SPORTS GOVERNANCE UNIT
OUR VISION
At the Sports Governance Unit we are devoted to the principles of transparency, universal ethical standards and fair play to increase the benefit for fans, athletes, officials and society on a global scale.
OUR MISSION
The Sports Governance Unit’s mission is to support associations, clubs, businesses and governments to ensure the highest standards of integrity, compliance and good governance in the field of sports through objective analysis, profound strategic advice and efficient implementation.
OUR SERVICE
The Sports Governance Unit is a specialist consultancy which advises its clients on integrity and compliance as well as on ethical issues in sports. Based on profound legal, political and media expertise, we put our know-how and experience to use for sports organizations and businesses to help them establish and reinforce principles of good governance and ESG standards. In doing so, we are committed to providing high-quality advisory services and to delivering sustainable results on a national and international level. Our clients particularly value our situational approach as we comprehensively take into consideration the specific challenges an organization faces.
Services
Professional consulting, the establishment of sustainable governance principles as well as the improvement of credibility and the reputation of an organization demand a profound analytical synopsis of the situation.
ANALYSIS & INVESTIGATION
- Governance review
- Integrity check
- Risk assessment
- Organization evaluation
- Transparency control
- Reputation check
- Legal resilience test
CONSULTING & ADVICE
- Optimization of organizational structures for improved performance of governing bodies, e.g. Ethics Committee, Audit & Compliance Committee, Governance Committee
- Relation management consulting vis-à-vis authorities (penal and supervisory authorities, politics)
- Enhancement of internal procedures and processes: review systems, awarding of events, remuneration
- Design of codes of conduct (ethics code, anti-corruption code and anti-doping code) and ESG standards
- Guidance and management of cases, e.g. investigatory support
- Resolution of disputes, e.g. mediation and adjudication
- Improvement of reputation through active stakeholder management (vis-à-vis politics, the media, sponsors and academics) and professional media work
STAFFING & TRAINING
- Staffing of relevant positions, e.g. Ombudsman
- Training of officials, functionaries and staff members
- Motivational and keynote speeches
- Management of cultural change
TEAM
Dr. Cornel Borbély
- Independent attorney at law, founder of the law office Dr. Borbély (since 2015)
- Chairperson of the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee (2013-2017)
- Swiss public prosecutor and head of a group for economic crime investigations in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland (2007-2014)
- Lecturer at various universities in the fields of economic criminal law, corporate governance and compliance (since 2008)
Hans-Joachim Eckert
- Chairperson of the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee (2013-2017)
- Presiding judge at a Munich District Court, Germany (2005-2015)
- Senior public prosecutor in Munich, Germany (1999-2005)
- Special assignments in EU programs tackling organized crime and corruption (ongoing)
- Lecturer at German judicial and police academies (ongoing)
Dr. Marc Tenbücken
- Founder and Managing Director of Hendricks & Schwartz (since 2011) and expert in political lobbying and crisis communications
- Successful track record with organizational and corporate change and reform processes
- Experience of more than 12 years as advisor to renowned large (DAX) enterprises and leading medium-sized businesses
- Member of various political committees in Germany and Bavaria (since 2004)
- Lecturer at the University of Constance, Germany (since 2007)
Dr. Alexander Juschus LL.M.
- Managing Partner of Governance & Values GmbH (since 2018)
- President of Sports Governance e.V. (since 2019)
- General Manager of IVOX (2006-2015) and IVOX GlassLewis (2015-2017) GmbH.
- 17 years of experience in the governance industry
- Member of DVFA’s Corporate Governance & Stewardship Committee as well as ICGN’s Shareholder Rights Committee
- Lecturer at the Hamburg School of Business Administration, University of Angers and St. Gallen
COOPERATION AND NETWORK PARTNERS
The Sports Government Unit can draw further specialized expertise from its extensive global network of independent and distinguished professionals from the fields of law, politics, science, NGOs, business as well as the media.
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
Our team closely cooperates with renowned public and political organisations as well as with prestigious universities and research institutions.
References
EXPERT HEARINGS
- Good football governance / Need for better international sports governance, Council of Europe, Paris, 2017
- Sports Governance, Anti Corruption Working Group, G-20 / United Nations, Vienna, 2017
ARTICLES
- Blickpunkt Sportmanagement: Krisenmanagement in Sportbetrieben (2023)
- Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (June 2022)
- Zeitschrift für Corporate Governance (February 2022)
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (January 2021)
- Kicker Business (December 2020)
- Audit Comittee Quarterly Extra (2020)
- Zeitschrift für Corporate Governance (December 2019)
- sponsors.de (05/2018)
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (February 2018)
- Zeitschrift für Corporate Governance (October 2016 A)
- Zeitschrift für Corporate Governance (December 2016 B)
SPEECHES
- Responsible Sports – Conference for Governance and Sustainability in Sports, Berlin, 2022
- How does sports arbitration deal with illegality. How can sanctions enacted by an arbitral tribunal interact with national procedures?, Switzerland, 2018
- Play the Game conference, Eindhoven, November 2017
- Fight against corruption and organized crime in politics, business and sports, German Police University, Münster, 2017
- 2nd World Summit on Ethics and Leadership in Sports, Zurich, 2016
- Fight against corruption within sports justice, University of Berlin, 2016
- Good Corporate Governance, IDAG, Bern, 2016
- Work of the FIFA Ethics Committee and fight against violence in the stadium, Public Prosecutors‘ Conference, Munich, 2016
- Fight against corruption in sports, The German Judge’s Academy, Trier, 2016