Soccer is among the most popular sports worldwide, with substantial commercial revenues generated by top leagues and teams. This study examines factors influencing the purchase likelihood of sports team licensed merchandise (STLM) in Ecuador, a country with a strong soccer culture. The research integrates fan identification, sport involvement, fan-based brand equity (awareness, image, loyalty), and purchase drivers (price, income, quality, ease of finding a store) within a structural model tested through PLS-SEM. The analysis, which drew on data from 222 soccer fans, revealed that loyalty, fan identification, and price evaluation emerged as significant predictors of STLM purchase likelihood. In contrast, soccer involvement, brand awareness, and brand image were found to be non-significant factors in this regard. The findings underscore the significance of fostering fan loyalty and identification through engagement initiatives and customized pricing strategies. This study makes a significant contribution to the extant literature by addressing gaps in brand equity and fan behavior research in the Latin American context.