Improving Organizational and Economic Mechanisms for Managing Sports Club Activities in Higher Education Institutions

The relevance of this study is determined by the growing role of university sports in the comprehensive development of students and the need to enhance the effectiveness of managing sports clubs under conditions of limited financial resources and ongoing higher education reforms. In Uzbekistan, sports clubs in higher education institutions play an important social and educational role; however, their management is often characterized by centralized administration, insufficient financial autonomy, and underdeveloped economic mechanisms. The purpose of this article is to improve the organizational and economic mechanisms for managing sports club activities in higher education institutions using the case of Uzbekistan. The study is based on an empirical research design employing a mixed-methods approach, including questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and statistical data processing. The results of the study identify key organizational and economic constraints affecting the effectiveness of university sports clubs, including limited diversification of funding sources and weak incentive mechanisms. The research substantiates that sports clubs with semi-autonomous management structures and diversified financial models demonstrate higher management effectiveness and greater student participation. Based on the findings, integrated organizational and economic management mechanisms are developed and justified. The theoretical significance of the study lies in enriching sports management research with context-specific empirical evidence. The practical significance is associated with the possibility of applying the proposed mechanisms to improve the efficiency and sustainability of sports club management in higher education institutions.