The Sport Governance Benchmark & Guidelines Handbook is an accessible tool that simplifies the Sport Governance Benchmark & Guidelines (see below). It groups recommendations from the Benchmark into six easy-to-follow stages for sports organisations seeking to improve their governance.

Good governance is integral to democratic, efficient, and accountable decision-making within sports organisations and activities, as well as the trustworthy management and development of these activities worldwide. The principles of good governance, such as transparency, integrity, democracy, accountability, and checks and balances, should apply both to governmental authorities responsible for sport and to the sports organisations themselves. The Sport Governance Benchmark & Guidelines offer a comprehensive standard with 50 recommendations for sports organisations to follow to the best of their ability.

An organisation that acts openly, predictably and comprehensibly promotes trust. This dimension of the Benchmark explains what information a sports organisation should make publicly available in order to be perceived as trustworthy and accountable.

Codes, rules and regulations are the basic building blocks of a well-governed sports organisation. This dimension highlights key integrity-related codes, rules and regulations which, together with effective implementation and enforcement, set a strong foundation for good governance.

Democratic principles are fundamental to good governance in sport. They ensure that decisions serve the best interests of the entire organisation, the athletes and the sport, rather than private interests. This dimension lays out key democratic principles that ensure sports organisations are governed in a representative and accountable way.

Sports organisations have a responsibility to use their revenues to develop their sport from the ground up and strive for a positive impact on host communities, the environment and other stakeholders. This dimension covers a range of measures that can help achieve this.

To protect integrity, sports organisations must construct multiple “lines of defence” through the establishment of robust oversight bodies and mechanisms. This dimension elaborates on the oversight bodies and mechanisms that serve as essential safeguards for integrity.