Presenting a Domestic Model of Managing Football Clubs in Iran (Qualitative Approach)

The purpose of this study was to design and present a domestic model for the management of Iranian football clubs. The present study has a qualitative research design, which is based on Grounded Theory and hidden content analysis. Data collection was done through in-debt interviews with 20 high-ranked authorities in Iran Football Federation, Ministry of Sports and Youth and managers of professional football clubs in Iran. Sampling method was non-random through snow ball sampling. Interviews were as long as the theoretical satisfaction was acquired in line with the research goals and questions. Data were categorized in two forms of audio and transcripts and analyzed in MAXQDA18. The data were codified by the researcher and 30 categories were formed. Based on the results, “hardware facilities” and “marketing” were recognized as preparatory conditions, “environmental conditions” and “technical conditions” as intervening variables, and “motivational factors” and “economic and social factors” as affective factors and strategies of “administrative factors” were identified to stablish the domestic model of managing football clubs in Iran. The implications of this model could be beneficial for the growth and development of football clubs management