Governance in Sport: Outside the Box?

Abstract

‘Governance’ in its simplest form is the way that an organisation is directed and controlled, but the concept of governance also incorporates systems of rules, relationships, and processes to achieve that end. This article focuses on governance of sporting organisations in Australia. Sport in Australia is organised in a singular fashion when compared to other organisations and to sport in other countries. This has significant implications for assumptions about corporate structure, law and governance. The article examines governance of sporting organisations from a number of perspectives and draws distinctions between standard assumptions about governance and the realities of sports governance in Australia. It concludes that a number of assumptions made about organisations in law and governance theory do not apply to Australian sporting organisations. It asks how these anomalies in assumption and execution affect ultimate good governance in sport and impact on the way directors approach their duties.