For more than a century, international sport has been built upon one fundamental principle: autonomy. The International Olympic Committee -IOC-, international federations and national Olympic committees have consistently defended their ability to establish rules and make decisions without political interference. This principle has shaped the governance of the Olympic Movement and remains an essential protection against governments or other external actors attempting to use sport for their own interests.
The landscape surrounding that principle, however, is changing. On the day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset referred to a sanction that, according to his account, had been suspended after a head of state contacted the president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association -FIFA-. He also warned about the expansion of betting on individual moments within matches and FIFA’s decision to welcome a prediction market as an official partner. Rather than announcing proceedings against the federation, Berset proposed opening what he called a “third half”: a working dialogue with FIFA to develop an integrity framework for the 2030 World Cup. The episode is not merely another disagreement between a political institution and a sports organisation. It illustrates a broader transformation in how governments, regulators and international institutions view the governance of global sport.
Autonomy in a changing sporting landscape
The debate is no longer simply about whether sport should remain autonomous. It is increasingly about how that autonomy should operate in a world where international sports organisations exercise considerable economic, political and social influence. International federations are no longer only technical regulators. They organise global competitions worth billions, award hosting rights, negotiate directly with governments, manage extensive commercial programmes and make decisions concerning eligibility, integrity, safeguarding and athlete rights. Their rules can affect careers, national representation, access to competitions and the distribution of substantial financial resources.
As their influence has grown, expectations have evolved accordingly. Governments are demanding greater transparency, while courts are being asked to resolve disputes once handled almost exclusively within sporting structures. International organisations are promoting higher governance standards, and public authorities are increasingly examining how sports bodies exercise their regulatory and commercial powers. This development should not automatically be interpreted as political interference or as an attempt to weaken institutional autonomy. It reflects the reality that global sport has become an important part of international public life and that organisations with such extensive influence inevitably attract greater demands for accountability.
When scrutiny does not mean interference
European jurisprudence already demonstrates how this relationship is changing. In its 2023 judgment on the European Super League, the Court of Justice of the European Union -CJEU- neither removed the authority of FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations -UEFA- to regulate football nor ordered them to approve the proposed competition. It determined that powers to authorise competitions and impose sanctions must be exercised through transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate criteria. The judgment recognised the particular structure of sport while making clear that its economic activities and regulatory decisions remain subject to the law.
The same balance is reflected in the Council of Europe’s approach. Its European Sports Charter recognises the autonomous decision-making processes of sporting organisations, but also states that they operate within the limits of applicable legislation and should follow good governance principles. The institution has previously worked alongside the sports movement to create binding conventions on spectator safety, anti-doping and the manipulation of competitions. Its current work on a new recommendation addressing autonomy and good governance together reflects an institutional effort to reconcile the two principles rather than treat them as necessarily contradictory.
Good governance as a safeguard for independence
That distinction is crucial. Political interference occurs when a government, elected official or other powerful actor attempts to influence a sanction, election, eligibility decision or competition rule to advance a particular interest. Legitimate oversight has a different purpose: applying general laws, protecting fundamental rights, requiring decisions to be reasoned and ensuring that regulatory powers are exercised consistently. The boundaries can still become difficult to identify, especially when governments finance major events, provide security, build venues or negotiate directly with international federations. The Council of Europe’s statement regarding FIFA contains both sides of this tension: it criticises alleged political pressure on a sporting decision while also asking to participate in the development of an international integrity framework.
The most important question, therefore, is no longer whether political institutions should remain entirely outside sport. It is how autonomous sports organisations can preserve their independence while responding to legitimate expectations from the societies in which they operate. Sport cannot function effectively without autonomy, but autonomy alone is unlikely to sustain institutional legitimacy while public scrutiny continues to increase. The future of international sports governance may depend less on defending autonomy as an abstract principle and more on demonstrating that autonomous institutions can govern themselves with integrity, transparency and responsibility. For more than a century, autonomy has served as sport’s principal institutional defence against direct political control. The next decade may determine whether good governance becomes the principle that protects autonomy itself.
THE IN Assessment
Evidence level: High
Political institutions, governments, regulators, courts and international organisations are becoming increasingly involved in matters that were once governed almost exclusively by sports bodies. Recent institutional statements, legal judgments and governance frameworks provide clear evidence of this development.
Emerging pattern
International sport is entering a governance environment in which institutional autonomy and public accountability are increasingly treated as complementary requirements. This does not eliminate the risk of political interference, but it makes the distinction between undue influence and legitimate oversight more important.
One possible conclusion
The organisations best placed to emerge stronger may not be those that defend autonomy most forcefully, but those capable of demonstrating that autonomy and exemplary governance can successfully coexist.
About THE IN
THE IN is SportsIn’s Institutional Intelligence System, pioneering a new category of institutional intelligence for sports media by integrating human expertise, strategic reasoning and advanced intelligence technologies into one evolving system.
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