The Modernization Process in Brazilian National Olympic Federations

Abstract

National Sport Organizations are increasingly expected to modernize their management practices and comply with governance principles. This research developed, validated, and applied a questionnaire to assess the modernization process of Brazilian Olympic NSO’s. The first stage established the components of modernization based on a review of academic literature. Next, these components were used to create a questionnaire to audit Brazil’s 35 Olympic NSO’s. Data collection involved gathering and analysing material from organizational policies, strategies, and websites. Results suggest that most Brazilian Olympic NSO’s have a moderate - weak adherence to modernization aspects of management. NSOs that present a high stage of modernization tend to present better practices of governance. In Brazil, it appears that the government and Brazilian Olympic Committee are sources of pressure for NSO’s to modernize their management and governance.

Keywords:

• Institutional reforms
• sports governance
• Brazilian sports governing bodies
• policies

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education for financial support to the international partnership research (CAPES/Brazil).

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest has to be reported.

Notes

1 GET is a program of the Brazilian Olympic Committee aiming ‘To provide consultancy and accelerate the development of administrative processes in federations, using a reference model of business organizational framework, thus enabling the creation of a customized Corporate Development Program’, and was launched in 2018. It divides the Brazilian NSO in levels, according to their income resources volume. In 2020 there were three different levels: level 1, NSO with an income volume until R$10 million, Level 2, NSO with an income volume from R$10 million up to 50 million, and Level 3, NSO with an income volume of more than R$50 million.

2 Social Media analysed: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin.

3 Sou do Esporte is a Brazilian NGO that acts as a network for athletes, sports entities, public authorities, and the private sector. Since 2015 the organization evaluate the governance practices of Brazilian Olympic Federations about. Since 2018 the Sou do Esporte Governance Award is recognized internationally by Play The Game Institute. Due the COVID pandemic in 2020 the award did not occur in Brazil. Available at https://soudoesporte.org/

4 Integra Rating is an agreement between companies sponsoring Brazilian sports with the objective of contributing to the culture and practices of governance, integrity, and transparency of the segment. Available at https://www.ethos.org.br/conteudo/projetos/gestao-sustentavel/rating-integra/

5 In 2020 the Sou do Esporte Award and Integra Rating did not occured due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

6 GET Program divide the Brazilian Olympic federations in levels, according to their income resources volume. In 2020 there were three different levels: level 1, federations with an income volume until R$10 million, Level 2, federations with an income volume from R$10 million up to 50 million, and Level 3, federation with an income volume of more than R$50 million.

7 The UK Code for Sports Governance separate the sport organization in accordance with three tiers of funding, level 1 is the smallest one, and level 3 the highest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sabrina Furtado

Sabrina Furtado (M.A. Federal University of Paraná, Brazil) is a researcher at the Sports Intelligence Research Institute in the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), in Brazil, and also a Ph.D. candidate at the same university. Her research interests include sports governance and management, organizational change in sports organizations, sports systems, and sports policy. Her work has been published in international Journals, like the European Sport Management Quarterly, and Brazilian national journals. Over the years she also has worked in the sports industry, including National Sports Federations in Brazil.

Joe Piggin

Joe Piggin (PhD, Otago University), is a senior lecturer at the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University. His research includes topics related to sport policy, physical activity policy and health promotion. His current attention is on contemporary contests in sport and physical activity provision, with a focus on state and private interventions as they intersect with issues of rights and sustainability.

Gabriel Henrique Treter Goncalves

Gabriel H. T. Gonçalves (PhD., Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul) is a professor in the Physical Education Department of the Centre of Health and Sport Sciences of the Santa Catarina State University (UDESC), Brazil. He studied at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil; completed a research internship at University of Québec in Trois-Rivières (UQTR), Canada; and has a postgraduate degree in Sport Management from Leipzig University, Germany. He is the coordinator of the Centre of Studies in Sports Management and Marketing (NEPEGEM/UDESC).

Fernando Mezzadri

Fernando M. Mezzadri (PhD., Campinas State University/UNICAMP) is currently professor at Federal University of Paraná and Dean of Planning, Budget, and Finance at UFPR and coordinates the Sports Intelligence Research Institute. He was a UNESCO consultant on public doping control policies and a visiting professor at the University of Toronto. He currently develops research in the areas of public sports policies and sports management.