Recognition and analysis of barriers and opportunities for the use of renewable energy sources in Iranian football stadiums

The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers and opportunities for the use of renewable energy sources in the Iranian football stadiums.

The present study was conducted using a qualitative method. Thematic analysis technique was used for qualitative data analysis.The participants of the study included experts in the field of sustainable development, managers and technical engineers of the stadiums where the Iranian Football Premier League was held in the years 1398 to 1399 Iran. The participants were selected by purposive sampling method following with snowball method until theoretical saturation was reached (N = 12).

The analysis of the interviews resulted to 31 open codes and three main themes in the barriers section, and 9 open codes and two main themes in the opportunities section. The main themes obtained in the barriers section include managerial barriers, political and economic barriers, and development barriers and in the opportunities section include geographical and cultural barriers, marketing and human resources.

The results of the present study can be used in the construction of green stadiums based on sustainable development in Iran. Also, considering the identified opportunities in the field of exploitation of renewable energy sources in the country and according to the requirements of FIFA and the National Olympic Committee for the construction of green sports venues and stadiums, sports officials should take positive steps in this field.