Meet the authors

Terri Byers

Lead author of the SGA knowledge base, Dr. Terri Byers is an Associate Professor at the University of New Brunswick, Canada. Having moved from the UK back to Canada in 2014 after 19 years of working with sports clubs and governing bodies, her work focuses on understanding sport organisations, their management, governance and control. Dr. Byers has published widely on a variety of contemporary issues in sport including doping, managing volunteers, governance and control, and trust and leadership.

She is currently working with colleagues internationally on integrating immigrants into sport and on innovations for developing capacity for governance and diversity and inclusion in sport organisations. Having secured over $2m CAD for her research from UK and Canadian sources, Dr. Byers' research and consultancy helps sports organisations understand all aspects of the complexities of management, strategy and governance, improving organisation performance, effectiveness and efficiency. In March 2020, Dr. Byers published Understanding Sport Organizations: Applications for Sport Managers, Slack, T. with Byers, T. and Thurston, A.J., which provides the most recent overview of her work and collaborations.

Kevin Carpenter

Kevin Carpenter is a sports lawyer with an international reputation as regards governance, integrity and regulatory issues in sport, having advised on these areas across a diverse range of sports. He has worked with a range of stakeholders in the sector including international federations, national governing bodies, clubs, players’ unions, inter-governmental organisations and other public bodies. At the same time as practising, Kevin has always had a passion for research, writing and teaching, and has contributed to a variety of both undergraduate, postgraduate and professional courses for institutions based in the UK and overseas. He is currently Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University's Law School. He is co-author of The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland’s Sports Governance Handbook.

Amanda Bennett

Amanda is a governance and diversity specialist working in the sport and charity sectors. She has worked with more than 100 organisations’ including the International Paralympic Committee, the Football Association and local voluntary bodies, helping them to build effective leadership models and create robust, inclusive governance structures.

Before establishing FairPlay Ltd, Amanda was Head of Governance at UK Sport and Chair of European Women and Sport. She also served as a board member with Sport Wales. Amanda is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director with England Handball, Non-Executive Director at Saracens Women Ltd and serves on the RFU Game Development Sub-Committee. She is also a qualified mentor, supporting elite coaches and senior executives. She is co-author of The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland’s Sports Governance Handbook.

Rob Wilson

Rob is the Head of Department for Finance, Accounting and Business Systems at Sheffield Hallam University and an expert in sport finance. With 20 years’ experience in higher education in a variety of roles, ranging from quality enhancement to external relations, Rob has significant teaching and research experience in the sports business field. His main teaching and research interests are in the finance and economics of sport, with his PhD focusing on the factors affecting financial performance in professional team sports.

He has published five books, including two on finance: Finance for Sport and Leisure Managers: An Introduction and Managing Sport Finance; as well as contributing numerous chapters on finance and financial management in sport to books and more than 30 peer-reviewed outputs. He is co-author of The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland’s Sports Governance Handbook. In addition, he serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. He is a regular commentator in the national and international media, including BBC, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and ESPN.

Craig Beeston

As Programme Manager for the Sports Governance Academy, Craig is responsible for delivering its services, knowledge base and research output and for liaising with Sport England, the Programme Board, Advisory Group and all the SGA's stakeholders. 

Craig joined the Policy Team at The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland in 2016, working on not-for-profit governance with a focus on the Institute’s output in the sport, charity and education sectors. He sits on a number of governance advisory groups, representing the Institute in each of these sectors and has written widely on governance issues. As the Institute’s lead on sports governance, he has authored its guidance and research in the sector.

Prior to joining the Institute, Craig carried out published research into the methodology of international rankings of public service delivery for the ESRC and into blame management strategies employed by office-holders in times of crisis for the Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation at the London School of Economics. He also worked for a number of years in research roles for the UK Civil Service.

Emily Ford

Emily Ford is a Policy Adviser at the Chartered Governance Institute, working with government, regulators and stakeholders to promote good governance. Her two priority areas are the role of governance in successful ESG strategies across all sectors, and the effective governance of not-for-profit organisations. In her role, Emily conducts and produces research on sector trends, publishes practical guidance for governance professionals, and engages with government on key issues.  

Emily has a background in corporate communications, think tanks and third-sector campaigning. She graduated with an MPhil in International Development from the University of Cambridge and a First-class BA in French and German from King’s College London. 

The Child Protection in Sport Unit (NSPCC)

The Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) is part of the NSPCC and is funded by Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland, Sport Wales and UK Sport. (In Scotland, there is a similar partnership between Children 1st and sportscotland.)

The CPSU was founded in 2001 in response to a series of high-profile cases of abuse of young athletes. Its aim is to help improve safeguarding and child protection practices within sports organisations, to ensure all children and young people are safe while participating in sports.

The unit plays a strategic role in the landscape of sport in the UK. It works directly with UK Sport Councils, National Governing Bodies (NGBs), Active Partnerships and other organisations. The CPSU supports organisations to implement and maintain safeguarding practices, to minimise the risk of abuse and ensure that sport stays safe and enjoyable for all those involved.

For more information, visit the CPSU website.

The Ann Craft Trust

The Ann Craft Trust is a national charity dedicated to safeguarding adults at risk. Through pioneering training and practice reviews, and through contributing to world-leading research, the Trust supports organisations to safeguard adults at risk and minimise the risk of harm.

In November 2015, Sport England funded The Ann Craft Trust to create a dedicated Safeguarding Adults in Sport post. Since then, the Trust’s Safeguarding Adults in Sport team has expanded to include a dedicated manager for sport in Wales, and managers for elite sport and non NGB/smaller organisations sport and activity. And as the team has grown, so has the sport and activity’s understanding of what it means to safeguard adults at risk.

For more information, visit the Ann Craft Trust website.