ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the nature of the federal model of sport governance with a particular emphasis on investigating intra-sport cohesion between regional and national bodies charged with governing a sport. The federal model of governance refers to the division of powers within a nation where a number of separate and legally autonomous bodies comprise a network of distinct bodies collectively contributing to the governance of that nation. It is a system that has been in place in countries such as Australia and New Zealand and was first introduced under British colonisation. Sport governance in these countries has evolved as something of a mirror image of the political systems in place with little change in these structures, in some instances, for decades.
