Sport Management Studies

Investigating the Short-term Impact of Foreign Head Coach Appointment Mid-season on the Sporting Performance of Professional Football Clubs in Iran's Premier League

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Amir Mohammad Nasiri 1
Jamshid Imeni 2
habib honari 3

1 Master's student of Sports Management, Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran

2 Master's student of Sports Management, Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran

3 Allameh Tabataba'i University

https://doi.org/10.22089/smrj.2025.17543.4107
Abstract
Head coaches play a key role in the sporting performance of a football club and are directly involved in the survival and success of clubs in various aspects. The present study aims to investigate the short-term impact of appointing a foreign coach in the middle of the season on the sporting performance of the Iranian football clubs. The statistical population of this study is all of 16 active teams in the last 17 seasons of the Iranian Premier League (2007-2008 to 2023-2024) which had appointed a new foreign head coach in the middle of the season. This applied research employed causal-comparative method. The average points obtained in the period of 5 games before and after the appointment of the new coach were used to evaluate the impact. Paired t-test was used to evaluate the effect of appointment. The results show that the appointment of a foreign head coach in the middle of the season does not have a significant positive short-term effect on sporting performance. This study shows that managers of professional football clubs in Iran should refrain from appointing a foreign coach in the middle of the season for enhancing the sporting performance of their teams in short-term.

Keywords

Iranian Persian Gulf League
sports management
sports success
shock effect

Subjects

Sport Management Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 01 November 2025

  • Receive Date 16 December 2024
  • Revise Date 23 September 2025
  • Accept Date 14 October 2025

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