Exploring a Sustainable Autonomy of Sport Organizations: A Study of Relationship between Government and Elite Sport Organizations in Colombia

Abstract

Exploring a Sustainable Autonomy of Sport Organizations A Study of Relationship between Government and Elite Sport Organizations in Colombia

Laura Villarreal Global Sport Management, Department of Physical Education The Graduate School Seoul National University

Autonomy constitutes relevant issues for international sports governing bodies and, therefore, directly affects conditions, needs, and aspirations of national sports organizations. The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of autonomy from sports organizations perspectives, particularly based on four factors: political, legal, financial, and sociological. This study also took interactions of these factors with the unique situation in Colombia into account to determine the areas of concern and the best strategies to achieve a sustainable autonomy of sports organizations at managerial level. With a qualitative approach, a semi-structured in depth interview was used as a method to collect the data. The interviews were conducted to 10 people, those who have positions at high or medium level in sports organizations, decision making capacity, and with direct contact with the other two sports organizations. The interviews were conducted via skype and recorded through Eaver software. The data were analyzed through a 5 step method of McCraken which includes transcription and translation, categorization, coding process, division by basic themes, and a global analysis by groups. The code system was reinforced with the strategy of coding developed by Lofland. On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that sports organizations in Colombia have enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy which has not been properly addressed. According to the analysis, the financial aspect constitutes the most important factor in the autonomy of sports organizations. A sustainable autonomy cannot be reached without updating and developing the national sports law, but above all the commitment of sport authorities plays the main role in any sport system. ____________________________________________________________ Keywords : Autonomy, Elite Sport, Government, and Sport Organizations Student Number: 2015-22354