Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 phd student of sport management
2 PHD OF SPORT MANAGEMENT
3 phd of sport management
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify and structurally analyze the key uncertainties affecting the future of crowdfunding in Iranian football clubs. In terms of purpose, the study was applied-developmental, and in terms of nature, it was descriptive-analytical with a futures studies approach. The participant group consisted of 24 experts in sport management, financial management and investment, football policymaking, and crowdfunding practice, who were selected through purposive sampling based on the principle of theoretical saturation. Data collection tools included semi-structured interviews for identifying the initial variables and a 40×40 cross-impact matrix questionnaire for analyzing structural relationships. The validity of the instruments was confirmed through expert judgment, and their reliability was verified using intercoder agreement and structural stability assessment of the matrix in MICMAC software. Data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis and MICMAC futures studies software. The findings showed that among the 40 final identified variables, factors such as “international sanctions,” “financial independence of clubs from the government,” “legal framework of fan share ownership” and “the status of broadcasting rights” were classified among the independent and influential variables. In addition, five variables, namely “macroeconomic stability,” “transparency and efficiency of crowdfunding regulations,” “quality of governance and inter-institutional coordination,” “public trust in crowdfunding platforms,” and “ownership structure of clubs,” were identified as key uncertainties. The results indicated that the future of crowdfunding in Iranian football clubs depends less on executive and intra-club factors and more on macroeconomic, legal, institutional, and public trust forces.
Keywords
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