‘Clean Games Inside and Outside the Stadium’ in Brazil: A Winning Legacy Model for International Sport Events? Michael Pedersen
September 18, 2013
The legacy of international sport events is becoming a hot governance related topic in the world of sport. Beyond traditional aspects such as the impact on economic development and public participation in sport, a wide range of societal issues are now also finding their way to the agenda, i.e. issues like human rights violations, the level of corruption in building public infrastructure to host events and the size of public investments needed for such infrastructure. How and to what extent sport leaders decide to respond to this challenge will substantially impact the legacy of future international sport events.
Innovative approaches that place international sport events as part of a solution to societal issues are being developed and have the potential of being scaled and replicated elsewhere, partly or fully. Sport leaders initiating or supporting such solutions by no means get a guarantee for a spotless legacy of their sport events. However, sport leaders deciding not to do anything to become part of a solution almost for sure will face a negative impact on the legacy of their events.
This sixth contribution of mine for iSportconnect’s expert column on sport governance offers perspectives on a project in Brazil called ‘Clean Games Inside and Outside the Stadium’. The project aims at increasing transparency and accountability in the way that funds for public infrastructure to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games are spent. My contribution also offers some challenging questions about event governance in sport as such for sport leaders to consider, as they start modernizing their governance standards for the future.
The next contribution of mine is going to be published in the middle of October. It will offer perspectives on how the German Football League is addressing the issue of match fixing. The contribution is going to focus on preventive, detective as well as sanction governance measures in place.
Good governance is the foundation for creating a spotless legacy of an international sport event
It has become widespread practice for many sport federations to pursue a franchise like model for outsourcing the hosting of international sport events. While there are good financial and logistical reasons for doing so, outsourcing of sport events also poses a great reputation risk to sport federations and the sports that they govern.
Traditional event governance issues include criteria for selection of hosts, rights and responsibilities of hosts, technical requirements for sport venues, fair pricing and distribution of tickets and sponsorship revenue sharing. Yet, no matter whether sport leaders find it justified or not, many stakeholders of sport increasingly turn to sport federations for solutions to address a wide range of societal issues in countries that are granted the right to host international sport events. Such issues include human rights violations, the level of corruption in building public infrastructure to host sport events and the size of public investments needed for such infrastructure. How and to what extent sport leaders decide to respond to this challenge will substantially impact the future legacy of international sport events.
Proactively and adequately managing reputation risks related to the outsourcing of sport events enevitably comes down to having sound event governance standards in place. Such standards are the foundation for building trust with key stakeholders of sport, i.e. by showcasing how a sport event taking place in a particular country can offer winning solutions to all societal players.
Sportsmanship and fair play are core values of sport. Building on that along with the widely acknowledged power of sport in generating positive social change, there is a particular opportunity to position an international sport event as part of a solution to fight corruption. By doing so, sport leaders build an added positive legacy of their sport events, i.e. along the lines that winning is as much about outstanding results as it is about outstanding behavior – inside and outside the stadium.
Collective action is a means to creating ‘Clean Games Inside and Outside the Stadium’ in Brazil
Ethos Institute’s project, ‘Clean Games Inside and Outside the Stadium’, aims at promoting greater transparency, accountability and integrity of infrastructure investments related to Brazil’s hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. With a budget of USD 3.1 million, mainly provided through a grant by the Siemens Integrity Initiative, the six-year project establishes sector agreements between companies and local public administration transparency commitments between people in public office. It also develops collective action tools for the general public to monitor how the funds for public infrastructure projects are spent.
The sector agreements, focused on construction, transportation, energy and hospital equipment, are at the heart of the project. They comprise self-regulation mechanisms among signatory companies to enhance integrity in public-private sector engagements and to counter corruption by defining clear rules for companies competing within the same sector.
Local public administration transparency commitments offer mayor candidates running for election in the 12 cities to host the sport events a platform for making commitments on transparent and accountable use of funds for public infrastructure to support the hosting of the sport events.
Tools for the general public to monitor how the funds for public infrastructure projects are spent include publications about how to read bid contracts and about how to spot the most common ways of breaching the rules of public works. They also include engaging citizens, civil society organizations and companies in a concerted effort to further improve the regulatory framework for anti-corruption in Brazil.
While Ethos Institute hosts the secretariat of the project, the overall coordination is carried out by a multi-stakeholder steering committee. The members of the steering committee count representatives from Ethos Institute, the Brazilian government, academia, intergovernmental organizations, athletes, civil society and academia.
Critical questions for sport leaders to ask themselves
Inspired by the ‘Clean Games Inside and Outside the Stadium’ project in Brazil, critical questions for sport leaders to ask themselves, as they start modernizing governance standards for the future, include:
> What comprises sound governance standards for international sport events? – Both in terms of issues to cover and solutions to put in place (all the way from criteria for selecting hosts and rights and responsibilities of hosts to fair pricing and distribution of tickets and sponsorship revenue sharing to addressing societal issues)?
> What can you learn from recent cases of societal issues being raised in the context of international sport events? – And from the way that the host and the relevant sport federation handled the challenge?
> Which are the societal issues of concern to the general public in the country that is going to host your next sport event? – What is the likelihood and potential reputational damage to your federation and your sport, should specific societal issues be linked to the country hosting your sport event? – And so, in such an assessment, what is the one societal issue that is most critical to the legacy of your sport event?
> How could your sport event be part of a solution to address the one societal issue that is most critical to the legacy of your sport event? – Who are the societal players, the collaboration with whom would add the most legitimacy and credibility to your engagement in a solution?
> What ought internal governance standards of the local organizing committee of your future sport events look like to best safeguard the legacy of the sport event and the integrity of your sport federation and your sport as such?
Links to my previous contributions for iSportconnect’s expert column on sport governance:
‘England and Wales Cricket Board: A Winning Model for Transparency and Accountability in Sport?’
‘Badminton World Federation: A Winning Model for Democratizing Sport in the 21st Century?’
‘The Business Case for Good Governance in Sport’
‘Sport Governance – What Are We Actually Talking About?’
Michael Pedersen, Founder of M INC., is an internationally recognized expert and leader in good governance, transparency, ethics and integrity.
Michael is the former Head of the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative, an international good governance partnership with over 175 multinational companies and their CEOs. He holds three MSc degrees; an MSc in Global Leadership; an MSc in Responsibility and Business Practice; and an MSc in International Relations.
Michael is passionate about sport. Sport has and continues to play an important role in his life. He is of Danish origin and currently lives in Lima, Peru and in Barcelona, Spain.
He also publishes a leadership series on good governance in sport that is available for free download at: http://minc.ch/sport-practice.html
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