Identifying and Ranking Factors Affecting Co- Branding between Manufacturers of Sports Equipment and Football Clubs of Iran Premier League

The purpose of this research was to identify and rank the factors influencing co- branding between Manufacturers of sports equipment and Football Clubs of Iran Pro League. The present study was a qualitative-quantitative research. The statistical population of this study consisted of sports marketing management experts, CEO of Football Clubs and CEO of manufacturers of sports equipment. Of these, 16 persons collaborated with the researcher and made the Delphi Research Panel. In this study, Fuzzy Delphi method was used to identify the factors affecting co-branding between clubs and sports equipment manufacturers. According to the Delphi Panel, the identified factors were categorized into 4 main factors with 19 components as follows: brand management (enhancing brand value, utilizing the knowledge and experience of partner brands in the area of brand management, brand positioning, brand identity, brand equity and brand image), relationship between partners (satisfaction, mutual trust, commitment, shared interests, reliability to creative and innovative product and strategies), marketing factors (marketing mix, market positioning, competitive advantage and entry into new domestic markets) and supportive factors (copyright law, contracts and social media). Hierarchical decision making (AHP) and Expert Choice software were used to prioritize the factors co- branding. Accordingly, among the components of the research, marketing with a relative weight of 0.441, is the most important influencing factor and after that, the relationship between partners (0.29), brand management (0.152) and support factors (0.172), respectively. Also, according to the obtained compatibility rate (0.05), the validity of this information has been confirmed. Therefore, it can be inferred from the results that the use of the results obtained in this research can be a way for future management of football clubs.