CEO Densign White took to the virtual stage during the Technical Seminar Week to underline the crucial importance of Good Governance for the advancement of both IMMAF and National Federations.
“Although it may seem like a dry subject at times, good governance in sport administration is a very hot and timely topic at the moment.” said Mr White. “Recently we have all read about very serious issues that have damaged the reputation and financial health of International and National sport federations within the Olympic family. Here at IMMAF, we make the pursuit of gold standard governance our key priority. It is the key to gaining recognition and credibility as a sport body, but is also the only way to attract sustainable sources of sponsorship. I am really glad to have the chance to share the IMMAF experiences and plans with our Members so they can apply them as well.”
Mr White spent over an hour giving a “refresher” update of the ongoing work being done by IMMAF to secure the highest standards of good governance and underlined why this work is so relevant to National Federations, who are also seeking to gain recognition from National Olympic Committees and Governmental authorities.
White emphasised why the pursuit of Good Governance is so important, in particular due to its impact on local recognition and allowing National Federations to govern and regulate the sport with a credible mandate.
As part of his presentation, White underlined the importance of setting up Strategic Plans and Action Plans which could address the key issues faced by National Federations and which could be summarised in 4 steps:
Analysis
Strategy
Implementation
Monitoring
In particular, White stressed the importance of setting up structures which were bolstered by a democratically elected Board and which focused on strategic planning, drafting of adequate Constitutions and wide-ranging policies and financial management and transparency. In addition, addressed the issue of Risk management and shared, in a fully transparent manner, IMMAF’s own Risk Register as well as the “Trackers” set up to evaluate and monitor IMMAF’s Strategic Plan and Governance Plan as well as provide regular reports to the IMMAF Board.
White also informed the Membership about the External Independent Audit of IMMAF carried out by specialist Geoff Wilson.
Finally, he provided a detailed update about the current status of efforts to gain WADA compliance as well as official recognition by GAISF and concluded with an upbeat analysis about the future of amateur MMA which has been boosted by a new Council of Europe edit which has stressed the huge positive steps taken by the MMA community in Europe to create a thriving sport which is safe, fun and healthy for recreational and competitive practitioners and which also has significant social value, particularly for disadvantaged communities.
