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

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Amir Mohammad Nasiri
Jamshid Imeni
Habib Honari

Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22089/smrj.2025.17543.4107
Abstract
Extended Abstract
Background and Purpose
The performance of football clubs can be evaluated across three dimensions: economic, sporting, and social, with sporting performance holding the utmost significance. This emphasis is because success in economic and social aspects largely depends on sporting achievements. Thus, sporting success critically influences both the short-term and long-term prosperity of football clubs. Coaches play a pivotal role in this performance, as their leadership directly affects a team’s on-field outcomes. The pressure on head coaches is substantial; even the most highly decorated managers face dismissal risks following poor match results. This study investigates the short-term impact of appointing foreign coaches’ mid-season on the sporting performance of Iranian football clubs.
 Methods
This applied research employed a causal-comparative design. The statistical population included all 16 teams active in the Iranian Premier League during the last 17 seasons (2007–2008 to 2023–2024) that appointed a new foreign coach mid-season. The 17-season range was selected to broaden the study's scope and enhance result generalizability. To assess short-term effects, a five-game window before and after the coaching change was used, a duration consistent with prior research focusing on immediate impact. Sporting performance was measured by average points accrued by clubs in these five-match intervals.
Data collection was conducted via reliable documentary sources, including the official Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran website and Transfermarkt. The normality of the collected datasets (points before and after coach appointments) was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Given the normal distributions established (p-values 0.061 and 0.143, respectively), paired t-tests were conducted to analyze performance differences. Data analysis utilized Python programming and the SciPy statistical library.
 Findings
Analysis revealed that over these 17 seasons, 40 foreign head coaches were appointed mid-season across Iranian clubs. Tractor S.C. accounted for the highest number of such appointments (seven). The Shapiro-Wilk test confirmed normality in both before- and after-appointment point distributions, enabling paired t-test application. Although mean team performance showed a minor improvement post-appointment, the p-value was 0.09, exceeding conventional significance thresholds (0.05 and 0.01). This indicates that, statistically, the short-term appointment of foreign coaches did not yield significant enhancement in sporting performance.
The performance of football clubs can be evaluated in three fields of economic, sporting, and social, among which sporting performance bears the most significance. This is due to the fact that success in economic and social fields will only be possible through sporting success. Hence, this success has a significant impact on the long-term and short-term success of a football club (1). Furthermore, coaches play a deciding role in the success of the team and how the team performs on the field. This role is directly and closely linked to a team's sporting performance on the field in a way that even the most decorated head coaches are always exposed to the danger of being dismissed after a few undesirable results (2). 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 Iranian football clubs.
 
Table 1. Paired t-test results.





Test


T value


Df


p-value


Mean difference




The short-term impact of foreign coach appointment


1.781


39


0.09


0.18





 
Conclusion
The findings suggest that appointing a foreign head coach mid-season does not produce a statistically meaningful positive effect on a football club’s short-term sporting performance. These results align with previous studies by Behnam et al., García-Aliaga et al., Besters et al., and Guerrero-Calderón et al., yet contrast with other research [7–10], likely due to contextual and methodological differences. Overall, foreign head coach appointments are not recommended as a strategy for immediate performance improvements. Management and decision-makers of Iranian football clubs, especially those facing relegation threats, should avoid mid-season foreign coach replacements unless supported by a robust strategic plan. The authors recommend managers and decision-makers of Iranian football clubs, especially those at the bottom of the table and at risk of relegation, who seek to improve their team's sporting performance in short-term to refrain from appointing foreign head coaches in the middle of the season without a clear strategic plan.
 Article Message
Retrospective analysis of the Iranian Premier League demonstrates that mid-season foreign coach appointments have a positive but statistically insignificant effect on club sporting performance. Relevant managers who seek an immediate improvement in their team’s sporting performance should refrain from appointing foreign head coaches in the middle of the season without a clear strategic plan. Therefore, managers seeking rapid on-field improvement should exercise caution and avoid such changes without a comprehensive strategy.
Ethical Considerations
As this research analyzed existing numerical data without human subjects or interventions, informed consent and confidentiality considerations were not applicable. The study strictly adhered to academic integrity principles and properly referenced all data sources. The research process complied with ethical standards for secondary data analysis as per the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. The research process complied with established ethical guidelines for secondary data analysis, as outlined in the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Guidelines.
Authors’ Contributions

Conceptualization: Amir Mohammad Nasiri & Jamshid Imeni
Data Collection: Amir Mohammad Nasiri
Data Analysis: Amir Mohammad Nasiri
Manuscript Writing: Amir Mohammad Nasiri & Jamshid Imeni
Review and Editing: Habib Honari
Literature Review: Amir Mohammad Nasiri & Jamshid Imeni
Project Management: Amir Mohammad Nasiri

Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was independently conducted without financial, institutional, or personal influences affecting the results.
 
Acknowledgments
The author thanks all who provided support, encouragement, and guidance throughout this research.
 
 
 
 

Keywords

Persian Gulf Pro League
Sporting Management
Sporting Success
Shock Effect

Subjects

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Sport Management Studies
Volume 17, Issue 93
January and February 2026
Pages 32-71

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

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