Document Type : Research Paper I Open Access I Released under (CC BY-NC 4.0) license
Authors
1 PhD Student in Sport Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
2 Associate Professor of Sport Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
3 Associate Professor of Sociology, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
Abstract
Objective: This study aims to conduct a meta-synthesis of the mechanisms of corruption in Iranian football based on a sociological approach.
Methodology: Employing a qualitative approach, this study followed Sandelowski and Barroso's (2007) meta-synthesis framework. Data were derived from 29 peer-reviewed scientific articles published between 2015 and 2025, identified through a systematic search of reputable Persian-language (n=23) and English-language (n=6) databases. Thematic coding was employed for data analysis.
Results: Based on the data analysis, the mechanisms of corruption in sport were identified and classified into 63 initial codes, 21 sub-themes, and 6 overarching themes, including structural and governance deficiencies, an opaque and rentier economy, a corruption-prone culture and unhealthy norms, an inefficient legal and judicial system, informal and relationship-based networks, and international factors and globalization.
Conclusion: In light of the findings, corruption in Iranian football stems from dysfunctional governance frameworks, a rent-seeking economy, and a culture of informal relations. Unless these deeply embedded institutional and cultural vicious cycles are rectified, intermittent and individual-level enforcement actions will prove futile. Lasting reform can only be achieved through institutional reconstruction, full transparency, and the substitution of informal patronage networks with genuine merit-based systems.
Keywords
- Systemic corruption
- corruption in sport
- dysfunctional governance
- rentier economy
- institutional transformation
Main Subjects
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