Fri, August 15, 2025
Sport Resolutions’ 2024/25 Annual Report is ready to view
Sport Resolutions' 2024/25 Annual Report has been published.
In announcing the 2024/25 Annual Report, Sport Resolutions' Chair Audley Sheppard KC said:
“The Board and the executive team have reviewed and updated the strategy and values of Sport Resolutions (SR), to better reflect the organisation's development and ambition while reinforcing our central role rl in helping to maintain the integrity of sport by providing independent dispute resolution services. They are pages 11-14 of this Report. This is an important and exciting time for SR. We look forward to working with our stakeholders in implementing our vision.”
“SR renews its main panel every three years, and this exercise was completed recently to enable us to have a refreshed and enlarged panel effective from April 2024. The quality of applicants was particularly noteworthy, as was the geographic spread and diversity. Our work is now truly international, and our panel is representative of the scope of our activities, with individuals from every continent and covering, at last count, 32 languages.”
“When SR was started in 1997, it was established as a not-for-profit company and that remains our operating model. We have no shareholders for whom dividends matter, rather we are able to focus on delivering a world-class service as economically as is possible. Another distinguishing feature is that the administration of SR and the decisions of its panels are truly independent.”
Sport Resolutions' Chief Executive Richard Harry stated:
“This year Sport Resolutions (SR) was successful in re-tendering for three significant UK contracts, namely the right to operate the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP), the Safeguarding Case Management Programme (SCMP) and Sport Integrity. In turn, these programmes are awarded and funded by Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Sport England and UK Sport.”
“In total, SR received 400 requests for assistance or guidance in the year. This is another record for us. Of those, just shy of 300 resulted in support being provided. It is noteworthy that the biggest area of our work is now in safeguarding - with 133 matters. This is a significant increase as only three years ago the total number was 35 and the year before that the number was only 10.”
“Another significant area of growth for SR is the number of investigations and reviews that we conduct. We completed 83 this year compared to just 11 only two years ago. A contributing factor for this increase is the provision of investigations under both the SCMP and Sport Integrity programmes. The importance of independent investigation cannot be understated, particularly in safeguarding matters where careers and reputations are on the line.”
Sport Resolutions’ Head of Case Management Kylie Brackenridge added:
“Our international work continues to grow, with more than 33 international federations integrating SR into their policies and processes. For example, alongside the assistance SR already provides for the International Tennis Federation (ITF), they have entrusted SR to appoint and provide secretariat support to their Safeguarding Panel and independent investigations, working alongside the newly appointed Independent Chair, Sir Gary Hickinbottom. Another example is the trust placed in SR by Badminton World Federation to appoint the Vetting Panel and provide independent secretariat services for their 2024 vetting process in the lead up to their Congress. Further, a number of international federations requested SR to populate stand by panels for major events such as the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Davis Cup Finals Week, Billie Jean King Cup Finals Week and the World Athletics World Championships.”
“As with the international matters, SR continues to assist with important work nationally. SR assisted 12 sports with standby appeal panels in the lead up to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with 11 selection appeals determined. Another example is the Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC), a Tribunal appointed to assist the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) in determining the amount of compensation a football club should receive when a player joins another club.”
“Another trend we have observed relates to the increased adoption of mediation as part of the wider dispute resolution framework. Mediation has been included under a number of programmes, such as the Sport Integrity programme and as an additional service available to National Governing Bodies signed up to the Safeguarding Case Management Programme. We have also seen an increase of mediation referrals outside of these programmes, utilising Sport Resolutions mediation panel and procedures, both at national and international level.”
