TABLE OF CONTENTS After studying this chapter, you should be ableto:
understand the structure of international sport.
identify the role played by sports governing bodies in the governance of sport on a local toa worldwide level.
identify the various types of sports event owners and organizers and the roles they play.
Who do event managers work for if they want to organizesports events and for those that have the ambition, who are the best and the most deserved ofemulation in the industry? This chapter considers the bodies and organizations that play key rolesin the sports events industry. Firstly, it is important to describe the structure of internationalsport and the mechanisms that are used to govern and control sport. This governance is ostensiblyuniversal and thus applies to all owners and organizers of sports events whether they are nationalgovernments or local authorities, professional sports franchises or amateur sports clubs. Secondly,the various types of event owners and organizers and the key relationships that exist between themwill be discussed.
Whilst there are a plethora of bodies that represent the interests of sports, the basicstructure of international sport and its governance is not difficult to understand. The acceptedand guiding principle, though not universal across all sports, is that there is one recognizedinternational governing body (IGB). Even where this is not the case it is generally accepted thatit is the optimum aspiration. This one body is responsible for the development and control of thatsport including its rules of competition.
