Explaining the Effect of Brand Equity, Brand Image and Fan Commitment on International Branding of Iran Premier Football Clubs

The aim of this study was to explain the effect of brand equity, brand image and fan commitment on international branding in Iran premier football clubs. This study was applied in terms of results and aims and descriptive-correlation in terms of research methodology which was conducted as a field. Fans of 4 clubs (Esteghlal, Persepolis, Sepahan and Zob Ahan) in 2016-2017 were selected as the population. Based on the logical volume of the sample needed in structural equation modeling, sample consisted of 810 subjects. A researcher-made questionnaire with 41 items in 5-point Likert Scale was used to collect data. Content validity of the whole questionnaire was confirmed by 15 professors.  To measure convergent validity, AVE coefficient was used and to measure reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient and CR coefficient were used and the validity and reliability were high. For data analysis, SPSS and AMOS were used. The data were analyzed based on structural equation modeling. GFI=0.94 showed a good fit and confirmed the model. Based on these results, it can be stated that brand equity and its subscales had a positive and significant effect on brand image, brand image on fan commitment and fan commitment on branding of Iran football clubs.