As David Cameron goes to battle over the budget, a quieter revolution is happening in Europe's corridors of power around sport.
Traditionally, Europe's interest and power over sport were very limited. Since the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, sport has become a 'soft competence' for Europe. Its power and interest in the industry, therefore, is growing. So, the sports industry and especially governing bodies are asking: what has changed? How will it affect me?
According to Dr Borja Garcia, from Loughborough University, in the short term the changes may not be significant. In a speech at UCL last night, he set out a fascinating review of the state of play on Europe's political playing field. Importantly, in his view, there there has been no fundamental shift in the application of EU law to sport (long the objective of many big sports organisations). So block exemptions are still a no, no.
But in a few weeks time, the Commission will release a communication setting out a narrow set of priorities attached to a small amount of funding setting out where and how it might move forward in the sporting field. It will be the first small step towards a more coherent and ultimately more expansive set of policies and a renewed opportunity around the Social Dialogue.
Ultimately, money will follow especially for grass roots, socially oriented investments and social marketing programmes (though till 2013 the monies will be very small). Amateur sports and their governing bodies (especially those with pan european structures) take note.
Also, anyone charged with running sports organisations or managing their corporate reputations or political reputations, should take note of Dr Garcia's views on governance. He sees this as an area of critical focus for the Commission and an area where improvements are required and where many have yet to make the mark.
At Lexis PR, we see governance (good or bad) as a driver of reputation and ultimately revenue and relationships. This is as true of sports organisations as it is of commercial ones. Good governance reduces risks. It is a barrier to excessive or unnecessary regulation. But it can be MORE than risk reduction. It can be built into a brand story and used to enhance the value of a corporate brand, open doors to new relationships and adds value - for example, by increasing the value of community sponsorship inventory.
From research I conducted in the autumn with new intake MPs, it is clear that Dr Garcia's point about governance is true in the UK as much as it is in Europe. There is a lack of understanding of the governance, concerns about effectiveness. From a corporate reputation management perspective thats a problem which needs to be fixed. if you'd like to see our research or hear how we can help, call 020 7908 6501.
For more information on Dr Garcia's research, visit www.sportandeu.com
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