The Obstacles and Solutions for the Development of Women's Sports Financial Resources in Iran

Despite the developments of the Iranian women’s sports within recent years, further advancements within this sector still face certain barriers. The purpose of this research was to identify the obstacles to the financial development of the women’s sport in Iran, and to propose solutions thereto. The research was conducted within the context of applied studies, and the data were collected in an exploratory mix (qualitative-quantitative) through field methodology. The statistical population of this research included experts in the field of womens’sports. In the qualitative stage, deep and semi-structured interviews were conducted and the interviews continued until the theoretical saturation stage (n=15). Based on the results of the interviews, a questionnaire was developed, validated and distributed amongst the subjects. In the qualitative stage, the sampling was performed based on the targeted and accessibility method (n=198). Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were used to analyze the data. Based on the findings of this research, four obstacles to the development of financial resources of women’s sport were identified which included: structural, managerial, sociocultural, political-legal. Accordingly, various solutions were proposed to facilitate the development of women’s sport, some of which are presented in the following: offering tax exemptions or facilities to the sponsors of women's sports, raising the level of women's sports competitions, broadcasting women's sports competitions and finally ensuring the proper implementation of the rules and regulations, as amendment of the available laws and set criteria for measuring compliance with these rules. Because the introduction of new regulations without ensuring their proper implementation will not be effective.