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The purpose of this study is to explore the success factors of a rural grassroots sports event, the Village Super League (Rongjiang, southwest China). Data were collected from news reports of the sports event on the Internet. Thematic analysis was conducted to interpret the qualitative data. Eight key success factors were identified in this study. The primary factors include unique publicity, shared entertainment opportunities, empowerment of villagers, and rural volunteerism. The secondary factors include clear objectives, grassroots sports, community pride, and public and sports infrastructure. The implications are twofold: first, rural sports events combined with the exhibition of ethnic or local culture can be applied to other places; second, empowering and engaging residents in the event planning process and ensuring their extensive participation in delivering the event programs are critical for the success of a rural sports event.
Yan et al. (2024) studied this question.