Rugby Values Commended At Beyond Sport

World Rugby CEO, Brett Gosper stressed the importance of rugby’s values in his opening remarks at Beyond Rugby, one of a number of events taking place on Day One of the Beyond Sport Summit 2015.

His sentiments were echoed by Mark McCafferty, CEO of Premiership Rugby and also Ian Ritchie, CEO of the RFU, who was on a panel discussing Try for Change, the RFU’s social responsibility programme.

Brett Gosper, CEO of World Rugby: “Rugby can change lives in a fundamental way. The character of our sport can have such a positive effect on people’s lives so we are very happy to add our voice to the excellent things done by Beyond Sport and the programmes that are involved right across the globe.”

Beyond Rugby is a continuation of a conversation to create a more proactive community to address the role of rugby in bringing about positive social change across the globe.

Talks and interactive workshops explored multiple topics including how rugby has been used to tackle racial segregation; improve the lives of disadvantaged communities throughout the world; expand academic opportunities for youths and programmes to increase participation amongst the disabled community and women.

Matthew Spacie, founder and executive chairman of Magic Bus, which has used rugby as a tool to help thousands of impoverished children in India, explained the power of rugby in his keynote: “For 80 minutes they are treated as equals. We use that opportunity to get under the surface, to start looking at some much more important behavioural issues.”

Beyond Rugby is powered by BT, sponsored by Dell, Canterbury, Land Rover, Populous and The Telegraph and supported by Premiership Rugby, the RFU and Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby. This is the third edition of Beyond Rugby, the inaugural event was held during the Beyond Sport Summit and Awards at Twickenham in 2012 and backed by the RFU, Premiership Rugby and sponsored by Canterbury; the second edition in 2013 was backed by USA Rugby as part of the Beyond Sport Summit and Awards in Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, across town at the BT Tower, Beyond the Field of Play concluded in London with a productive and insightful day that saw influential figures from the world of sport debate the critical issues facing the industry.

The event, in association with Mishcon de Reya, was part of the three day Beyond Sport Summit and Awards. It brought together international federations and national governing bodies to address topics such as reputation management, governance, financial transparency and social impact in sport.

Speaking in a keynote address UK sport minister Tracey Crouch MP called for reform at the highest levels of football governance.

“It is safe to say that public trust in FIFA is at an all time low. This has to change for the good of the game that many people in this room and the millions of people around the world love so much.

“It is my hope that FIFA will have been completely reformed by the time the next World Cup kicks off in 2018, and that by then, there will be a world governing body for football that we can all trust.

“But it is hard to believe that change will happen if the men at the top of FIFA appear to be corrupt and corruptible. Whoever is elected the next FIFA President must have wide scale reform at the heart of their manifesto.

“Everyone in sport has a role to play in ensuring good governance, particularly the leading administrators and influencers in this room. We must ensure that through collaboration and sharing best practice, we all work towards bringing positive outcomes for sport.

Also delivering a keynote speech at the event was HRH Princess Haya Al Hussein, former FEI president, who said: “We have a responsibility to ensure that in 2015 sport continues to be powerful, relevant, valued and credible and most importantly properly governed. Sport must be that force for good which people can look up to.

“In order for sport to reach its full positive potential those who govern must guide and direct it. Public trust in sports governance must be re-established; we will have to work very hard to achieve that because it is plain for us all to see that better, responsible governance is key.

David Grevemberg, CEO, Commonwealth Games Federation, speaking on a panel addressing transparency and good governance in sport, said:

“We are definitely at the crossroad in sport right now, high performance is dependent on everyone’s focus and that’s how it’s measured and that’s important. However, sport has made enormous claims over the past several years focused on its social values and social impact.

“Going beyond high performance, high impact is something sport is going to be faced with and I think that is where we are today. Sponsors are going to increasingly be looking at what is our reach, and do we make people feel good.

Nick Keller, founder of Beyond Sport, added: “Beyond the Field of Play has proved to be an informative and insightful event, which has produced tangible recommendations to NGBs and International Federations on how the sector can move forward in a more socially and economically responsible environment.

“Sport can have a positive impact but only if it leads with integrity. Good governance is vital if sport is to reach its potential as a catalyst for social change and I am heartened by what has been discussed at today’s event as it shows there is a genuine desire from those who work within the industry to drive for reform.”

For more information, please visit www.beyondsport.org