FTSIS 08: Sport leaders call for one governing body- 4 Nov 2008 00:00:00
High-profile sport leaders called for one governing body to oversee British sport at the final panel of The FT Sport Industry Summit 2008 in association with the Honda Racing F1 Team's earthdreams programme.
In front of more than 200 people from the sport industry, Lord Triesman, independent chairman of the FA, and Mike Miller, CEO of the IRB, joined Roger Draper, CEO of LTA in lauding the creating a single sports governing body.
Draper claimed one common board would be more productive, saying that it’s a viable option it could happen post-2012. “My biggest concern is the gap in community sport,” he said, adding that the city in danger of “having a rotting stock of facilities,” after th Olymics are over. He argued that put ting all sport together under one leadership would help solve these issues.
Triesman agreed: “One of the things were good at is creating new bodies,” he said. “It gets more and more hard, when you get down to the individual clubs, to know who to apply to for help.” He continued by commenting that most sports have an international body that helps regulate and there are bodies for individual sports, however, “in the intermediate area of sport, in terms of government, we split it all up and nobody knows what to do.”
When asked about the amount of jobs lost and federations sacrificing their organisations, Draper said that it should, and could, be done in the interest of sport.
Nick Fry, CEO of Honda Racing F1 Team, could relate to the one-governing body theory, as his sport is run by a sole organisation, however, he admitted that it created some disadvantages, such as the decisions made regarding cost-cutting.
Still, Draper, Triesman and Miller were adamant that a single governing body could improve British sport.
CommentsAdd Comment