ERL GOVERNANCE STANDARDS RECOGNISED BY SPORT INTEGRITY GLOBAL ALLIANCE

23 Nov 2021

European Rugby League (ERL) has become the first sporting organisation to be officially certified by the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA). The ERL has received a silver certification after being independently assessed in accordance with global good governance standards. 

SIGA, the world’s leading organisation for sport integrity, has development their new Independent rating and verification system (SIRVS) to measure organisations’ compliance with standards of governance, integrity, transparency and accountability, audited by the British Standards Institute (BSI), and providing a safety net for fans, sponsors and investors.

ERL interim chair, Graeme Thompson, commented: “Our recent governance review was significantly enhanced by using the service provided by SIGA. It was vital for us to have external benchmarking added to the final changes that our members recently voted in. Those member proposals will likely move us into the gold zone with SIGA for any future review. We are always aiming to be the best we can and leading the way, as evidenced by being the inaugural users of SIGA's process.”

SIGA’s global CEO, Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, noted: “On behalf of SIGA, I wish to congratulate European Rugby League for being the first to go through SIRVS in the sport industry. We look forward to continuing this process with them and working with our appointed independent third party, BSI, to deliver accountability, scrutiny and transparency at every level.”

Pietro Foschi, BSI’s global group director of assurance services, added: “By achieving this certification, the ERL has demonstrated its commitment to rigorous governance which will provide necessary assurance to its stakeholders and all interested parties.”

European Rugby League’s certification is valid for three years with an annual review to ensure that best practice continues within the organisation. 

Find out more about SIRVS here