Implementation of good governance and safe environment in sports: case: Finnish volleyball league
Laakso, Julia (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024062023771
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024062023771
Tiivistelmä
Good governance and safe environment are essential elements of sports management, with increasing
attention directed towards these areas. They are critical for ensuring the ongoing success and welfare of
athletes, organizations, and the broader sports community. Good governance entails transparent, ethical,
and efficient operations within sports organizations, which in turn fosters trust and accountability.
Concurrently, a safe environment prioritizes the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of
athletes and stakeholders, cultivating a culture of inclusivity, fairness, and respect. This thesis aims to
highlight the importance of cultivating an environment where individuals can participate, coach, volunteer,
and work without exposure to harm, discrimination, or unethical behaviour.
This research was conducted for Finnish volleyball league in cooperation with Finnish Volleyball Federation.
The research aimed to determine how players experience measurements and work for good governance
and safe environment in the club they represent. Second objective was to evaluate how transparently and
what kind of measures the league clubs have taken to enhance good governance and safe environment.
The theoretical framework covers matters that uphold ethical sport, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion
in sports, human rights and disciplinary regulations and safeguarding initiatives in Finnish sports. The
literature review also discusses governance features typical of Finnish sports clubs, such as non-profit
organizations, covering legal frameworks management, and voluntary roles in sports organizations. The
player survey was conducted through a quantitative online questionnaire and the club evaluation through a
documentary observation, with evaluation items based on the principles of the Sustainability programme
for the sports community and the requirements set by the league.
The results showed that from the players' perspective, the key themes are communication, integrity, and
inclusion in decision-making. The observation of clubs showed that men's league clubs, which tend to have
more paid staff, were slightly better at implementing good governance principles. Women's league clubs,
on the other hand, succeed better on the assessment of a safe environment. As a result of the findings and
conclusions, policy recommendations were developed based on the themes of the study and considering
the different resources of clubs to deliver better club work.
attention directed towards these areas. They are critical for ensuring the ongoing success and welfare of
athletes, organizations, and the broader sports community. Good governance entails transparent, ethical,
and efficient operations within sports organizations, which in turn fosters trust and accountability.
Concurrently, a safe environment prioritizes the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of
athletes and stakeholders, cultivating a culture of inclusivity, fairness, and respect. This thesis aims to
highlight the importance of cultivating an environment where individuals can participate, coach, volunteer,
and work without exposure to harm, discrimination, or unethical behaviour.
This research was conducted for Finnish volleyball league in cooperation with Finnish Volleyball Federation.
The research aimed to determine how players experience measurements and work for good governance
and safe environment in the club they represent. Second objective was to evaluate how transparently and
what kind of measures the league clubs have taken to enhance good governance and safe environment.
The theoretical framework covers matters that uphold ethical sport, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion
in sports, human rights and disciplinary regulations and safeguarding initiatives in Finnish sports. The
literature review also discusses governance features typical of Finnish sports clubs, such as non-profit
organizations, covering legal frameworks management, and voluntary roles in sports organizations. The
player survey was conducted through a quantitative online questionnaire and the club evaluation through a
documentary observation, with evaluation items based on the principles of the Sustainability programme
for the sports community and the requirements set by the league.
The results showed that from the players' perspective, the key themes are communication, integrity, and
inclusion in decision-making. The observation of clubs showed that men's league clubs, which tend to have
more paid staff, were slightly better at implementing good governance principles. Women's league clubs,
on the other hand, succeed better on the assessment of a safe environment. As a result of the findings and
conclusions, policy recommendations were developed based on the themes of the study and considering
the different resources of clubs to deliver better club work.