CGF to rebuild after Games
THE boss of the Commonwealth Games Federation says the organisation will be pulled apart and rebuilt after the Gold Coast Games as it looks to maintain relevance in a changing world.
David Grevemberg said the 2010 Delhi Games had sparked much soul-searching in the federation, causing members to ask “did we fail India?”, and to evaluate how beneficial hosting a Commonwealth Games actually was to those living in host cities.
“I’ve been a sports administrator for about 24 years now and I have not seen greater volatility on global stand ever before,” he said.
“The difference between Delhi, to Glasgow, to Gold Coast has been profound.
“The Commonwealth Games Federation has done some reflection and soul searching in terms of its place.”
Mr Grevemberg said some of the uncomfortable history, heritage and traditions of the Commonwealth would be addressed through Transformation 2022, the CGF’s plan for change.
“Many people identify with that but don’t know how to talk about it collectively, constructively,” he said. “The big discussions are the good, the great, the bad, the ugly.”
The Commonwealth charter of peace, prosperity, good governance and upholding of human rights had to be at the core of the modern Commonwealth.
“This has come through the course of some of the soul searching we did around Delhi 2010, in terms of ‘have we failed India? Or have we learned from India’?” Mr Grevemberg said. “Are we simply a designation of people who live in these countries who are just members, or are we a movement?
“These are some of the big challenges we put out there through the platform of sport.”
Speaking to delegates at the Trade 2018 Major Event, Mr van Grevemberg compared giving Games hosting rights to an unprepared country with giving your car keys to someone who can’t drive.
To fix that, the federation is repositioning to become more of a support service to host cities, rather than an authority, and it will aim for good governance and innovation.
“We need to be an active partner, invested locally, with the ability to amplify globally,” he said.