An online Sports Governance Guide for Northern Ireland, developed by a multi-agency working group, has been launched at an All Party Group on Sport and Recreation at Parliament Buildings on Thursday 9th November.

The working group which developed the guide was led by NI Sports Forum and Sport Northern Ireland, is based on the Code for Good Governance for the Voluntary and Community sector. It aims to provide organisations with principles, behaviours and case studies of what good governance looks like. The website also includes a resources section on the website, which details further information on key areas of sporting interest such as athlete selection, safeguarding, equality, anti-doping and Community Amateur Sports Club v Charitable Status.

Gordon Reid of NISF who chaired the working group to develop the guide thanked the key partners and working group members, along with the case study authors. He went on the say "The Sports Governance Guide is in the form of a website and a pdf document. It provides the sport & recreation sector with an overview of good governance practice, guiding organizations using 5 key principles, as revised for the community and voluntary sector in 2016."

Sport Northern Ireland Chair George Lucas added:
"Sport Northern Ireland warmly welcomes the launch of this new Sports Governance Guide. We are committed to working with the sporting sector to help people and communities enjoy, engage and excel in sport. This new Guide will help local sports organisations by providing them with the knowledge and guidance to help them to continue to work safely and effectively in promoting and developing sport. Sport NI would like to thank the NI Sports Forum and our other partners for their support and expertise in developing the resource".

The working group which included representatives from Disability Sport NI, Irish Athletic Boxing Association, Irish Football Association, Outdoor Recreation NI, Ulster GAA and Ulster Rugby developed the resource which is primarily web based and can be found at www.sportsgovernanceni.net with an online PDF being devised which can be circulated for to governing bodies, sports clubs and the wider sport and recreation sector.