Sport has been developed intensely in the last 20 years. At the elite level, there has been a transformation in the sports business with a great interest of commercial partners in sports as the results of major sporting events, millions of viewers, th...
Sport has been developed intensely in the last 20 years. At the elite level, there has been a transformation in the sports business with a great interest of commercial partners in sports as the results of major sporting events, millions of viewers, thousands of spectators, and generation of significant revenues (Expert Group Good Governance, 2013).
Revenues were used to build modern sports facilities with adequate equipment, establish clear structures including hiring professionals in both technical and management areas. In this process, the sport has been tainted by corruption and other integrity-related scandals. In some countries, even compliance with minimum standards of good governance has been made mandatory by public authorities for sports federations to be able to receive public subsidies (Baele, 2017).
Rwanda Sports Organizations were behind the commercialization of sports because the sport has been used as a tool of spreading peace, unity, and reconciliation message after the genocide of Tutsi in 1994. Heavy investments in sports were made by the current government to cover up the memories of the past and heal the wounds of the genocide survivors (Maboko, 2018).
Atieno (2019) reported that the need for sporting activities is important for the psychological and physical development of all categories of people. Sport fulfills a couple of important roles in society: it delivers employment, entertainment, and relaxation. Rwandans represent a significant talent pool that can be developed to enhance the quality of life in Rwanda including significant economic and social benefits (Ministry of Sports and Culture [MINISPOC], 2012).
Since there is no good governance research-based in Rwandan sports, this research intended to assess the current status of good governance, its barriers, and influence on the performance of sports organizations in Rwanda. using the NSGO assessment tool developed by Geeraert (2018) and qualitative research method.
The mentioned assessment tool was applied to 10 sports organizations in Rwanda and the 4 NSGO dimensions including; democracy, transparency, internal control, and societal responsibility were evaluated. Using thematic analysis, the interview conducted in RNOSC with 4 participants were analyzed to produce the results on the barriers of good governance and its influence on the performance of sports organizations in Rwanda.
The findings show that Rwandan sports organizations attain good marks on good governance. But they have known both internal and external barriers to good governance including; lack of qualified technicians and sports managers, limited budget, lack of standardized infrastructure, and poor management that leads to financial mismanagement, corruption, and other integrity-related issues. The findings also revealed that the benefits of good governance principles most likely match with the targeted performance of sports organizations.
Concludingly, it was found that investing in good governance means investing in organizational performance. In the end, the recommendations are given for the improvement of Rwandan sports in terms of good governance for better performance.