Full text journal article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23750472.2018.1513342

Delighted to share my latest journal publication, now open access via ‘Managing Sport & Leisure’ (Taylor & Francis publications).

ABSTRACT

Despite an independent report on the governance and organisational practices of football in Ireland, the National Governing Body continues to face criticism in relation to stakeholder management and communication. As positive outcomes in non-profit organisations are associated with quality relationships between organisations, the purpose of this article is to explore primary stakeholder perspectives of the governance of schoolboy football in the Republic of Ireland. The research questions to be addressed are: do tensions exist between stakeholders and does the FAI display effective governance behaviours in relation to its primary stakeholders. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven stakeholders from the football governance system. A lack of congruence across the system was identified, which resulted from ineffective stakeholder management (poor communication practices, perceptions of inaccurate disclosures, perceived lack of inclusion in decision-making, perceptions of organisational injustice, confusion over role clarity and responsibilities). Managing the quality of the relationships with diverse stakeholders within a sport governance system is key for strategic policy formation and implementation, yet this remains a challenging and multi-faceted concept.

Key research questions: The purpose of this article is to explore primary stakeholder perspectives of the governance of association football in the Republic of Ireland and to examine operational practices and difficulties for a National Association in relation to stakeholder management. The research questions to be addressed in this article are as follows, does tensions exist between stakeholders of football governance in the Republic of Ireland and if so, what is the basis for such tensions? Does the FAI display effective governance behaviours towards its primary stakeholders, from the perspective of these stakeholders?

This is part of a wider PhD on talent development in football (read more here: www.talentdevelopmentinirishfootball.com ).

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