Sociological Analysis of Iranian Fans' Behavior in the Face of Sports Legends (Case Study: Cristiano Ronaldo)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

2 Ph.D. Student, Department of Sport Management, Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

The present study was conducted with the aim of sociological analysis of the behavior of Iranian fans in the face of sports legends, especially during the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo in Iran. The qualitative research method was conducted based on the theory of foundation data and content analysis strategy. 10 university professors and specialists were purposefully selected for interviews and participated in an in-depth semi-structured interview. After confirming the validity of the interviews by two experts in sports sociology and also confirming the reliability of the interviews by the method of intra-subject agreement (0.83), the information obtained from the interviews was coded using MAXQDA version 10 software. From the total categories obtained, 8 main categories (characteristics of the legend, media, political, cultural, social, managerial, psychological, economic) and 41 sub-categories were obtained. Factors such as weakness in the education system, lack of attention to Iran's rich Islamic history in the field of education, media weakness in the field of advertising and education, economic problems and shortcomings, social problems and perhaps political orientations are among the factors that influence the inappropriate behavior of fans. Also, the improper performance in the management of this event, which was caused by the weakness in the implementation of scientific management, the lack of attention to the concepts of performance management, along with the lack of meritocracy in the field of sports management in the country, was recognized as another factor affecting the inappropriate holding of this sports event.

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