["Contemporary Economic Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nThis paper examines the determinants of individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) to prevent the relegation of a professional football team. Drawing on an analytical framework provided by social capital and social identity theories, we hypothesize that social trust and civic pride are key predictors of WTP. The empirical analysis applies the contingent valuation method and a double‐hurdle model. The results confirm the role of both social trust and civic pride in driving WTP and suggest that social trust is relevant for users (those attending at least one match in the stadium), while civic pride enhances WTP across users and non‐users.\n"]