Critical Challenges to the Sustainable Development of University Sports Facilities in the African Context: Leisure, Policy, Infrastructure, and Leadership

Abstract

Background. The sustainable development of university sports facilities is crucial for athletic performance, student engagement, and long-term institutional sustainability. In Ethiopian universities, this development is hindered by inadequate infrastructure and maintenance, weak policy implementation, limited financial resources, low leisure participation, and insufficient leadership and management capacity. Study purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the key factors affecting the sustainable development of university sports facilities in Ethiopia, focusing on infrastructure, policy and governance, leadership and management capacity, financial sustainability, and leisure activity participation. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 100 purposively selected athletes, coaches, facility managers, administrators, finance officers, and policy personnel across Ethiopian public universities. Data were collected using a validated 42-item questionnaire covering six variables. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) confirmed construct validity (KMO = 0.812, 68.4% of variance explained), and scale reliability was high (overall α = 0.819). Statistical power was verified using G*Power (1 − β > 0.99). Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression with regression diagnostics (VIF and residual analysis) were performed. Results. Mean scores revealed low to moderate performance across facility infrastructure (M = 2.74), leisure participation (M = 2.69), policy and governance (M = 2.62), leadership capacity (M = 2.61), sustainable facility development (M = 2.56), and financial sustainability (M = 2.50). Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the five predictor domains collectively accounted for 71.0% of the variance in sustainable facility development (R² = 0.710, F(5, 94) = 46.01, p < 0.001). Facility infrastructure (β = 0.712, p < 0.001) and financial sustainability (β = 0.653, p < 0.001) emerged as the strongest predictors, followed by leadership capacity (β = 0.387, p = 0.003), policy and governance (β = 0.312, p < 0.001), and leisure participation (β = 0.298, p = 0.001). Conclusion. These results demonstrate that Ethiopian university sports facilities face substantial structural and systemic challenges. Achieving long-term facility sustainability requires an integrated approach: enhancing infrastructure quality, securing diversified funding, strengthening leadership capacity, enforcing governance policies, and promoting student leisure engagement. Addressing these key areas together is essential for establishing resilient, well-maintained sports facilities across higher education institutions.