Governance in National Sports Governing Bodies of Nepal: A Study of Current Status

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to evaluate the level of governance structures and practices in national
sports governing bodies of Nepal and identify areas for improvement in promoting good governance and minimizing the misconducts.
Methods: The study employs a case study methodology and concentrates on Nepal’s seven National Sports
Governing Bodies (NSGB’s) i.e. Taekwondo, Tennis, Athletics, Swimming, Handball, Fencing, and All Nepal
Football Association. The researcher adopted document analysis as a study methodology, carried out desktop
research to gather data, and examined the websites, statutes, financial audit reports, multi annual policy plans,
internal rules, and any other relevant documents that were available for the federations. For this study, governance status was evaluated using data from the National Sports Governance Observer (NSGO) survey tool.
The NSGO indicators are a comprehensive set of 274 indicators for good governance in sports federations that
operate at the national or sub-national level, with four dimensions: Transparency, Democratic Process, Internal
Accountability and Control, and Societal Responsibility.
Results: With an overall NSGO index of 24%, the study revealed that Nepal’s National Sports Governing Bodies’ performance on good governance was poor. The NSGO score for the Democratic Process dimension is the
highest (33%), while the NSGO index for internal accountability and societal responsibility is the lowest (19%).
With 35% transparency, the tennis association is reasonably transparent.
Conclusion: According to the study’s findings, Nepal’s National Sports Governing Bodies have serious governance issues in all respects, and improving good governance and the long-term sustainability of sports growth is
crucial for them going forward.