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I have in mind a post about various governing bodies of world sport, comparing them to see which is the worst. Every time I sit down to write it, another governing body makes a spectacular arse of itself in some way and puts me back to square one.
The obvious candidates are these (in no particular order at the moment):
- The Federation International de l'Automobile (FIA). Max Mosley. nuff said. But the historical track record of the FIA is not good either, having been in Bernie Ecclestone's pocket for a long time (for sound financial reasons of course).
- Any international governing body of professional boxing (e.g. IBA, IBC, IBF, IBO, IBU, WBA, WBC, WPBF, WBF, WBO, WBU). It's not a crime for a sport to have many governing bodies, but to have so many ineffectual ones that have no interest in the participants' welfare is remarkable.
- The International Olympic Commission (IOC). Has there been another governing body whose members are so willing to be induced?
- Oh yes, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The rot starts at the top.
- And so we come to the International Cricket Council (ICC). Supine in the face of political awkwardness and dominated by self-interest, this organisation is ill-equipped to govern a rapidly-changing sport.
So there’s a lot to write about, and my thoughts are not really in order yet. This pilot post is to ask if anybody can answer the following questions:
- Is there a world governing body that does a good job, i.e. acts in the long-term interest of the sport without favouring any subset of its exponents?
- Have I missed any obvious bodies from my initial list?
Answers on a postcard.