Japan Study Tests Citizen Workshops for Sports Event Improvements

Researchers from Juntendo University and collaborating institutions in Japan have developed and evaluated a participatory intervention called the SMILE program, designed to improve safety and enjoyment in professional sports events. Published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, the study applies principles from Participatory Action-Oriented Training (PAOT), a methodology originally developed by the International Labour Organization to improve workplace safety and productivity. The program engages citizens, students, and stakeholders in identifying existing good practices and proposing low-cost, immediately actionable improvements. By focusing on constructive dialogue and value co-creation, the intervention aims to address the challenge of balancing risk reduction with the entertainment value of live sports, where excessive safety measures can inadvertently diminish spectator immersion.

The SMILE program is structured around five thematic domains: Safe, Move, Info, Link, and Environment. These areas were selected based on observed good practices in professional sporting events and previous PAOT package domains. The Safe domain focuses on security and risk management, while Move addresses smooth spectator movement and flow. Info covers communication and information provision, Link emphasizes people-friendly facility maintenance and inclusive support for diverse stakeholders, and Environment targets environmental conservation. This multi-domain framework allows for a comprehensive assessment of event operations. The program’s design philosophy explicitly seeks to balance safety measures with the entertainment value of live sports, recognizing that improvements must not compromise the experiential value of the event.

The research team conducted a pilot implementation of the SMILE program across seven professional matches involving football, basketball, and rugby in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The participating clubs were JEF United Ichihara Chiba, CHIBA JETS, and Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay. A total of 294 participants attended the first day of fieldwork, where they collected photographs of good practices at the venues. On the second day, 243 participants joined workshops to share these observations and develop improvement proposals. The participants included a diverse group of citizens, university students, and high school students, with approximately 80% having no prior experience attending a home game of the specific club they selected. This demographic diversity was crucial for testing the program’s ability to engage a broad range of stakeholders in the co-creation of event improvements.

During the fieldwork phase, participants collected 2,951 photographs documenting good practices across the seven matches. These images were categorized into the five SMILE domains, with the majority falling under Move and Info. The researchers classified these photographs to determine whether the practices considered the enjoyment of the sports event. Examples of good practices that balanced safety and enjoyment included manners signs featuring football mascots and team-colored cable covers that minimized visual disruption. In the workshops, participants formed groups and generated 174 specific improvement proposals for the professional sports clubs. These proposals ranged from using QR codes for allergy information displays to installing sensory rooms for spectators sensitive to noise and crowding. The clubs provided positive feedback on the proposals, noting that the fresh perspectives from first-time spectators helped them recognize unconscious assumptions in their own operations.

The output evaluation of the program revealed high levels of participant satisfaction. Mean overall satisfaction scores on a five-point scale were 4.71 for non-student adults, 4.74 for university students, and 4.88 for junior and senior high school students. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences in satisfaction scores among these participant categories for any of the program components. This uniformity suggests that the SMILE program is well-received across different age groups and experience levels. The clubs also expressed appreciation for the insights gained from the program, with staff members noting that the process helped them understand how spectators perceive the stadium and service provisions. One club staff member highlighted that the program revealed areas that had not been sufficiently addressed in previous event planning, providing valuable direction for future operations.

The outcome evaluation examined pre-and post-program changes in participant engagement using a matched sample of 162 individuals. The study measured engagement across five domains: sports club connection, spectating sports, supporting sports, participating in sports, and participating in PAOT. Significant increases were observed in psychological connection with the sports club, with scores for pleasure, sign, and centrality all rising after the program. For spectating sports, participants showed increased awareness, interest, opinion formation, and understanding, although the increase in enjoyment was relatively small. Engagement in supporting sports and participating in PAOT also showed consistent improvements across all AEIOU dimensions. These findings suggest that participation in the SMILE program enhances the participants’ own engagement and understanding of sports management and human factors, although the study did not measure changes in event safety or enjoyment per se.

In the program refinement stage, the researchers developed a 30-item action checklist based on the inductive content analysis of the 2,951 collected photographs. This checklist serves as a practical toolkit for identifying good practices and developing feasible improvement proposals in various sporting contexts. The checklist items are illustrated with representative photographs to help users visualize the intended practices. The refined checklist was designed to be flexible, allowing users to adapt domains and items according to local field conditions. By providing a structured yet adaptable tool, the SMILE program facilitates the continuous identification and sharing of good practices, supporting the accumulation of small, low-cost improvements over time. This approach contrasts with traditional risk assessment methods that often focus on problem identification and can foster a blame-oriented atmosphere.

The study highlights the originality of applying the PAOT framework to sports events, a context where temporal and spatial discontinuity makes continuous improvement challenging. Unlike workplaces, sports events are discrete occurrences, making it difficult to apply the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle continuously. However, the SMILE program provides a mechanism for transferring good practices across different events and sports. The positive, dialogue-oriented approach of the program encourages constructive suggestions rather than abstract criticism, fostering a collaborative environment among stakeholders. This method aligns with the growing emphasis on value co-creation in sports management, where the emotional and symbolic value of spectating experiences is co-created by clubs, fans, and other stakeholders. The SMILE program operationalizes this concept through structured workshops and context-sensitive tools, enabling diverse stakeholders to contribute to event improvement.

Despite the promising results, the study acknowledges several limitations. The single-group pre-post design limits the ability to attribute observed changes solely to the SMILE program, as factors such as novelty effects, regression to the mean, or the general experience of attending a professional sporting event may have influenced the outcomes. Additionally, the participants were recruited through volunteer sampling in a specific region of Japan, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other populations and cultural contexts. The clustering of participants within specific games may also have affected the results. Future research should employ more rigorous designs, including control groups, and conduct studies across different sports, leagues, and regions to enhance external validity. Nevertheless, the current findings provide a foundation for the potential of participatory interventions in sports event management.

Subject of Research: Development and evaluation of the SMILE participatory intervention for sports event improvement

Article Title: Development of participatory intervention to improve safety and enjoyment in sports events based on Participatory Action-Oriented Training

Article References: Yamada, Y., Takeuchi, Y., Nakao, T., Kai, M., Tanaka, T., Guo, W., Watabe, S., Hosoi, S., Kogi, K., Yoshikawa, T., Yoshikawa, E., Toriizuka, T., Kubota, A., Suzuki, K., Yamanaka, K., Mizuno, M., Hibi, T., Aoki, K., Suzuki, D., & Waki, H. (2026). Development of participatory intervention to improve safety and enjoyment in sports events based on Participatory Action-Oriented Training. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 8, Article 1979235. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2026.1979235

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2026.1979235

Keywords: sports management, participatory action, event safety, human factors, spectator experience, ergonomics, community engagement, risk management, Development, participatory, intervention, improve