Abstract
Governance determines the possibilities and boundaries of what sports organizations do and the public perceptions of their values. While often opaque and certainly time-consuming, the complex system of Olympic governance is as significant to the experience of athletes, coaches, officials, sports leaders, spectators, governments, sponsors, and media as what occurs in athletic venues and during major games. This chapter sets out the major challenges and pressures for reform in Olympic governance during the last 25 years, analyzing what has been achieved and what remains to be won. It argues that the clearest route to good governance is completely democratic election procedures, the ‘responsible autonomy of sport,’ the availability of fair, independent complaints procedures, and independent monitoring. It concludes with the speculation that the pandemic of COVID-19 and the international protests against racist police violence may well accelerate the push for reform.
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Kidd, B. (2021). Ethical Governance and the Olympic Movement. In: Maguire, J., Liston, K., Falcous, M. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Globalization and Sport . Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56854-0_29
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