Governance Model for Sport for All in Iraq
Keywords:
Sport Governance, Sport for All, Fuzzy Delphi, Interpretive Structural Modeling, Organizational Professionalization, IraqAbstract
This study aimed to develop a governance model for Sport for All in Iraq by identifying, screening, and hierarchically structuring the factors influencing sport governance. This applied and developmental study employed an exploratory mixed-method approach. The study population consisted of experts in sport management, sport governance, and Sport for All in Iraq, from whom 25 participants were selected through purposive sampling. Initially, 21 indicators were identified based on theoretical literature and expert judgment. The fuzzy Delphi technique was used to screen the indicators, and expert responses were converted into triangular fuzzy numbers and defuzzified using the centroid method. A threshold of 0.50 was considered for retaining indicators. Interpretive Structural Modeling was then used to determine the relationships and hierarchical levels among the approved indicators. The Structural Self-Interaction Matrix, initial and final reachability matrices, driving power, and dependence power were subsequently calculated. Fuzzy Delphi analysis showed that 19 of the 21 initial indicators were retained, while international pressures, with a value of 0.46, and networking, with a value of 0.48, were excluded. Organizational professionalization, transparency, and governance improvement each obtained the highest defuzzified value of 0.93. In the structural analysis, institutional environment and the federal structure of sport each demonstrated the highest driving power of 19 and a dependence power of 2. Socioeconomic conditions ranked next with a driving power of 17. In contrast, organizational sustainability showed the highest dependence power of 19, followed by organizational efficiency with 18 and governance improvement with 17. The final model was organized into five conceptual hierarchical levels. Effective governance of Sport for All in Iraq depends on a hierarchical interaction among institutional, managerial, structural, and interactive factors; therefore, governance reform should begin with strengthening institutional foundations and managerial capacities and progress toward professionalization, transparency, participation, efficiency, and organizational sustainability.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Abbas Nazarian Madavani; Jabbar Hashem Abdul-Mahdi, Masoumeh Shahbazi (Author)
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