Good Governance Leadership in Sport as Showcased by the International Triathlon Union

It is probably fair to say that everybody with a passion for sport is concerned and saddened to see all the continued headlines about corruption, doping, match-fixing and other integrity issues in sport. Not only do such headlines take away attention and trust from the beautiful game. As a result of what is widely seen as sport organizations no longer being fit for purpose, fans, athletes, sponsors, governments and sport organizations are also starting to acknowledge the importance and urgency in bringing about change in the way that sport is governed.

In this process, challenging questions call for answers. For instance questions such as what kind of governance issues pose the greatest risk to specific sport organizations and what evolving good sport governance practices look like or ought to look like. Based on the perspectives and frameworks offered in the first article in this iSportconnect sport governance series, this article offers some answers to these questions through an interview with Marisol Casado, President of the International Triathlon Union and IOC Member. Subsequent articles will do the same through interviews with David Grevemberg, CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation; Poul-Erik Hoyer, President of Badminton World Federation and IOC Member; and Giovanni Malagò, President of the Italian National Olympic Committee respectively.

The strategic importance and urgency of good governance in sport

There are several reasons why more and more sport leaders consider good governance in sport as a challenge of strategic importance and urgency, as opposed to just regarding it as the nice thing or the right thing to do. First Most importantly, a sound platform of good governance is the foundation for building trust, growth and performance into the future.

Marisol Casado describes the case for good governance in sport in the following way: “It is a fact that trust in sport is at an all time low. We, the international sport federations, have to deserve recognition by society. Acknowledging the current crisis, we are all working hard to achieve that by aligning with principles of good governance.”

As far as the case of the International Triathlon Union is concerned, Marisol adds that “we like challenges in triathlon. We are open to learn and change. For instance, we need to make sure that the new national federations joining our international umbrella have a culture of good governance. The positive aspect is that since the younger national federations are new, it is easier for us to impose a culture of good governance on member federations.”

Evolving good governance practices in sport

While the media is mostly focused on cases of bad governance in sport these days, there are actually quite a few remarkable cases of evolving good sport governing practices too. Such cases offer great inspiration and learning, as sport governing bodies gear up for modernizing the way they are governed. Examples of the governance leadership that the International Triathlon Union is showcasing include:

Marisol Casado describes these examples in the following ways:

A) Gender balance in leadership positions

“What I would like to highlight the most among the many governance related engagements of mine is my work to promote gender balance in international sport federations. The results are not as good, as I would like them to be. Some international federations do not even have a single woman in their boardroom. However, I try really hard to make the case for placing women in important positions, including by using my own example.

The main problem that we are facing around gender equality in sport is that sport has a men’s culture. Creating cultural change is very difficult. However, I am happy to notice that there is now gender balance in athletes’ participation in the Olympic Games. Based on that I am confident that we will soon arrive at increased gender balance in sport administration too, both in the international sport federations and in the IOC.

In accordance with our constitution at the International Triathlon Union, we need to ensure that at least 20 per cent of our board members are women. Ensuring proper remuneration of the top job is also an important aspect of enabling more women and younger people in general to run for office, as long as it is not considered excessive. Introducing such remuneration is an important part of my legacy at the International Triathlon Union.” 

B) An Oath of Office for board members

“Following our elections, board members have to give an oath of office, stating their commitment to proper behavior and principles of good governance.”

C) Transparency regarding finances and decisions

 “Transparency is a very important part of good governance. We follow the rules and have nothing to hide and a lot of good things to promote. As soon as they are available, we publish audited financial statements and congress minutes on our website.”

D) An independent disciplinary panel

“The International Triathlon Union now has an independent disciplinary body, reviewing violations and considering sanctions. The body is independent, in the sense that its members are not allowed to have roles with national member federations or our board. Previously, the board of the International Triathlon Union oversaw disciplinary matters. However, we realized that that was not in line with principles of good governance.”

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