The Impact of Dominant Culture in Ritual Sports on Social Capital Development with the Mediating Role of National Identity

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the dominant culture in ritual sports and social capital development, with national identity as a mediating variable, from the perspective of faculty members (8 individuals) and PhD students in Sports Management (70 individuals) at Islamic Azad University and Ferdowsi University of Mashhad to propose a model. This descriptive-correlational study employed the standard Nahapiet and Ghoshal Social Capital Questionnaire (1998), a researcher-developed questionnaire on dominant culture in ritual sports, and the National Identity Questionnaire by Rastegar and Rabbani (2013) with 5 subscales. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. SPSS22 and Smart PLS2 software were used for data description and hypothesis testing. The mean score for dominant culture in ritual sports was 2.69 (SD=0.39) out of 5, national identity averaged 3.27 (SD=0.61) out of 5, and social capital averaged 2.52 (SD=0.56) out of 5. Inferential findings indicated significant positive relationships between research variables. National identity did not mediate the relationship between dominant culture in ritual sports and social capital development. Sports, especially ritual and historical sports, help adolescents and youth create identities, model roles, socialize, and embrace norms. Sports unite subcultures and integrate ethnic groups into the national community, defining their identity. Strong sports teams and international success can boost ethnic communities' national identification and social capital, solidarity, and national identity.