Babiak | University of Michigan |
| Professor Paul Downward | Loughborough University |
| Professor Vassil Girginov | Brunel University London |
| Dr Daniel Lock | Bournemouth University |
| Professor Tim Pawlowski | University of Tübingen |
| Dr Efi Tsitskari | Democritus University of Thrace |
Further details about the ESMQ New Researcher Award and previous winners are available via the EASM website and the ESMQ section of the Taylor and Francis website.
The information provided on this page supersedes any previous guidance in the public domain concerning the ESMQ New Researcher Award 2026
EASM Best Conference Paper Award
EASM Conference Track Chairs will select the best abstract in their respective track based on the review results and their own evaluation.
The Scientific Committee will then invite the authors of those selected abstracts to submit a Short Paper to be considered for the EASM Best Conference Paper Award. The Short Paper (maximum 2,500 words; including tables/figures and captions but excluding references) must be sent to the Head of the Scientific Committee Kostas Alexandris (kalexand@phed.auth.gr) until 15th July 2026. A maximum of four papers will be shortlisted and invited to present in a specific track in the conference.
In the final round, the Award Committee (Scientific Committee and EASM Vice President) decides on the winner based on the short paper and the presentation at the conference.
The submission should be based on new research that has not been published as a journal article.
