Jos Verschueren

Jos Verschueren is an unpaid employee in the Department of Movement and Sport Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels. His research centers on professional football, soccer, and esports, with significant contributions to understanding globalization dynamics and business opportunities in the sport industry. He actively collaborates on international research initiatives focusing on emerging sports domains.

Verschueren's work bridges traditional sports like football with digital innovations, particularly esports. His research examines branding strategies, partnership models, and mental health implications within competitive gaming ecosystems. He investigates how globalization reshapes football governance while analyzing European market-specific opportunities in esports-business integration. This dual focus on physical and digital sports landscapes defines his contemporary scholarly contributions.

Publication trends reveal an evolution from football globalization studies (2018) to cutting-edge esports-business analyses (2021), with earlier work in social security policy (2006). His research increasingly emphasizes European market contexts, business model innovation, and psychosocial dimensions of competitive gaming, reflecting esports' rapid institutionalization within professional sports frameworks.

Awards:

• Proxima of Anne d’Ieteren fellowship from faculty LK (2020)

Research Projects:

• #ENHANCE: Erasmus+ Key Action 2 project on social dimensions of eSports (2024-2027)
• The Good Game project: Erasmus+ Key Action 2 initiative promoting mental health in esports (2024-2026)
• Frisse wind door het jeugdwielrennen: Fundamental research on youth cycling (2014-2015)

He has supervised two academic works and maintains active international collaborations through Erasmus+ consortia, demonstrating sustained engagement with evolving sports industry challenges.