Badminton World Federation: A Winning Model for Democratizing Sport in the 21st Century? – Michael Pedersen

Many national and international sport governing bodies find themselves stuck in outdated governance systems of democratic voting and decision making that were designed for the early days of amateur sport. However, the democratic governance system of Badminton World Federation offers a fresh and unorthodox perspective on democratizing sport for the 21^st century.

In moving away from the traditional democratic governance system of many sport federations, ‘one member association, one vote’, Badminton World Federation has introduced a democratic governance system according to which its member associations are allocated votes based on their ability to further develop badminton. Besides being an inspiring case of change, the democratic governance system of Badminton World Federation offers an interesting opportunity for sport leaders across the world to rethink sport democratization, as they start modernizing their governance standards to get fit for purpose in the 21^st century.

This fourth contribution of mine to iSportconnect’s expert column on sport governance will be followed by a fifth one in the middle of August. The next contribution is going to offer perspectives on transparency and accountability in sport with a focus on the case of England and Wales Cricket Board.

The democratic governance system of sport is quite different from the one of countries and not really fit for purpose in the 21^st century

The majority of countries in the world are now classified as democracies, inasmuch as they have democratic governance systems in place that are designed to ensure equality, freedom and rule of law. Yet, the nature of the democratic governance systems varies substantially across the world. While some countries directly elect a president or a prime minister, others have parliaments do it. While some countries have one parliamentary chamber, others have two. While some countries have a strict separation of power between executive, legislative and judicial bodies, others have a more blurred set of checks and balances. While some countries have time-in-office limits, others do not. The same diversity of democratic governance systems is at play when countries come together in regional and global intergovernmental bodies.

In comparison, the democratic governance systems of sport governing bodies are less diverse, nationally as well as internationally. Typically, such bodies have a democratic governance system in place according to which all member associations have one vote at the general assembly, regardless of the size of their participation base and their actual contribution and importance to a particular sport. Many sport governing bodies elect their presidents/chairmen and board members as such at the general assembly, some with a guarantee to certain member associations or regional groupings of member associations of getting representation in the boardroom, often with no time-in-office limits. Also, many boards of sport governing bodies both have executive, legislative and judicial powers or a mix of the three for the sport that they govern.

While the traditional democratic governance system of sport governing bodies may have served the development of sport well in the amateur days of sport, it is no longer fit for purpose in the 21^st century. In acknowledging that, the most relevant question for sport leaders to consider is how their democratic governance systems could be rethought to better support the further development of sport. In an era of growing interdependence and importance of stakeholder engagement for all societal players, properly answering the question includes considering what all key stakeholders of sport consider legitimate and fair in ensuring equality, freedom and rule of law.

Badminton World Federation’s democratic governance system stands out in allocating votes based on member associations’ ability to further develop the sport

Unlike most other sport governing bodies, nationally and internationally, Badminton World Federation does not have a democratic governance system along the lines of ‘one member association, one vote’ at its general assembly. Rather, member associations are allocated a minimum of one and a maximum of five votes based on criteria that favor the ones proving able to contribute the most to the further development of badminton.

Allocation of votes to member associations is made for a four-year period at a time, based on a four-year retrospective assessment period. Accordingly, under the precondition that a member association is in good standing, its number of votes at the general assembly is allocated along the lines of the following criteria:

Rights and responsibilities go hand in hand for member associations in Badminton World Federation. Consequently, the actual size of a member association’s membership fee is determined according to a scale of units that is a function of the number of votes allocated to the association. The scale of units is as follows:

Badminton World Federation covers travel expenses for all member associations to send one representative to attend its general assembly. Representatives must have citizenship of the country of the member association that they represent. They must also be a member of the equivalent of a board of the member association or be an employee of the association, for no less than 12 months. Vote by proxy is not allowed. Only member associations directly represented at the general assembly are in a position to cast votes.

With a few exceptions, all matters at the general assembly are decided by a simple majority of the votes. According to the statutes of Badminton World Federation, it takes the minimum presence of 1/3 of the members in good standing to form a valid general assembly quorum. Voting may take place by a show of hands or by voice. A secret ballot may take place, if requested by a member association in good standing and approved by a simple majority of the votes, or if decided by the chair.

There are 26 members of the Council of the Badminton World Federation. The Council constitutes the equivalent of a board. 21 of the 26 Council members are elected at the general assembly; the president, the deputy president, one vice-president representing para-badminton and 18 additional Council members. The remaining five Council members, all at the level of vice-president, are elected at general assemblies of their respective regional federations to represent the group of member associations in their regions. Those general assemblies and elections are held prior to the general assembly of Badminton World Federation.