Athletic identity transfer and integration among Saudi athlete-entrepreneurs: a qualitative exploration

Introduction Athletic identity, the degree to which individuals define themselves through their sport role, persists long after or alongside active sporting engagement and shapes behavior, decision-making and self-concept. Despite growing interest in the relationship between sport and entrepreneurship, little is known about how this identity transfers into entrepreneurial contexts, particularly outside Western settings. This study examines how Saudi athlete-entrepreneurs experience and make sense of athletic identity transfer within the context of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 reforms, which have rapidly expanded the national sport sector and opened new entrepreneurial pathways for athletes. Methods An exploratory qualitative design was adopted. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted in Arabic with 24 Saudi athlete-entrepreneurs (10 men, 14 women), predominantly amateur and recreational athletes with sustained sport engagement. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Four overarching themes of sport-derived resource transfer were identified: sport-derived personal traits, sport-derived professional skills, sport-derived athletic legacy, and sport-derived social and community values. A marked identity tension also emerged: the majority of participants reported a discrepancy between their internal athletic self-perception and their external entrepreneurial image, a pattern particularly pronounced among women. Discussion The findings support an identity-layering rather than identity-replacement account of the sport-to-entrepreneurship transition and extend sport entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial identity theory beyond their predominantly Western boundaries. They carry implications for athlete career development programmes and sport management policy in Saudi Arabia and the broader Arab world.