The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Management System of Sports Clubs in Ethiopia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67440/ahj.vi.2109Keywords:
COVID-19, Sport Management, Organizational Resilience, Ethiopia, Indigenous Innovation, Relational Leadership, Crisis Management, Resource-Constrained Sport Clubs.Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to the global sports industry, with resource-constrained environments like Ethiopia experiencing profound management disruptions. This study investigates the impact of the pandemic on the management systems of 20 Ethiopian sports clubs across the disciplines of athletics, cycling, football, and handball. Employing the Koontz and O’Donnell (POSDC) management framework, a mixed-methods approach was used, combining quantitative surveys from 330 respondents—including board members, coaches, technicians, and athletes—with qualitative interviews and document analysis. The primary focus was to assess how core management functions—planning, staffing, organizing, directing, controlling, and training—were affected during the crisis and to identify factors contributing to organizational resilience.
Results reveal significant regional and sport-specific disparities. Clubs based in Addis Ababa demonstrated stronger management practices compared to those in Tigray, which faced ongoing conflict and infrastructural collapse. Quantitative analysis through non-parametric tests identified notable gaps in planning and staffing, exposing systemic vulnerabilities. The study underscores the importance of relational leadership, particularly the manager-coach relationship, which correlated positively with protocol adherence and service continuity. Indigenous innovation—low-tech solutions and social capital—proved crucial for adaptation, especially in resource-limited clubs.
The findings emphasize that organizational resilience in Ethiopian sports clubs largely depends on relational and human capital, with pre-existing management inequalities intensified by the pandemic. Recommendations include institutionalizing crisis management partnerships, developing decentralized capacity-building programs, adopting flexible control systems, and protecting human capital. This research contributes empirical insights into sport management and crisis resilience within a developing world context, highlighting adaptive leadership and indigenous social assets as vital for navigating future crises.
