Governance and Administration News Updates
Revelation in DStv and Openview fight over sports rights
2024-08-12 - A Competition Tribunal interim order blocking DStv and the SABC from excluding sub-licensed sports matches from SABC channels on Openview is a massive threat to the sustainability of South Africa’s PSL.
Black Arsenal: how the club and its players set the pace for integration and ‘natural multiculturalism'
2024-08-11 - A new book explores how the north London side, its fans and stars such as Paul Davis, Ian Wright and Thierry Henry became a gamechanger for inclusion and Black culture in defiance of ingrained prejudices - The Guardian
Qualifying groups for TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 revealed
2024-07-04 - The draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, qualifiers was held in Johannesburg on Thursday. 48 African countries will be aiming to qualify for the 35th edition of the biennial Africa showpiece in an attempt to dethrone coach Emerse Fae's Cote D'Ivoire as continental kings.
2024-06-21 - CAF Announce CAF TotalEnergies AFCON and WAFCON Dates
Photo courtesy of CAFonline.com
Photo courtesy of CAFonline.com
2024-06-10 – Amongst other key topics that headlined the workshop, CAF delved deep into the subjects of Good Governance Principles, Recommended Statutes updates, Tools to implement Governance best practices as well as a presentation of the Zonal Union reforms which are key in having efficient Member Associations. More …
Eighteen (18) doping control officers from the UNIFFAC (Union of Central African Football Federations) region are the first group of DCO’s to benefit from this innovative training programme. More…
ANNUAL SIGA SUMMIT ON FEMALE LEADERSHIP IN SPORT 2024
—-> Click here for the companion video <—-
- Female Leadership in Sports
- Good Governance in Sport
- Women Leading Technology in Sport
- Mega Sport Events Legacy
- Commercializing the Women’s Game
- Male Allies
- The True Value of Mentorship
- Driving integrity in the world of Sports betting
- And additional topics that are at the forefront of the Sports agenda
The data presented refers to the 2023/24 or 2024 seasons, depending on the competition calendar. The sample includes all footballers in the first team squad of clubs in the leagues surveyed, regardless of their playing time. The analysis focuses on age and the presence of expatriate players, i.e. footballers who play outside the association where they grew up, that they left for footballing reasons.
Topics Presented at Play the Game 2024 Include the Following:
SPORT AND HUMAN RIGHTS Overview from a CAS perspective (as at 28 November 2023)
I. Human rights in sport regulations II. Selected CAS cases related to human rights issues III. SFT judgements dealing with the application of human rights in CAS matters IV. Sport and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) V. List of CAS arbitrators with specific expertise in human rights VI. List of topics related to Human Rights in sport discussed at past CAS seminars
Read our occasional opinion column on football governance in South Africa, exclusively in City Press – City Press subscription required
Read our occasional opinion column focusing on the governance of football in South Africa, exclusively in City Press – City Press subscription required
>OPINION | Safa’s arbitration panel is illegitimate – by Dennis Mumble – 3 Dec 2023
>>NOTE: despite approval of a new panel by the April 2024 SAFA Congress, the panel is still not compliant with the FIFA requirements
>OPINION | The deprived state of SA football and the governance problem facing the domestic game – by Dennis Mumble – 22 Oct 2023
FIFA publishes third edition of Commentary on the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players
The Commentary is a crucial document that supports member associations, clubs, players, leagues, coaches and football legal experts in ensuring that the RSTP are applied consistently across the global football community.
Caster Semenya's victory at the ECHR: A landmark case for athletes' human rights - LawInSport
On 11 July 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) found that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) and the Swiss Federal Tribunal had violated South African middle-distance track star, Caster Semenya’s human rights in their handling of Semenya’s appeal against the World Athletics Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification
Football Legal Aid Fund: A Step Towards Access to Justice for Players, Clubs & Agents
FIFA and the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (“ICAS”) earlier in the year announced the establishment of a legal aid fund specifically available for parties to football-related disputes before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) in the form of the Football Legal Aid Fund - LawInSport 26 Sep '23
Learn more about the FIFA Integrity Program
The main principles of FIFA’s integrity initiative are the promotion of integrity and the protection of football matches and competitions. This means promoting integrity internally and to the public at all times, as well as protecting football matches and competitions against match manipulation as far as possible and under all circumstances. www. fifa.com
Understanding the Relationship Between the FA and Its Members
There is a general misconception about the nature of the relationship between the national body and its affiliates. Each is governed by its own statutes, but there is a sense that the constitutions of affiliates can simply be overridden on a whim by the national body, which is untrue. Read the chapter to learn why this is incorrect.
Why Hierarchies Thrive
Of course, hierarchies are terribly flawed. They inevitably foster authoritarianism and its destructive offspring: distrust, dishonesty, territoriality, toadying, and fear. Our ability to work effectively in hierarchies depends in large measure on how we deal with those dangers." -By Harold J. Leavitt -Harvard Business Review -March 2003
Government Response to the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance in England. The government’s response to the 10 strategic recommendations made by the Review. 
Inclusion Needs Good Leadership
Whereas the concept of “good governance” has a long history in politics, government policies and anti-corruption activism, “inclusive governance is a more recent adoption in political and international development. Dr Andre Mboule in Good Governance Africa – April 2, 2023
More Governance Resources
Learn About the Independent Football Ombudsman in the UK
The office of the Independent Football Ombudsman (IFO) was created in July 2008 by the English Football Authorities (the Football Association, the Premier League and The English Football League) with the agreement of Government. The IFO was established by the football authorities to receive and adjudicate on complaints which have failed to be resolved by football clubs or the football authorities. Furthermore, if the football bodies have dealt with a complaint in full, then the IFO can review whether due process was followed and the complaint handled properly. In these circumstances the IFO does not offer an alternative interpretation of rulings, but an examination of whether a complaint has been handled appropriately.
Must Read: The National Sports Governance Observer
Play the Game is an initiative promoting democracy, transparency, and freedom of expression in world sport. They publish the National Sports Governance Observer (NSGO) containing 274 good governance indicators in 4 categories (transparency, democracy, internal accountability and control, societal responsibility), a period study of the state of governance in sport in more than 50 countries around the world. Some of its projects include assessing power relations in international sport, strengthening athlete power in sport, alternative voting systems, action for good governance in international sports organisations, the financing of grassroots sport in Europe, etc.
Ethical living is an art form, one that requires careful consideration of the complexities of human morality and the courage to live a virtuous life.
Those who abuse power often do so to satisfy their egotistical desires or to compensate for their feelings of inadequacy. They use their status to exploit vulnerable individuals, to suppress dissent, or to advance their interests at the expense of others. The outcome is a culture of fear, inequality, and injustice.
Dennis A. Mumble – Former SAFA CEO
We promote better governance in South African sport
