Measuring the Role of Sport in Constructing of the Identity-Oriented Attitudes

Sport as a reality and social behavior can be a space for manifestation and representation of identity-seeking behaviors and actions. This is especially true in today's world of communication and information and the growing popularity of several sports. Identity-seeking is one of the mainstreams of nationalism. At present time, states indulge in globalization, and meantime nationalism and identity issues are still in favor of nations and states. The research is to study the role of sport in constructing identity orientations by surveying. A questionnaire was developed to evaluate the opinion of 120 faculty members and doctoral students in sport management and political geography about the impact of sport on the identity indicators (including national identity, nationality, and nationalism, and nation-state).The results showed that sport has an impact on the formation of identity orientations. Sport can be a place to express and strengthen national identity, such as winning 60 gold medals from Iranian athletes at the 2012 London Olympics. Nationality and nationalism can also manifest in sports competitions and exert their political and geopolitical influence, such as Qatar's 2019 Asian Cup win, which became a means of displaying Saudi Arabia's imposed geopolitics. Sport can also affect the nation-state building process.Therefore, it is recommended that the managers, authorities, and politicians pay attention to the role of sport in identity and nationalism issues as a principal strategy in Iran’s national macro policies.