Even football has sustainability impacts! Brazilian club issues sustainability report

After inheriting a $100 million debt upon takeover, the current administration of Brazilian football club The Corinthians decided to publish a sustainability report for a simple reason: it needed an accountable, transparent way to present their management and economic performance.

Indeed, the club's financial director, Raul Correa da Silva, is a previous founder of an audit firm and therefore knows very well how important it is to be accountable to the market. Although accessible to all audiences, the Corinthians' report is primarily intended for investors, financial institutions, business partners, civil society organizations and other clubs.

The release of this report is a unique opportunity for the world of football to start to become more accountable.

Due to the global nature of the game, the sheer quantity of people involved (players, fans, management) in the game, and the millions of euros both spent on and generated by the game, football clubs, tournament organizers and governments that host major tournaments are always inadvertently forced to tackle important issues.

Such issues often include racism, hooliganism and corruption. In lower level clubs, even child labor has been cited as infiltrating the game. The root of these problems, as with any sector, often leads back to a lack of good governance and professional management in these clubs and other football-related organizations - something that a commitment to transparency and accountability through sustainability reporting can start to address. That the seed for sustainability reporting in football has been planted in a country so obsessed with the game is encouraging, as it has much potential to influence the rest of the football world.

http://www.globalreporting.org