The economist who stripped professional sport of its monopoly: homage to Professor Stefan Kesenne (1950–2021)

On Monday, June 21, Professor Emeritus Stefan Kesenne passed away unexpectedly in the South of France. Kesenne was a full professor at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) where he taught labor economics, macroeconomics, econometrics and sport economics. Since 1993, he was also associated with the KU Leuven (Belgium), where he taught several generations of students at the Faculty of Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences about the economics of sport. Stefan Kesenne was 71 years old.

Born and raised in the heart of the Kempen (Belgian Limburg), Stefan Kesenne completed his secondary education in Latin and Greek at the Heilig Hart College in Heusden, where he was educated by the Franciscan Fathers. In 1968, a revolutionary year in Belgium, particularly for the KU Leuven, he started his studies in Applied Economics. Ten years later, he was promoted to Doctor of Economic Sciences at his Alma Mater in Leuven with his dissertation entitled: Time allocation and leisure activities: An econometric study under the supervision of Professor Anton Barten. This study became the foundation for his later research passion, namely, the study of economic aspects of a specific form of leisure: sport. In the meantime, Kesenne had been appointed as a research assistant at the then called ‘Universitaire Faculteiten Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen’ (UFSIA) since 1973, where he also started teaching as assistant professor in 1980. Since 1993 an appointment at the KU Leuven was added to his portfolio. Throughout his academic career, Stefan Kesenne would remain associated with both universities. In 2015, he became Professor Emeritus.

Stefan Kesenne can be considered the pioneer of sports economics research in Flanders, Belgium. As a newly graduated economist, he started working in the Study Department of Sporta, one of the largest Flemish multisport umbrella organizations. In the 1980s and 1990s, he conducted large-scale household studies on leisure sports expenditures, allowing empirical identification of the price elasticity of sports consumption for the very first time. At various forums, including several editions of the congress of the Flemish Institute for Sports Management & Recreation Policy (ISB), Kesenne argued for more decentralization and accountability of public sports (infrastructure) policy. Based on the results of his studies, ministers set out to shape the public subsidy policy on sports and sports facilities in Flanders. The household studies by Kesenne and colleagues were foundational for similar surveys decades later. His research on leisure sports expenditure is being continued at KU Leuven by the Policy in Sports and Physical Activity Research Group, of which Stefan Kesenne was a member for a quarter of a century.

Kesenne’s research interest gradually shifted from sports participation toward spectator sports. After all, as a labor economist, he was well positioned to also study professional sports. He became particularly interested in the regulation of the labor market for players of professional team sports. In 1986, he published an article entitled ‘Zijn topvoetballers overbetaald?’ (‘Are professional soccer players overpaid?’; Késenne, 1986), which set the tone for his future research agenda. The article typifies Kesenne’s critical attitude toward professional soccer. Kesenne would build international fame with his research on aspects of professional sports and soccer in particular (see for example Kesenne, 2001, 2002, 2003 which are foundational papers in the economics of sport and published in European Sport Management Quarterly). He collaborated with many renowned sports economists internationally, such as Brad Humphreys, Claude Jeanrenaud and Stefan Szymanski; he was well-known to many members of the Board on European Sport Management Quarterly, for which he regularly reviewed. Along with the current editor of European Sport Management Quarterly, Paul Downward and Board members, Wladimir Andreff, Christoph Breuer and Tim Pawlowski, he was a founding member of the European Sports Economics Association (ESEA). He was also vice president of the International Association of Sports Economists (IASE). He is the author of a seminal book: The Economic Theory of Professional Team Sports: An Analytical Treatment. A revised version of this masterpiece was published in 2014 (Késenne, 2014). Stefan Kesenne has also been instrumental in the scientific careers of other academics. For example, he served as (co-)supervisor of the doctoral work of Marijke Taks (University of Ottawa and KU Leuven) and Thomas Peeters (Erasmus University Rotterdam). Stefan Kesenne has also been a frequently invited keynote speaker at international conferences, a strong debater, and a visiting professor at various foreign universities, including the Marseille Business School (CEMAS) and the University of Nairobi.

His work did not only have an academic and policy impact. Stefan Kesenne’s voice was also frequently heard in the media. Journalists could come to him for incisive, but always scientifically based commentary on malpractice in professional sports, weaknesses and threats in spectator sports. He also expressed witty and insightful opinions in his editorials. He did not shy away from topics such as the transfer system, television rights, match-fixing, or controversies surrounding the World Cup in Qatar and the Super League. He debunked the narrow and exaggerated way of revenue generation which organizers of major sporting events convey to justify costs and get their money’s worth. As a strong proponent of cost–benefit analysis of sport events, he theoretically unpacked this method in another European Sport Management Quarterly article (Késenne, 2005), which was later refined (Kesenne, 2012) and empirically tested (Taks et al., 2011). His critical thinking was, however, always accompanied by being solution-oriented. For instance, he provided a framework for how professional soccer can best be reformed. Kesenne was also one of the founders of the famous Bosman ruling that opened up the European transfer market for players in professional soccer (e.g. Késenne, 2011). His analysis of the organization of the Belgian competition format focused on the optimal number of soccer clubs, the (dis)advantages of the play-off system and the individual distribution of media rights (e.g. Kesenne, 2021).

Even in his spare time, he remained engaged with sports. Stefan Kesenne was a passionate outdoor sport participant. As an experienced climber and skier, he had lost his heart in the mountains. A colleague who was in the Alps when he learned about Stefan’s passing, built a Steinmann a day later as a memento of Stefan Kesenne; a stone signpost for seasoned mountain hikers or casual passers-by. With this sculpture, we say goodbye to the experienced guide that Stefan Kesenne has been for many people.

With Stefan Kesenne, we lose an international renowned sports economist, a highly respected colleague, and a man of integrity with whom conversing was always a pleasure. On behalf of the KU Leuven, the Faculty of Kinesiology & Rehabilitation Sciences, the Department of Kinesiology and the Policy in Sports and Physical Activity Research Group, and the European Association of Sport Management community, we offer our sincere condolences to Stefan’s wife, children, grandchildren, and family.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).