Iranian Financial Engineering Association(IFEA) International Journal of Finance & Managerial Accounting 2588-4379 13 48 2026 01 01 Identifying the factors affecting sports economics in Iranian sports talent search using a grounded theory approach 43 60 24278 10.22034/ijfma.2025.78292.2232 EN Hossein Moshtari Doust Department of Public administration, UAE.C., Islamic Azad University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hamed Rahmani Department of Public administration, Qa.C., Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran Hajieh Rajabi Farjad Department of Human Ressources Managment, Amin University of Law Enforcement Sciences, Tehran, Iran Sedighe Tootian Esfahan , Department of Public administration, WT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2025 02 13 Abstract<br>Talent discovery is a topic that is of particular importance in the world of sports, identifying the factors of success paves the way to reach the peak of glory in this path. Therefore, the process of discovering athletes through talent discovery and participation in an organized training program is one of the most important topics in sports today. The methodology used in this study is qualitative-quantitative, in which the grounded theory method was used in the qualitative part and the FDAHP technique was used in the quantitative part. To identify the components, interviews were conducted with 15 experts using open, axial, and selective coding. The results of this qualitative research also led to the identification of 71 effective components, and after implementing three stages of fuzzy Delphi with a data-driven approach, 30 components factors affecting sports economics in Iranian sports talent, including government support; economic factors; cultural and social factors; location factors; technology; laws and regulations; creating social justice; improving the sports economy; ... and the age of starting sports. <br>Keywords: Talent search, sports talent search, sports economics, grounded theory, fuzzy Delphi http://www.ijfma.ir/article_24278_46ec3ee8c6ef686a945d04daf92927f3.pdf