The development and expansion of standard sports spaces plays a vital role in increasing student participation, nurturing sports talents, and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. This study aims to identify factors influencing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Martyr Sardar Soleimani plan, which includes the design and optimization of 2,100 sports spaces in the national education system. The research is applied, and data were collected through a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) field study. In the qualitative section, thematic analysis and semi‑structured interviews were conducted with 15 experts, while in the quantitative section, 423 project implementers were selected as the sample. The researcher‑made questionnaire had confirmed face and content validity by 10 sports management professors and high reliability (α = 0.95). Data analysis was performed using Smart PLS4 and SPSS26 software. Initially, a semi‑structured four‑question tool was developed and refined through a two‑stage fuzzy Delphi process, resulting in 63 finalized questions categorized into six groups. The findings indicated that, for effectiveness, the priorities were student‑centered, school‑centered, organization‑centered, standardization‑centered, community‑centered, and teacher‑centered. Regarding efficiency, the most influential factors were community‑centered, standardization‑centered, teacher‑centered, school‑centered, student‑centered, and organization‑centered. The identified factors were presented as strategies to enhance the plan’s effectiveness and efficiency. Overall, continuous monitoring, sustainable financial allocation, and the use of internal and external capacities are essential to fulfilling the goals of the Fundamental Transformation Document and achieving sustainable development of student sports spaces.