The importance of being purposeful

Since Nelson Mandela said that sport had the power to change the world, his words have been used countless times to illustrate sport’s potential to do good – to the point that his moving speech 20 years ago has almost become a cliché.

But Neill Duffy, the founder of 17 Sport – the world’s first sports impact agency – is adamant that those words are as true today as they were two decades ago – but sport has to step up to fulfil that vision.

Sport’s business model, he says, is complacent and lazy, and has been exposed badly by the coronavirus pandemic.

The industry has no choice but to build back better and move purpose from the fringes (such as foundations and CSR departments) to the centre of the organisation. During this episode, Duffy explains: 

• Why sports will have to “do good to do well” in the post-Covid environment
• How sport’s organisations can authentically approach purpose
• What the role of leadership, athletes and employees are in that shift