Spectators on the Run: Factors Affecting Football Attendance in Iranian Football Matches

Background. Sport spectators are an essential part of the professional sport landscape. Spectators are important economically, because they generate revenue through ticket and concession sales, and provide ambience for broadcast televisions. Problematically, spectators’ attendance is declining in many professional leagues throughout the world. Objectives. The current study aimed at identifying factors affecting spectators’ attendance in the Iranian Football League. Methods. Initial data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 20 participants, with expertise in the Iranian Football League. Using Q Methodology, 50 Q-expressions were sorted by the participants. Then, Q-factor analysis was performed. Results. The study identified seven broad factors: 1) Lack of desirable access and transportation services to/from the stadiums; 2) Defective implementation of strategic plans in federations and clubs; 3) The impact of low-quality plays and the superiority of TV services to stadium ones; 4) Inappropriate services in stadiums; 5) Inappropriate stadium atmosphere; 6) Economic problems of spectators; and, 7) Paying more attention to margins by media from the viewpoint of critics. Conclusions. Football officials can increase the number of spectators in stadiums by systematically removing these damages from the Iranian football body, which may solve many other problems as well.