Organizational governance is concerned with the exercise of power within organizations and provides the system by which the elements of organizations are controlled and directed. Governance is necessary for all groups – nation states, corporate entities, societies, associations and sport organizations – to function properly and effectively. An organizational governance system not only provides a framework within which the business of organizations are directed and controlled but also ‘helps to provide a degree of confidence that is necessary for the proper functioning of a market economy’. Governance deals with issues of policy and direction for the enhancement of organizational performance rather than day-to-day operational management decision making.

Good organizational governance should ensure that the board and management seek to deliver outcomes for the benefit of the organization and its members and that the means used to attain these outcomes are effectively monitored.

Failures in the governance of national sport organizations, together with reviews of professional sport governance, continue to highlight the importance of developing, implementing and regulating sound governance practices in both amateur and professional sport organizations.