ASSESSMENT OF THE PERCEIVED IMPACT OF CORRUPT PRACTICES ON SPORTS DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         Background to the study

There has been a debate as to why sports has become such a lucrative global industry in sports management literature, it is the ―uncertainty of sports that gives its unpredictable joy and their characteristics intensity‖ it is this uncertainty and unpredictability that make sports such an exciting opportunity for businesses around the world to take advantage (Manson, 1999). But what happens if this uncertainty and unpredictability is taken away? In recent years there have been an increase in the number of reports detailing ‗corrupt behavior by individuals at all levels of sports and those associated with it both on and off the field of play, in the pursuit of financial success usually reserved for those who are winning global championships (Chadwick & Gorse 2013).

Corruption is recognized to be one of the world‘s greatest challenge, and a major hindrance to sustainable development, with a disproportionate impact on poor communities and is corrosive on every fabric of society.Corruption involves a deliberate use of one‘s position to get illegitimate benefits and undue advantage which could be financial or in other forms (Amuwo 2005, Obayelu, 2007, Heeks, 1998, Khan, 1999). It is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon with multiple causes and effects, as it takes on various forms and functions in different context (United Nation Committee against Corruption (UNCAC 2013).

Corruption has become an issue of major political and economic significance, and this has led to a resurgence of interest in analyzing the phenomenon and the diverse forms that it assumes in developing countries, with an expectation that democratization and economic liberalization offer potential routes to dealing with the problem. An Anti‐corruption strategy ranges from institutional reforms through concerted efforts at the international level. The efficacy of these approaches has not

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been subjected to careful empirical research. The study of corruption has been ―multi-disciplinary‖ and dispersed, ranging from universal theoretical modeling to detailed descriptions of single corruption scandal. It has been studied as a problem of political, economic, cultural or moral under-development. The complex nature of corruption has made most observers agree that it pervades many societies and that there are no quick-fix solutions to it (UNCAC, 2013).

ASSESSMENT OF THE PERCEIVED IMPACT OF CORRUPT PRACTICES ON SPORTS DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA