A Financial Management Model for Professional Football Clubs in Iran: An Exploratory Sequential Mixed-Methods Study
Keywords:
financial management; professional football clubs; financial sustainability; economic governance; revenue diversification; grounded theory; PLS-SEMAbstract
Financial instability has become a persistent constraint on the professionalization of football clubs in Iran, yet the mechanisms linking ownership, financial discipline, environmental conditions, managerial action, and organizational outcomes have not been integrated in a context-specific empirical model. This study developed and validated a financial management model for Iranian professional football clubs. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was used. In the qualitative phase, 16 experts in sport management, sport economics, club administration, finance, football governance, marketing, and sports law were selected purposively and theoretically. Semi-structured interviews lasting 60–100 minutes continued until theoretical saturation; saturation was reached at interview 15 and a final interview confirmed adequacy. Data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding following grounded-theory procedures. In the quantitative phase, an 88-item researcher-developed questionnaire derived from the qualitative model was administered to relevant professionals. Of 250 distributed questionnaires, 215 complete responses were analyzed using SPSS 22 and SmartPLS 3. The qualitative analysis produced a six-part paradigm model comprising causal conditions, the central phenomenon, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, strategies, and consequences. Sustainable financial management—expressed through financial sustainability, economic governance, and commercial development—formed the central phenomenon. Causal conditions positively predicted financial management (β = .793, t = 25.064, p < .001). Contextual conditions (β = .534, t = 6.358), intervening conditions (β = .581, t = 7.490), and financial management (β = .527, t = 11.423) positively predicted strategies, while strategies strongly predicted consequences (β = .853, t = 29.738); all p values were < .001. The model showed strong overall fit (GOF = .713). Sustainable club finance therefore requires simultaneous reform of ownership and accountability, realistic budgeting and debt control, transparent reporting, diversified commercial income, systematic fan monetization, and long-term financial partnerships. The model provides a locally grounded framework for club boards, the league organization, the football federation, investors, and regulators seeking to replace short-term financial rescue with institutionalized financial sustainability.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Hashem Sadeghi, Seyyed Abbas Biniaz, Mahdi Naderi Nasab, Mokhtar Nasiri Farsani, Elham Attari (Author)
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