مطالب

In today’s global economy, sports, especially football, have become key drivers of economic activity, with an estimated fan base of five billion worldwide. Professional football is no longer just entertainment; it has evolved into a dynamic sector that makes substantial contributions to employment and economic output. Football clubs, as multifaceted economic entities, engage in competition not only on the field but also within a fiercely competitive commercial and financial environment. This study employs the Data Envelopment Analysis method to assess the economic performance and growth potential of Iran’s football industry. By analyzing data from 48 football clubs—including a selected group of international benchmarks and eight clubs from Iran’s Premier League—the research provides a comparative evaluation of technical efficiency across diverse organizational and market contexts. The results highlight a stark contrast between benchmark clubs and Iranian clubs. Only a handful of international clubs are positioned on the efficiency frontier, while Iranian clubs show inefficiency levels exceeding 90%, indicating a significant performance gap. This suggests a latent growth potential of more than 700% in critical areas such as revenue, market value, and global competitiveness. The findings underscore the need for institutional, financial, and managerial reforms to address these inefficiencies and unlock the considerable economic potential of Iran’s football industry. Improving technical efficiency could significantly boost the international standing of Iranian clubs and contribute to the broader development of the country’s sports economy.

This study aims to investigate Saudi Arabia’s quest for regional hegemony, including its objectives, initiatives, and difficulties. In other words, the degree to which Saudi Arabia has been successful in establishing itself as the region’s dominant power. It is crucial to thoroughly explain Saudi Arabia’s psychological and practical justifications for pursuing regional hegemony in this context. To examine the political discourses, reality, narratives, ambitions, and perspectives of Saudi Arabia and compare these with other regional powers in this area, as well as to highlight a number of context-specific constraints on Saudi Arabia’s aspirations for regional hegemony, is the goal of the research. In addition, it intends to investigate how external powers such as the United States, China, Russia, the European Union, and Turkey influence Middle Eastern regional dynamics based on their own vested interests. This analysis demonstrates that Saudi Arabia’s drive for regional hegemony is mostly restrained by external causes. First, despite its preeminent economic power, the country lacks strong military capabilities to provide a security shield for its friends in this region. Second, the sectarian politics and undiversified economy of the region make it unlikely that secondary nations will receive full public goods. Third, low economic integration, the perception of a common regional threat, the absence of a broad free trade arrangement, the superiority of hard power over soft power, and a lack of mutual trust among regional countries are significantly diminishing the acceptance of Saudi Arabia’s hegemonic role in the region. However, Saudi Arabia is deliberately involving regional partners and coalitions in regional growth. The country takes on the main task for reshaping the Middle East’s economy and elevating this region to success. If Saudi Arabia is successful in fostering regional integration, offering a security shield, encouraging trust building, and collaborating with other states in this region to address shared regional threats, it will have a greater chance than the majority of other states in the region to become the regional hegemon.