Key leadership qualities for major sporting events: the case of the World Aquatics Championships

The purpose of this study was to examine specific leadership qualities identified as important by stakeholders of large-scale sporting events. The 2005 'Federation Internationale de Natation' (FINA) World Aquatics Championships was used to build a case for determining what leadership qualities were necessary throughout the evolution of the event. The data, collected through means of archival material and interviews of the organising committee and its stakeholders, emphasised the importance of networking and human resource management as key leadership skills. Leadership qualities depended on the organising committee's mode (planning, implementation, wrap-up) and included, for example, financial skills, ability to access resources, credibility, and communication and public relations. Each of the qualities could then be classified as either an antecedent or a consequence of networking, thus supporting networking and its political, business and sport components as being a critical leadership quality.