The tenth anniversary scientific conference "Challenges and Prospects for Sports Science - Problems to Modern Sport" was held at the National Sports Academy "Vasil Levski" on 04.12.12.2018. The conference aimed at bringing together the scientific knowledge of the national and international scientific community in the field of sport, as well as to familiarize the participants with good practice on the topic.
Prof. Tatiana Yancheva, Deputy Rector for Scientific and International Activities at NSA "Vasil Levski", Prof. Krasimir Petkov - Dean of the Coaches Faculty of NSA "Vasil Levski", members of the Academic Council, lecturers and students were among the participants.
The Bulgarian sports development association took part in the scientific conference with a report entitled "Good Governance in Sport", prepared and presented by Ivaylo Zdravkov, a member of the Management Board of the organization. The presented study highlighted good practices that apply to good governance in various sporting structures in different countries across Europe. The project is a positive initiative that is implemented at the moment, which aims at finding a way to analyze, collect and disseminate publicity practices of the decisions taken, the governing bodies and the transparency of the public funding. For the first time, the data from a large-scale study of the transparency and integrity of 56 sports organizations at national and European level was presented, which aimed at establishing to what extent managerial and financial decisions were available to interested citizens and institutions. Full details of the survey will be available very soon at www.eusport.org/GoodGovernance.
Good governance in sport sector has been a topic that is becoming more and more needed in the field, as we are seeing the endless problems, starting with:
- Low numbers of people are activelly involved in sport and physical activity. Sport in the present reality is one of many possibilites that European citizens have and sometimes, in some ways, not the most attractive one;
- Interest of the society members to be involved in sport is decreasing more and more due to the endless scandals, corruption, match fixing, doping, lack of transparency, activities, not focused on sport for all activities and public funding invested mainly in professional sport;
- Public attention is becoming higher on the public finances expenditure (recent resigning of candidate – cities to host Olympic games) and reflecting the governance problems in sport, people are loosing their trust in sport organizations potential and the believe of returning the investments made in major sport events;
European, national and local sport organizations and federations and sport governance at all levels needs to implement necessary reforms, as stated already from many European sport organizations with the signing of the declaration on good governance (presented in Brussels in September 2016 and signed by BSDA in Malta in March 2017). As the sport bodies have been invited to commit to promote or implement basic principles of good governance in sport: integrity, transparency, accountability, democracy and inclusivity and as it is only a beginning of a process we need to walk in the present reality in order to make sport competible in the dynamic world.
Until the moment, across Europe efforts are being made to try and raise governance standards in the sports sector, specifically around the principles of democracy, transparency, accountability in decision-making, and inclusiveness in the representation of interested stakeholders. While taking into account the great diversity of sport structures in different European countries, the EU aims to strengthen the organisation of sport in Europe. The proper approach should be to provide added value to work at national level by collecting and sharing good practices and providing practical recommendations that will help increase standards of good governance in sport.
Until the moment, on the field of Good governance in sport has been walked the following steps:
The 2007 White Paper on Sport noted that self-regulation is able to deal with most challenges that affect sport if good governance principles are being applied;
In its 2011 Communication (Developing the European Dimension in Sport) the Commission took a more elaborate position, noting that good governance in sport is a condition for the autonomy and self-regulation of sport organisations;
In 2011, the topics of good governance and strengthening the organisation of sport in Europe were included in the Preparatory Actions in the field of sport. Eight projects were selected, implemented, and concluded by the end of 2013;
An EU Expert Group on Good Governance was established on the basis of the Council Resolution on an EU Work Plan for Sport 2011-2014. In October 2013, the Group adopted recommendations on the Principles for Good Governance of Sport in the EU and presented them to the EU Council;
In 2016, Flagship event on good governance in sport has been conducted and a Pledge on good governance in sport has been launched and supported by 32 sport organizations in Europe;
An integrated approach to Sport Policy: good governance, accessibility and integrity report has been accepted from the EP and also has been main topic of Sport Forum 2017, held during the Maltese presidency. During the event, project applicant BSDA has signed the pledge to implement good governance principles in grassroots sport.
#GoodGovernance
