Abstract
Sport has moved away from the amateur, volunteer-driven approach to that of the professional domain with significant importance being placed on commercialisation and professionalisation. Commercialisation of sport has led to the need for governance within sports organisations. As systems theory describes the interrelation of systems in an organisation and its external environment. Governance as a system and related subsystems could be described in order to ensure that national sport federations and governing bodies are transparent and accountable to improve performance through responsible leadership. The inherent risk of governance and compliance within national sport federations in South Africa is high and accordingly requires the need for a good governance framework. This should however be in line with the requirements and influence of the external environment. The aim of the study was to analyse and reflect on good governance for National Sport Federations in South Africa within the context of the Systems Theory. A descriptive and explorative research design was followed utilising retrospective document analysis and semi-structured interviews as a qualitative instrument. Documents were collected from the participants to do a retrospective document analysis. Purposive sampling was utilised to select respondents from both the internal and external environment of a National Sport Federation. Information gathered from the semistructured interviews were transcribed, analysed and categorised into themes of governance. Outcomes of the research included providing greater clarity regarding principles for good governance for National Sport Federations. South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) are benefactors of the research as it enables them to review membership criteria for National Sports Federations. Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) can use the results to review their current governance structures, processes and procedures
M.Com. (Sport Management)