Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 PhD in sport management, Department of Physical Education, Sa. C., Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran
2 Director General of Federations' Joint Affairs, Ministry of Sports and Youth, Tehran, Iran
3 Associate Professor of Sport Management , Sport Sciences Research Institute, Tehran, Iran
4 PhD Candidate of Health Economics, Department of Health Economics, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Abstract
This study aimed to explain the process of financial resilience formation in the financing system of Iranian sports federations under geopolitical crisis conditions. The research employed a qualitative approach based on Grounded Theory methodology (Strauss and Corbin). Participants comprised 17 individuals, including senior managers of sports federations, experts from the Ministry of Sports and the National Olympic Committee, university professors in sports management, sports economics, and sports sociology, and specialists in crisis management and sports diplomacy, selected through theoretical sampling. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews; theoretical saturation was achieved after 15 interviews, and two supplementary interviews were conducted to ensure data adequacy. Data analysis using MAXQDA software resulted in the extraction of 102 open codes, 20 axial codes, and 5 core codes within a paradigmatic model. Findings revealed that the central phenomenon of the research is the resilient restructuring of the financing system of Iranian sports federations under geopolitical crisis conditions. The causal conditions of this phenomenon include intensified financial pressures arising from sanctions, restricted international interactions, and currency fluctuations, occurring within contextual conditions such as structural dependency on government budgets and limited private capital attraction. Findings indicate that financial governance quality, transparency, and social capital enhancement, as intervening conditions, play a decisive role in crisis management. Sports federations employ strategies including indigenous diversification, financing socialization, cost management, and resilient sports diplomacy. Finally, the outcomes of these strategies were assessed as financial sustainability of sports organizations, social capital return, and consolidation of sport’s role in soft security.
Keywords
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