Finland is one of the four hosting countries for the European Basketball Championship in 2017. It has been already 50 years since Finland last hosted the European Championship and therefore being a significant achievement for the Finnish basketball. The Local Organizing Committee of Finland for the EuroBasket 2017, which is responsible for hosting the event, is dependent on volunteers to pull of the event.
Understanding the motives and expectations of volunteers, enable sport event managers to meet their needs and manage them appropriately. The Finnish Basketball Association is also dependent on the appropriate volunteers coming back each time because of the subsequent events. By knowing how to meet the needs of volunteers, provide organizations with effective recruitment and selection, training, recognition, and retention strategies.
The aim of this study was to find out the motives and expectations of volunteers to participate in EuroBasket 2017. The other aim was to utilize these findings in order to create a proper volunteer management approach prior to the EuroBasket 2017. The study was conducted well in advance prior to the event in order to be able to better meet the needs of the volunteers.