Iranian Public Sports Scenarios on the Horizon 2032

One of the most important duties of governments in the world is planning for the development of public sports. Public sports are closely related to physical and mental health of the community. Developing plans for public sports is influenced by macro-processes, actions, events and various elements that are often uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted. Therefore, decision-makers need to know the possible opportunities of the future. The current study aims to spot the opportunities standing in front of Iranian public sports. 

This research is qualitative and applied. The statistical population included elites on sports management, sociology of sports and sports law as well as technology, politics, culture and futures studies.A snowball sampling methods was applied to the research sample and 25 persons were selected purposefully. However, using Schwartz’s model, main drivers and components of the structure were obtained. Next, the wizard-scenario software was employed for structural analysis and examining relationships between uncertainties. Then, spaces of the scenario were extracted.

A number of four probabilistic scenarios were developed compliant with the future of public sports, namely, the happiness ecosystem(the most optimal possible scenario), health scanners (development of public sports in the middle class), stagnators (no change in circumstances) and downsizers (the most unfavorable possible scenario).

When each scenario narrated and the findings summarized in expert panels, strategic recommendations(flexible and practical in all 4 scenarios) were provided regarding the future of Iranian public sports for relevant managers and policy makers.