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The purpose of this study is to develop a tool to manage financial performance of sport federations. It stimulates thinking about the necessity for non‐profit sport organisations to develop financial performance measures and management to survive and/or to grow.

Adapting the Ritchie and Kolodinsky model of factor analysis through financial ratios in the sport federation context, the paper develops a framework for financial performance measurement of sport federations in Belgium for the years 2001 through 2006.

Based on a principal component analysis, six financial performance‐related categories were constructed, i.e.: public funds dependence; financial balance; attraction of resources; financial budget; member services investment and elite services investment. They form the basis of a dynamic strategic management tool where financial categories are related to each other.

The financial management tool can be a starting point for further organisational (performance) research. Differences and similarities between countries (e.g., sport policy priorities) and sport organisations (e.g., sport profiles) could be better investigated through this financial performance framework.

The tool developed should help strategic volunteers and managers of sport federations to take strategic decision relying on financial information in order to pilot their organisation and to communicate with their stakeholders.

Developing financial performance measurement of non‐profit sport organisations is challenging and considerably different from for‐profit and non‐profit organisations. It provides researchers and practitioners with a viable model for analysing financial strategy and performance of sport federations over time.

This study aims to explore the impact of board size, board gender diversity and federation age on the likelihood of having a female chair in National Sports Federations (NSF).

A quantitative methodology compares 300 sports boards in five countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the UK), using data collected from NSF’s websites.

The board size and federation age have no significant impact on having a female board chair when the countries and the percentage of female directors are included in the model. When the number of women is measured in absolute value rather than in relative terms, the only variable that predicts a woman chair is the country. When the model does not include country differences, the percentage of female directors is key in predicting a chairwoman, and when the number of women is used as a variable instead of the percentage, a board’s smaller size increases the odds of having a chairwoman.

There are some limitations to this study which we believe provide useful directions for future research. Firstly, the authors have not considered the role of gender typing in sports activities which explains the extent that women participate in specific sports (Sobal and Milgrim, 2019) and the related perception of such sports in society. The social representation of sports activities classified as masculine, feminine or gender-neutral can hypothetically influence women’s access to that specific federations’s leadership. The authors included the country factor only partially, as a control variable, as the social representation of sports usually goes beyond national boundaries.

This study has implications for sport policymakers and stakeholders, and for institutions such as the IOC or the European Union that implement equality policies. If the aim is to increase female presence in the highest position of a sports board and to achieve gender equality more generally, other policies need to be implemented alongside gender quotas for the sports boards, namely, those specifically related to the recruitment and selection of the sports board chairs (Mikkonen et al., 2021). For example, given the implications of critical mass and its ability to increase more female’s engagement then the role of existing chairs acting as mentors and taking initiative in this objective may be warranted. Furthermore, attention should be paid to the existing gender portfolio of each board and its subsequent influence on recruiting a female chair, regardless of the organization’s age. Knoppers et al. (2021) concluded that resistance to gender balance by board members is often related to discriminatory discourses against women. The normalization of the discourses of meritocracy, neoliberalism, silence/passivity about the responsibility of structures and an artificial defence of diversity emphasise that equality should not only be determined by women (Knoppers et al., 2021).

When countries are included in the model, the results suggest that the social representation of a female board member is different from that of a female board chair.

The originality of the study is that it shows the factors that constrain women taking up a chair position on NSFs. Theoretically, it contributes to existing literature by demonstrating how a critical mass of females on boards may also extend to the higher and most powerful position of chair.

Being innovative is important for non-profit sport organizations in order to meet the ever-changing and increasing societal needs. Understanding why and to what extent organizational innovativeness differs between non-profit sport organizations is, therefore, important to assess and increase their chances of survival. The purpose of this study is to compare the structural characteristics and attitudes of innovation attributes between three groups of sport federations (SFs).

An online self-assessment survey was sent to all recognized regional Belgian SFs (N = 156). Simultaneously, an observational desk research (i.e. media analysis) was carried out. Results from both data collection methods were combined to develop a composite organizational innovativeness-index, based on which the federations were then clustered in three distinct adopter groups.

Comparative statistics show that structural background characteristics generally are poor indicators for adopter categorization. In contrast, the attitudes about compatibility (i.e. the consistency of innovations with existing values) and complexity (i.e. the extent to which innovations are difficult to apprehend) seem the most important distinctive determinants for the different groups of SFs.

The study's contribution is twofold. First, it offers a methodological contribution with the development of an index, which enables the categorization of non-profit sport organizations according to their organizational innovativeness; thus, it provides a critical counter-argument to the importance of organizational structural background characteristics from previous studies. Second, the study's results may support non-profit sport organizations in improving their innovativeness, for instance by improving the perception of compatibility with innovation or by guiding policymakers in creating a more supportive environment for these organizations to do so.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consolidate knowledge and benchmark the progress being made across the 32 International Federations (IFs) in the Summer Olympic Programme.

Design/methodology/approach: A website content analysis, analytical hierarchy of information, and social media research was conducted to triangulate the barriers and drivers of environmental sustainability (ES) progress. This data was then analysed to empirically substantiate the findings of previous methods by exploring potential drivers of IF ES progress and communication and refining the ranking of IF ES progress.

Results and findings: World Sailing is by far the most advanced IF in terms of ES progress, followed by World Athletics. Only 4 out of 32 have any sort of strategic ES plans. Only golf, surfing, football, sailing, and hockey have received any academic attention. There is a significant lack of understanding of environmental practices across sport, and their drivers/barriers. There is limited accountability with regards to ES progress and activities throughout the Olympic Movement. This has resulted in uneven diffusion of environmental activities.

