UK SPORT’S REQUIREMENTS FOR FUNDING

UK SPORT is requiring all organisations seeking funding to meet their new “gold standards of governance” by 31 October.

The code, imposed by sports minister Tracey Crouch, sets out levels of “transparency, accountability and financial integrity”, and affects the power and composition of boards.

Within some sports, this has meant factions could lose their influence over decision-making, and has led to concerns that governing bodies will not vote the new plans through.

Last week (22 July), British Cycling was one of those to retain their public funding (£43m) after agreeing on the reforms by a 75% majority.

But earlier this month, the national body for table tennis became the first to reject the proposals and had £9m in funding suspended.

Despite a troubled backdrop, the BEF reaffirmed its commitment to meeting the governance standards deadline in a statement last week.

“There is a clear priority for the board to work with the members’ council to deliver the governance changes required by UK Sport and Sport England by 31 October 2017.

“We remain confident that commitment remains high and we will be successful,” it said.

A joint statement from BD, BS, BE, the BHS and the Pony Club also confirmed they would be compliant.

“We will be working closely with our fellow member bodies and the senior team within the BEF to develop a new governance model that ensures we are fully compliant with the new Code For Sports Governance issued by UK Sport and Sport England,” they said.

”All member bodies of the BEF are very much aligned and fully committed to agreeing a structure and strategy that satisfies all the requirements set out by our funding partners, as well as delivering a healthy and sustainable future for the federation.

“To this end, various options have been proposed and these were reviewed, discussed and debated at the council meeting on 12 July. This included representation from UK Sport, who provided helpful input and guidance on the different governance models available.

“Subsequent to this meeting we have developed and refined a single option that we feel will meet the needs of all member bodies within the federation.”