Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between social capital and women’s participation in sport. The study was conducted using survey and the data were collected through questionnaires. The population consisted of women upper than 19 years of age and the sample consisted of 500 women. The sample was selected using multi-stage random cluster sampling. To analyze the data and to test the research model, the researchers used regression and SEM using Amos. The analyses of the data indicated that women in Ilam participate in professional sport (15%), regular sport (188%), health-oriented sport (17%), recreational sport (15.2%), and irregular exercises (8%). Additionally, 26% of women follow no sport activities. Furthermore, the results indicate that social participation (organizational membership and social network), and social trust (interpersonal, general, civil and institutional) can respectively explain .268 and .366 of the variance in sport participation. Together, they explain .59 of the variance in women’s sport participation.