Prof. Dr. Jacco van Sterkenburg is an Associate Professor and Endowed Chair in ‘Race, Inclusion and Communication, specifically in relation to Football and Television’ at the Media and Communication Department of Erasmus University Rotterdam. With over 25 years of experience, his research focuses on race, sport, football, and belonging, especially within the contexts of media, games, and organizational structures.

He has led major research projects, including an NWO ‘Vidi’ grant on race and mediated football (2018–2023) and an Erasmus+ project on football leadership (IFLIPP, 2019–2023), and most recently an NWO-funded project on football video gaming (‘NWO-M’, 2025-2030). His work is widely published and engages with key societal partners such as FIFPRO, UEFA, and Fare to inform policy and education in sport.

Currently, he supervises seven PhD candidates and oversees projects on football gaming, sport heroes, mediated football, and e-sports. He also serves as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Mulier Institute, Associate Editor of Communication and Sport, and sits on multiple editorial and academic boards.

Within Erasmus University, Van Sterkenburg is the academic lead on ‘Impact’ and a member of the Research Management Board at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication. His teaching areas include qualitative methods, intercultural communication, and television audiences.