The Investigation of Motives in Fans of National Football Team of Iran

The purpose of this study was to investigate the motives of fans who attended Azadi stadium to watch Iran and UAE football match held in June 2009. Based on a review of the current literature, nine motives were identified and a scale was developed to measure these motives. Validity of the questionnaire was verified by experts and reliability was estimated as 0.81 by Cronbach's alpha. The number of spectators in the stadium was estimated 30 thousand. 500 questionnaires were distributed by random sampling and 370 questionnaires were returned. The results showed that interest in the national team, nationalism, interest in football, aesthetics, eustress, socializing, entertainment, escape and interest in players were the most important motives respectively. The analysis of data showed that only interest in football and aesthetic had a significant relationship with attendance. Finally, the identification of important motives helps mangers focus on ways to satisfy the spectators.