The Investigation of the Components of Team Identity and National Identity in Fans of Iran National Football and Wrestling Teams

The aim of the present study was to investigate team identity and national identity of fans of Iran national teams of football and wrestling. The statistical population of the study consisted of all male students of University of Tehran (N=17000) and 385 students (224 football fans and 161 wrestling fans) voluntarily participated in this study. The subjects were asked to fill out Bob Hier’s questionnaire; its validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability was obtained as α=0.88 in a pilot study (n=30). To analyze the data, Friedman test and independent t test and confirmatoryfactor analysis were used using SPSS V.20 and Amos V.20. The results showed that football fans achieved highest scores in the following components of team identity respectively: general evaluation, attachment and integration, and awareness while their highest scores were allocated to the following components of national identity respectively: attachment and integration, awareness and participation. On the other hand, wrestling fans achieved highest scores in the following components of team identity respectively: general evaluation, attachment and integration, and awareness while their highest scores were allocated to the following components of national identity respectively: attachment and integration, awareness and general evaluation.