Introduction: Cultural intelligence reflects the abilities of a person to act and manage effectively in organizations which are diverse culturally (Crowne kerri, 2013). Ang et al (2007) consider cognitive intelligence as a knowledge of the norms, practices, customs, and rules in a culturally diverse environment which is acquired through education and personal experience. In a cultural intelligence reflects individuals' ability to effectively act and investigation on the relationship between cultural intelligence and , Khani et al (2011) , in a study on the relationship between cultural intelligence and effectiveness among the staff of Mobarakeh Steel Company found out that there is a meaningful relationship between cultural intelligence and its components on one hand, and group effectiveness on the other hand. Also in a study by Almran and Punamaki (2008), the gender and age differences of athletes in cultural intelligence were investigated, and the results showed that gender had a relationship with cultural intelligence, and athlete girls enjoyed higher interpersonal skills.
Methodology: The phenomenological method with a qualitative approach was used in this study. The study population included Iranian national and international coaches in 2016. In this research, the sample was selected purposefully through snowball sampling method. A total of 10 participants voluntarily participated in this study. Deep semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. The validity and reliability of the results were assessed.
Results: The inclusive theme “Cultural Differences” was introduced as a source of cognitive-cultural intelligence from the perspective of Iranian sports experts. The following organizing categories were identified in this theme: "the presence of subcultures", "social behaviors", and "elements of culture". In some aspects, the results of this study are similar to the theory of cultural intelligence from the viewpoint of Early and Ang (2003).
Discussion: One of the very prominent characteristics of contemporary societies is characteristic, cultural pluralism and diversity. Athletic events are places to deal with this cultural diversity. The results showed that the causes of these cultural differences are the presence of subcultures, social behaviors specific to each society, and different elements in cultures, in a way that differences in language, clothing, customs and traditions, ethnicity, policies, and many other characteristics emerge as sources of potential conflict among cultures. Therefore, it is suggested that one of the goals of athletes, coaches, and referees in athletic events should be the understanding of cultural differences to reach their athletic achievements.