Don Dobson | Is it time for a mandatory code for sports governance?

In a report aired during TVJ’s Prime Time Sports on January 29, it was reported that a number of national sporting associations had not received their monthly subventions from the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) due to a failure to submit audited financial statements. The SDF’s decision to withhold funding may be a necessary step to ensure that its beneficiaries and sports organisations, generally, begin to take governance and compliance matters more seriously.

As a government entity, the SDF is duty bound to ensure that the large sums it distributes to local sports organisations are used appropriately. In 2023, the SDF provided $248.3 million to national sporting associations. Are these funds being used efficiently and effectively to develop sports? Are these associations in good financial standing? are questions the SDF must be able to answer.

Audited financial statements support proper financial monitoring as they provide useful information and insights into the financial performance and position of an organisation. In well-run sports organisations, the leadership is required and expected to present audited financials to members annually, in an easy-to-understand format, for scrutiny against the agreed budget. Accordingly, the failure of any national sports association to submit audited statements to the SDF may be indicative of larger governance issues.

LONG TIME COMING

For years, business leaders have been encouraging local sports organisations to integrate corporate-governance principles and practices in their operations. At the RJRGLEANER Sports Foundation Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards ceremony in January 2020, keynote speaker Douglas Orane spoke about the importance of proper and consistent financial record keeping and the positive effect of good governance on sports associations.

Similarly, in a Jamaica Observer article published on February 20, 2024, Executive Chairman of Supreme Ventures Limited Gary Peart implored local sports associations to place greater emphasis on financial transparency and accountability as good governance would make them more attractive to corporate sponsors and partners. “... One of the basic things sporting federations should have is their financial statements because those show implicitly and explicitly that you’re in control of your finances … ,” he said.

PRESSURE

If these words of encouragement and sound advice are to materialise into a culture of good governance among national sports associations, pressure will have to be exerted. As a significant investor in sport, the Government (Ministry of Sport and the SDF) can exert influence on local sports organisations through its funding directives and policy initiatives. One hopes that this action by the SDF is the first in a series of steps that will ultimately culminate in a mandatory code of governance for sports organisations in receipt of funding from the Government.

This, of course, would have to involve extensive consultations between the Government, sports organisations, athletes, and other key stakeholders to ensure that the code is fit-for-purpose across all areas of governance, accounts for differences in the administrative capacity and resources of local sports organisations, and considers the economic realities facing them.

It would also behove the Government to establish a reasonable transition period and engage a sports governance adviser along with governance liaisons to provide the necessary support to these organisations as they work towards compliance and improved governance practices. The process must be supportive, not punitive, as the code’s overarching purpose would be to strengthen these organisations so that they can more effectively execute their mandates, not to withhold funding.

UK CODE FOR SPORTS GOVERNANCE

In other jurisdictions, it has been shown that mandatory codes can act as a catalyst for improving governance. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Code for Sports Governance, which is mandatory for funded bodies, has been credited with improving governance in a wide and diverse range of sports organisations, community groups and charities. The code was launched in 2016 by Sport England and UK Sport.

A review of the code undertaken by these two public bodies in 2020, revealed that 87 per cent of organisations funded by UK Sport and/or Sport England found the code helpful and while some organisations reported significant challenges in implementing some of the requirements, 88 per cent indicated that the code had tightened their organisation’s governance.

While a mandatory code of governance will not solve all the challenges facing Jamaica’s sports sector, it will support the continued professionalisation of our sports organisations, especially national sporting associations. Over time, embedding strong governance practices will create dynamic, well-managed organisations, boost accountability and transparency in public funding, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and unlock vital resources to fuel the growth and development of sports from the grass-roots level to the elite level.

Don Dobson is a Chevening Scholar and a member of the Board of the Sports Council for Glasgow, Scotland. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.