The Sport Transparency Index will be launched with AC Milan, Juventus, and the German and Slovenian Football Federations among the most transparent sports organizations in Europe.
The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA), through SIGA EUROPE and a consortium of institutional partners, officially launched the Sport Transparency Index (Sport T Index) during a high-level event held in Brussels.
Co-financed by the European Union through the Erasmus+ program, the Sport T Index is the first independent, evidence-based assessment tool to measure transparency and good governance in the European sports ecosystem.
Developed by SIGA Europe in partnership with EPSI; the Institute of Sport Governance, University of Castilla-La Mancha; ICSS Europe; Brussels School of Governance; FEDAS; the European Association of Multisport Clubs; the International Centre for the Olympic Truce and the Portuguese Swimming Federation, the Sport Transparency Index promotes a culture of accountability and integrity. The Index assesses the information provided by clubs, leagues, national federations and international organizations based on 15 universal transparency indicators, distributed across three main areas: organizational, operational and financial. All assessments are made exclusively based on publicly available information on the official websites of the entities evaluated.
The launch event brought together institutional leaders, policymakers, academics, and sports executives from across Europe. Opening speeches were delivered by Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, Global CEO of SIGA; Sven Van Kerckhoven, Deputy Director of the Brussels School of Governance; Yves Le Lostecque, former Head of the Sports Unit at the European Commission; and Mohammed Hanzab, President of ICSS and Vice-President of the SIGA Board. Together, they highlighted the urgent need for greater transparency, oversight, and reforms in sport.
One of the main highlights of the event was the release of the first results of the Sport T Index. Among the performance leaders – all with 14 out of 15 indicators achieved – are football clubs such as AC Milan and Juventus, the German Bundesliga, as well as the German Table Tennis, Rowing and Tennis federations, the French Taekwondo Federation, and the Slovenian Skiing and Athletics associations.
The discussions included the participation of organizations that have already adopted the Sport T Index, such as European Aquatics, the Kosovo Swimming Federation, and the Royal Belgian Swimming Federation, who shared how the application of the Index methodology has contributed to improving their governance structures.
From the clubs' perspective, representatives from Olympiakos, the Fribourg Olympic Basketball Academy, HAŠK Mladost Zagreb, and the French Federation of Corporate Sports (FFCO) highlighted how the Index offers practical tools – such as training packages and policy recommendations – that guide strategic reforms. Football was represented by André Mosqueira do Amaral, CEO of Liga Portugal, who expressed the goal of achieving the maximum score soon.
Closing the event, Trisha Meyer, Director of the VUB Center for Digitalization, Democracy and Innovation, highlighted the broader democratic value of the Sport T Index, which offers the sports sector practical, evidence-based tools for institutional strengthening and knowledge development.
Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, Global CEO of SIGA, highlighted the importance of the Sport Transparency Index:
“The launch of the Sport Transparency Index represents a significant step forward in a pioneering journey led by SIGA EUROPE, which has taken place over the last 30 months. In collaboration with a consortium of 10 partners and co-financed by the European Commission, we have designed, developed and implemented a way to objectively and independently assess Transparency in Sport Governance at all levels of the industry.
I enthusiastically affirm that this launch is just the beginning. Our goal is to broaden the reach and impact of this independent benchmarking tool, progressively increasing the number of organizations assessed, the depth of analysis, and introducing a global dimension. We believe that through this objective assessment, the public availability of data, and capacity-building initiatives, it is possible to promote structural reforms and strengthen a culture of integrity and transparency throughout the sports sector.
SIGA remains true to its founding principles. Our purpose is to recognize and value merit, not to expose or shame. We are here to highlight good practices and encourage all sports organizations to continuously improve their governance standards. We believe that any organization can achieve the maximum score on the Transparency Index and strengthen its governance through continuous alignment with SIGA – the world’s largest independent coalition in the field of Sport Integrity. Together with SIGA’s Universal Standards and SIGA’s Independent Assessment and Verification System ( SIRVS ), the Sport Transparency Index is therefore much more than a metric – it is a catalyst for positive change and a concrete opportunity to positively transform sport.”
