Johannes Philipp Schregel, Jacqueline Marie Cruz, Henning Zülch

• Introducing the broader topic of football and its vast influence on culture and society, the question of sustainable success is at a tipping point. The football industry has grown to supply substantial monetary value to its respective national economies and continues to provide society with one of the most influential past-times in history. Yet, the sport is under tremendous focus more than it already was as the Coronavirus pandemic forced leagues around the world to redesign operations and to adapt to the situation. Under normal circumstances, clubs need to focus on making efforts sustainable and long-lasting; however, under extreme conditions, sustainability is more necessary than ever, therefore, making a case for shifting emphasis from critical success factors (CSFs) into sustainable success factors3. In this Literature Review, CSFs in top European clubs were investigated to find significant associations between sustainability, success, and football company structure relating to management. Although existing research suggests there are few management frameworks proper to measure success in professional football clubs, there is one all-encompassing framework known to date that is the most applicable — the Football Management (FoMa) Q-Score (2019)4. The structure and main principles of the FoMa Q-Score were used as a foundation for this Literature Review and, therefore, four specific dimensions outlined in that framework were focused on when examining CSFs: Sporting Success, Financial Performance, Fan Welfare Maximization, and Leadership and Governance. The goal was to synthesize knowledge from existing literature not revealed in the FoMa Q-Score and to find key linkages, research gaps, and unsolved applications. Findings revealed there are more relevant factors that could strengthen each dimension and the overall framework, thus leading to practical application in professional football clubs and to a shift to sustainable success factors.