UK Sports Minister Tracey Couch says the country will become a world leader in sports governance and transparency as national sports bodies work to comply with the country’s new sports governance code.
The code’s implementation has been led by Sport England and UK Sport advising/consulting governing bodies
The code focuses on three specific areas:
• Greater all-round transparency
• Increased skills and diversity in decision making—with a target of at least 30 per cent gender diversity on boards—and a commitment to greater diversity more generally
• Constitutional arrangements that make boards the ultimate decision-makers
Crouch said significant progress has been made on the mandate with “50 sports bodies including the Football Association, England and Wales Cricket Board, Lawn Tennis Association, Rugby Football Union and British Cycling all having plans already agreed on how they will become compliant,” according to a report by SBC News.
“I am really pleased with how governing bodies have responded to the introduction of the code,” Crouch said. “I appreciate for many sports this is not an easy task, due to the complexities of current governance structures, but virtually all of them have stepped up, understand the importance of this work and have changes in the pipeline that will collectively strengthen sport in this country. Good governance and transparency in sport are absolutely paramount not just for effective decision making but to increase diversity, maintain sport’s integrity and ensure millions of sports fans have complete faith in those that run sport.”
Crouch pointed to the country’s Football Association as an example, which has agreed to reduce the board in size from 12 to 10 members and introduce term limits.
