A tool to improve governance
Since 2011, Play the Game has worked with leading academic experts and actors in sport to develop tools to benchmark and develop good governance practices in sports organisations at different levels:
- International sports federations
- National sports federations
- National anti-doping organisations
The benchmarking process monitors how individual sports organisations implement good governance standards by scoring their performance on indicators on four different dimensions:
- Transparency
- Democracy
- Internal accountability and control
- Societal responsibility
The benchmarking process can be undertaken by researchers from different backgrounds and should include contact with the sports organisation under review to ensure accuracy and establish the basis for dialogue about how the organisation can improve its governance standards.
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Become an NSGO partner
You can apply to become a partner of the National Sport Governance Observer project and carry out official benchmarking of governance in sports organisations in your own or another country.
Learn more and apply here
Do your own benchmarking
Play the Game has launched two online tools that allow anyone to benchmark an international sports federation or national sports organisation following the principles of the governance observer tools.
It is also possible to compare results from all previous benchmarking projects carried out by Play the Game's experts in the context of the Sports Governance Observer and the National Sports Governance Observer.
A history of good governance research
Action for Good Governance in International Sports Organisations (AGGIS)
Play the Game's research into good governance began with the AGGIS-project in 2012-2013. The project was established through a grant from the European Commission and carried out in cooperation with partners from six European universities. The goal of the project was to create a global index for good governance in sport.
One of the key results of the project was the Sports Governance Observer, a checklist of elements that the experts deemed vital for good governance in international sports federations.
Read more about the AGGIS project and download the final report
Sports Governance Observer (SGO)
After the funding period of the AGGIS project, Play the Game decided to continue in a project with the University of Leuven with the aim of elaborating the Sports Governance Observer from a checklist into a practical benchmarking tool with a scoring system that can be used to assess the degree of good governance in international sports federations.
The first SGO report came out in 2015, where the tool was applied to the 35 Olympic international sports federations. By 2018, the 2015-indicators had received an overhaul, and the 2018 and 2019 versions of the reports have made use of this updated tool.
Read more about the SGO project and download the reports
National Sports Governance Observer (NSGO)
In 2017, Play the Game along with partners from nine European countries and Brazil received a grant from the EU's Erasmus+ Programme, that enabled us to create a benchmarking tool based on the SGO tool that assesses the level of good governance in national sports federations.
Read more about the NSGO project and download the reports
National Anti-Doping Governance Observer (NADGO)
The National Anti-Doping Governance Observer (NADGO) used the framework of the NSGO project as a starting point for discussions about how to benchmark national anti-doping governance. The project received a grant from the EU's Eramus+ programme and was carried out in cooperation with a number of partners from national anti-doping organisations, universities and athletes' organisations.
Read more about the NADGO project