Background/Purpose Transformation of South African sport is a key priority in national policy, yet ineffective governance practices have limited its success. Transformation strategies by National Sport Bodies (NSBs) face challenges to redress historic imbalances in surface level transformation benchmarks such as team racial composition, gender equity, and sport facilities and deep level benchmarks like changes in attitude and values. South Africa's increasingly regulated sport landscape, linked with professionalization of sport, impacts good governance. The revised Code of and Report on Governance Principles for South Africa (King III) provides a baseline of good governance for NSBs. While King III has no legal backing, all entities in South Africa are encouraged to apply its principles. It places responsibility on NSBs to integrate principles of good governance into transformation strategies. This qualitative research aimed to explore compliance with benchmarks of nine governance principles of King III when applied to gender equity as a deep level dimension of transformation in South African sport.
Method Eighteen chairs of NSBs were included in a purposive sample. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed using deductive content analysis.
Analysis/Results Results uncovered alarming negative attitudes and lack of accountability and sustainability of transformation strategies on gender equity as well as lack of understanding of good governance principles
Conclusions Knowledge of governance principles is fundamental for sustainable surface and deep level transformation of gender equity in South African sport. Sustainability of transformation strategies appears to be at risk if the present condition remains in effect.
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