Media and Enhancement of Private Sector Participation in Sports Sector

The present article aims to shed lights on mass media functions regarding facilitation of private sector participation in the country’s sports sector. Since there are various obstacles to privatization of sports in Iran, any prudent measures to tackle such impediments require a realistic picture of the existing problems. Using comparative studies and deep interviews with elites, the article identifies four main types and forty sub-components of barriers impeding privatization of sport sector in Iran. According to the research findings, the main obstacles blocking privatization of sports sector in Iran are as following: managerial, social- cultural, political-legal and economic obstacles. Finally, the role and function of mass media as one of the most important institutions working for enhancement of private sector participation has been examined at four levels of society, information, recreation and feeling.