Sport Governance, Democracy and Globalization

Abstract

The chapter focuses on concepts of governance, democracy, and stakeholders in global non-profit sport. Recent issues, transgressions, and failures in sport have demonstrated how fragile sport’s integrity is and how often it has been compromised. To restore sport’s integrity, it is imperative that principles of good governance are adopted by sport organizations, throughout the world. Good governance includes such elements as democracy, transparency, and accountability. To achieve good governance, one must consider the various interests of key stakeholders in sport (e.g., athletes and participants, coaches, officials, volunteers, public, public organizations, media, corporations). Although challenging for leaders of international sport organizations, it is important to engage these stakeholders in the decision-making process of the organization, particularly when decisions directly affect them. Three international organizations are featured as examples where athletes’ interests are addressed: UNI World Athletes/World Players Association, Sport Integrity Global Alliance, and Global Athlete. Other organizations are also identified as examples where principles of good governance are followed. Recent global events—namely the anti-racism protests held in the spring of 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic that started in 2019—are also addressed along with the impact they have had on international sport organizations.