Originality: This paper is a new contribution to sport management and ES literature. It provides a benchmark of understanding for ES in the Summer Olympic Programme for the first time using a hierarchy of information to ground results. The exploration and comparison of the perspectives of separate sports adds to the paper's originality.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the quality assurance system IKGym (Quality Management System for Gymnastics Clubs), on professionalisation, homogenisation and organisational performance in a sample of gymnastics clubs affiliated to the Flemish Gymnastics Federation.

Data were drawn from a sample of 55 non-profit local Flemish gymnastics clubs, evaluated twice by IKGym between 2004 and 2010. Using a longitudinal analysis of quantitative data of the IKGym data set a paired samples t-test was conducted to measure the impact of IKGym on the sample of gymnastics clubs. Besides, the Pitman-Morgan test was conducted to measure if the gymnastics clubs have become more isomorphic because of IKGym.

First, the results identify different levels of progression towards professionalisation between various quality and performance targets of the gymnastics clubs and depending on the structural design types of these clubs. Second, it was found that during the organisational change the sample of clubs also started to resemble each other more. However, this homogenisation process seems restricted to the organisational management and strategic planning of the clubs and appears especially to clubs belonging to the volunteer structure. Third, the present study also indicates that IKGym has influenced clubs to perform better.

IKGym is considered as a pioneering project where a federation stimulated their clubs to professionalise by means of a system of quality assurance. Several federations and sporting leagues (Deutsche Bundesliga, English Premier League; Belgian Basketballiga, etc.) followed this lead and introduced a similar system to evaluate and direct the management of their clubs.

To identify the organisations that provide global governance within the sports industry, to discuss their role, and to suggest that they have self‐governance problems due to both their evolution and the massive commercialisation of sport of recent decades.

An empirical‐based argument is conducted. Standing at the apex of a hierarchy of national governing bodies and playing organisations, global sports organisations (GSOs) are defined and classified in terms of their governance functions, their commonalities and differences and their interconnections described and analysed. The GSOs for soccer, the Olympics and athletics are used as illustrative cases. Deficiencies in the small sports governance literature are identified. It is argued how the GSOs have maintained their authority as governance organisations despite being private organisations. Hirschman's “Voice, exit and loyalty” model is offered as a partial theoretical interpretation of their situation.

Although one of the GSOs' original major functions of formalising international sport is now complete, they have retained not only their sport governance monopolies and authority but also the original structures designed for amateur sport. This creates problems when the governance monopoly can be used as a revenue device.

Sport is an important part of global culture and an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars where accusations of corruption are common but global governance is little examined. The GSOs, present‐day commercial roles and enormous revenues create unresolved governance problems and these are described.

Introduction – Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon (2009), sport has, for the first time, become a policy area of the European Union (EU).

Purpose – The aim of this chapter is to investigate the EU’s anti-discrimination policy for sports.

Methodology – Firstly, all the agreements, regulations, directives, and court decisions regarding nondiscrimination in sports will be reviewed. Secondly, discriminative examples in different sport branches will be investigated. In fact, this research will examine discrimination in both professional and amateur sports, including discrimination towards men, women, and LGBTIQ+ persons. Thirdly, the bodies, institutions, or persons who are accused of any kind of discrimination in sports will be researched, including fans, officials of clubs and federations, referees, players, and sports media. Finally, recommendations will be presented for the development of an improved sports policy that is capable of increasing diversity and equal participation in European sports.

Findings – For many underlying reasons, which the author will try to address in this chapter, there is a tendency to ignore discrimination in sports. Although the EU has passed legislation specifically designed to prohibit discrimination in sport, neither the legal arrangements nor their applications in Member States serve to end any kind of discrimination in the realm of sports. Thus, this chapter will attempt to raise awareness of this crucial and unending problem.

This paper explores perspectives of elite female athletes competing at world championship sports events, hosted in extreme climatic conditions. From the athlete perspective, it examines the implications of decisions by global sports federations when selecting host cities and the subsequent impacts upon elite athletes competing in unfavourable climates.

Using an exploratory case study approach at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, this paper explores insider perspectives of four elite female participants competing in the Marathon. Adopting the “elite interviewing” technique, and based on event participant experiences, the paper prioritises the perspective and “voice” of the athlete.

Four key themes emerged from the data. These were (1) the importance of training and preparation; (2) unique challenges of competition day; (3) elite athlete retrospection; and (4) prioritising the perspectives of elite athletes at international sports events. The findings highlight the challenges of managing athlete preparation and performance at world championship events hosted in extreme climatic conditions.

The sample size for this study whilst relatively small is unique. This reflects challenges accessing elite athletes, their reluctance to be interviewed, and the small pool of elite athlete talent available. Given these practical barriers, this represents a good sample size.

This paper secures unique insider access to elite level female endurance athletes competing at world championship events. The study makes a contribution to knowledge in event studies by introducing concepts of “elite event interviewing” and the “athlete-event paradox”.

The purpose of this paper is to present the theoretical conceptualisation that led to the communication improvements needed for water polo in Greece. The paper also studies the implementation process. The proposed improvements were: (a) arrangement of symbols on the Players' caps; (b) addition of team logo and name on players' caps; (c) redesign of players' caps; (d) addition of colour to players' caps; and (e) introduction of a full-body swimsuit. The result was that all but one (e) of the proposed modifications was implemented and adopted during the 1996-2000 National League periods of the Greek men's water polo Division A1.