Good governance is crucial for IFAF and all its member federations’ ability to serve their members and for their credibility. The principles of good governance, such as transparency, integrity, democracy, development and solidarity, and checks and balances, help mitigate the risks of corruption and other forms of wrongdoing in sport. This protects individuals and sports organisations from corruption’s negative consequences
Corruption undermines the positive impact that sport can have in our societies. Its consequences include loss of integrity, reputational damage and loss of trust, economic loss, legal and regulatory sanctions, and both direct and indirect harm to athletes and other individuals. Good governance is not only a matter of organisational effectiveness, but also a critical safeguard for the values and credibility of sport.
The International Partnership against Corruption in Sport (IPACS) is a multi-stakeholder initiative. It brings together sports organisations, governments and international institutions to strengthen integrity, transparency and accountability in sport. Its partners include the International Olympic Committee, the Council of Europe, the OECD and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. IPACS provides a shared platform for the sports movement and public authorities to work together on reducing corruption risks and improving governance across sport.
In June 2026, IFAF’s Integrity Officer, Janie Soubliere, was named to the IPACS Good Governance and Cooperation Task Force by the IPACS Steering Committee.
IPACS has developed the Sport Governance Benchmarks and Guidelines Handbook.
IFAF is currently working towards a full implementation of the Good Governance handbook.
The handbook is meant to be used by individuals and teams, like IFAF and its Integrity Unit, who are working in sports organisations at any level (international, regional, national and / or local), who are contributing to promoting good governance within sport.
As the Handbook can be particularly helpful for people that are starting to implement good governance measures within their sports organisation IFAF strongly encourages all its Member Federations to do use the handbook as a tool.
The Good Governance Handbook can be downloaded in various language below:
English: IPACS-Handbook-EN.pdf
French: IPACS-Handbook-FR.pdf
Spanish: IPACS-Handbook-ES.pdf
Italian: IPACS-Handbook-IT.pdf
German: IPACS-Handbook-DE.pdf
The handbook provides a blueprint to good governance that is intuitive and easy to follow.
The IFAF Integrity Unit organises quarterly webinars to guide IFAF Member Federations in their respective good governance initiatives.
Good governance does not just involve setting up rules and regulations on paper. IFAF and all its Member Federations have a responsibility to take concrete action to protect all their members from harm, prevent wrongdoing, and uphold the credibility of their sports
This includes giving particular attention to having check and balances in place to implement and monitor effective:
- Transparency
- Integrity (personal, organisational and competition related)
- Democracy
- Development and solidarity
IFAF reminds members that good governance is an ongoing journey, and all individuals within a sports organisation, not just those responsible for the implementation, have a role and responsibility in promoting it!
Below are links to some addiitonal valuable resources to aid emerging federations develop their policies.
The International Platform for Sport and Development
Resources
Sport and Governance Academy
Resources
Safe Sport International
Resources
Buddle
Resources
