Project on good governance in sport secures funding from the Research Council of Finland
The Research Council of Finland has awarded a total of €2.45 million to four individual projects and one consortium project under the ACTIVE programme. At Tampere University, this funding has been granted to the GoGoS project that focuses on the role of good governance in sport.
Drawing on narrative-based and multidimensional analysis, the GoGoS project will explore the impact of good governance practices on public administration, national sports organisations, sports clubs and elite athletes.
“The project will generate new knowledge about the values and conflicts related to sport governance. The findings will provide practical recommendations for developing more responsible, transparent and equitable governance in sport,” says the Principal Investigator, Associate Professor Elias Pekkola from Tampere University.
Enhancing impact through collaboration with the sport sector
The project will be conducted in close collaboration with the Finnish Institute of High Performance Sport (KIHU), the Finnish Olympic Committee and the Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports (FINCIS).
“This collaboration will ensure the integration of research and practice while supporting the effective implementation of the findings within the Finnish sport system. We believe this approach will significantly enhance the overall impact of the project,” says Pekkola.
The three-year project is led by Associate Professor Pekkola, who works within the Administrative Sciences Unit at the Faculty of Management and Business (MAB) at Tampere University. The research team also includes University Instructor Marjukka Mikkonen, one of Finland’s leading researchers specialising in sport management and governance, especially from the perspective of gender equality.
Mikkola is also involved in a study on a related topic, in which Tampere University and JAMK University of Applied Sciences are collecting written accounts of the potential existence of hidden corruption within the Finnish sports sector. Those invited to contribute include people working in the sector, athletes, recreational sports participants, volunteers, elected officials, sponsors, sports fans and athletes’ parents.
The ACTIVE programme aims to enhance the quality, innovation and impact of research related to sport and physical activity. In this funding call, the Research Council of Finland received 49 applications, with the total requested funding amounting to nearly €24.4 million.
Research Council of Finland: RCF announces funding decisions on sport science projects
Good Governance in Sport: Game-Changing Narratives of Value Creation and Destruction, GoGoS
- The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland under the Academy Programme for Sport Science and Physical Activity (ACTIVE).
- The grant, totalling €655,222, covers the period from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2029.
- The project is conducted by a multidisciplinary consortium spanning administrative sciences, sport sciences and legal sciences. The consortium includes researchers from Tampere University, the University of Jyväskylä and the University of Turku, including Senior Researcher Anna‑Katriina Salmikangas (University of Jyväskylä) and Professor Antti Aine (University of Turku).
