This study explores how the virtual brand community (VBC) of soccer‐team supporters influences the brand's attitude toward sponsorship according to the theory of image transfer. The study provides a comparative analysis using both structural equation modeling (SEM) and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). A total of 609 supporters of a professional, first‐division Spanish soccer team provide the data. The results from SEM support the importance of control, attitude toward the team, and identification variables. However, SEM cannot assure the usefulness of variables such as trust and opportunism when evaluating the resulting attitude toward the sponsor. The results from the fuzzy‐set QCA on the same data set show that not all variables are necessary conditions in order to influence sponsorship. The most relevant variables to obtain valid and useful results are control, attitude toward the team, and trust. The combination of attitude toward the team, identification, and trust is also valid. Attitude toward the team and trust variables are present in the two combinations of variables leading to a positive, favorable attitude toward the sponsor, thus reflecting their importance in marketing experts’ assessment of image transmission in professional teams.