Fatemeh Mohammadzadeh Kalkhoran - PhD student in Sports Management, Islamic Azad University, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Amol, Iran
Farshad Emami - Sport Management group, Islamic Azad University, Ayatollah Amoli Branch
Emad Hosseini - Sport Management group, Sport sciences and healthy faculty, Shahid Beheshti University

Purpose: The purpose of the current research was to identify the factors affecting the economy of sports tourism in Iran (with the foundation's data approach).Method: Qualitative and based on foundational data theory with a systematic approach. Collecting data by interviewing a statistical population of۲۲people by managers of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, National Olympic Committee, heads of sports federations, members of the Sports Tourism Commission of the National Olympic Committee, senior managers of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, experts in the field of tourism, economy and Also, sports management professors were interviewed and the snowball sampling method was used. IN order to analyze the data, the systematic method of Strauss and Corbin was used, including three-stage open, central and selective coding.Results: A total of۶۵primary codes were created; Then it was reduced to۱۵sub-categories and based on secondary codes, ۶ main categories were created, which include organizational and management factors for the causal category, cultural and social factors for the contextual category, political and legal factors for the strategies category, marketing and advertising factors for The central category and the development of infrastructural factors were recognized for the intervening category, and finally, political and legal factors were recognized for the pedestrian category of Iran's sports tourism economy.Conclusion: Managers and officials who make decision about sports tourism can attract more sports tourists by holding sports events with standard quality and developing communication infrastructure and facilities, as well as attracting investors and sponsors for events by introducing cultural and social identity in events. In turn, to promote income generation and improve the economy of sports tourism.

tourism economy, Sports tourism, foundation data approach