Conceptual Model of Media Coverage of Iranian Female Athletes

  Many women have expanded their abilities in diverse sports. However, these achievements could not have impacted the media coverage of professional women's sports in Iran and it is still not appropriate.

Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the sport of women's championship media coverage pattern in Iran using a qualitative Grounded method based on the theory of Strauss and Corbin (1998). Due to the purposeful use and application of theoretical saturation criteria, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 women sports specialists.

  The research findings highlighted that several factors contribute to the mismanagement of women's sports. These factors include cultural barriers, the absence of effective sports marketing, socialization issues, and a lack of well-defined programming strategies within the media. The study identified contextual factors like the existence of a glass ceiling, and political, ideological, and legal-executive interventions as further contributing conditions. It was observed that national mass media employs strategies like the absence of sports marketing and the promotion of sports antifeminism when covering female sports. Consequently, the mismanagement of women's sports can be traced back to a shortage of media coverage. This lack of media coverage is seen as fostering a culture that opposes women's rights. In contrast, social media emerges as a potential platform for the promotion of women's sports.

Due to the lack of media representation, Iranian female athletes have turned to social media as a valuable platform for personal branding, boosting their motivation, expanding their fans, and attracting potential investors.