Ehsan Rowshan zamir; Ali Fahiminezhad; seyed mostafa tayebi sani; bagher morsal
Abstract
The purpose of research was to explain and prioritize the factors affecting the development of professional football in Iran with the AHP approach. The research method is descriptive and applied in terms of purpose. Research data were collected in the field and in a mixed manner (qualitative and quantitative). ...
Read More
The purpose of research was to explain and prioritize the factors affecting the development of professional football in Iran with the AHP approach. The research method is descriptive and applied in terms of purpose. Research data were collected in the field and in a mixed manner (qualitative and quantitative). The statistical population in the qualitative section, including 18 experts, and in the quantitative section, including the CEOs of the Premier League and first division football clubs, the heads of the provincial football delegations and the officials of different units of the Football Federation, were equal to 90 people. Due to the limited membership, the community became equal to the sample. The research instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire including 15 factors affecting the development of professional football in Iran, the validity of which was confirmed by 10 professors of sports management at the university and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha test (α = 0.767). LISREL software was used to confirm the confirmatory factor and AHP technique was used to prioritize the identified factors. The findings showed that 15 factors affect the development of professional football in the economic, managerial, legal, advocacy and media sectors, respectively. Among the economic indicators, commercialization and privatization of clubs, and among the management indicators, the development and implementation of a professional development policy were in the first priority. It can be said that managers' focus on economic and managerial factors and indicators can help the development of professional football.