AQA · A-Level · Physical Education
Course version: 7582 · Version from Sept 2016
Development of national governing bodies.
Full specification wording
Industrial and post-industrial (1780–1900): Development of national governing bodies.
As industrial Britain (1780–1900) urbanised, sport needed consistent rules, so national governing bodies (NGBs) emerged to codify, organise and control competition.
Checked against the AQA 7582 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 10 of 12
- 4 key terms
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
As industrial Britain (1780–1900) urbanised, sport needed consistent rules, so national governing bodies (NGBs) emerged to codify, organise and control competition. The Football Association (1863) standardised football rules and the Rugby Football Union (1871) did the same for rugby, separating the codes. NGBs wrote rules, ran national competitions and cups, regulated players and clubs, and settled disputes. They also linked sport to respectability and helped spread games through railways and the press. Their growth shows sport moving from local, informal contests to nationally regulated activity.
What earns the marks
- National governing bodies were formed to create and enforce a single set of rules for a sport across the country.
- Examples include the Football Association (1863) and the Rugby Football Union (1871), which codified and separated the two football codes.
- NGBs supported the spread of sport by standardising rules that travelling teams and the press could rely on.
- Their development reflects the shift from local, informal and occasionally violent contests to nationally controlled, respectable sport.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Thinking NGBs existed before industrialisation.
Put it right: They emerged in the nineteenth century as urban, national sport needed common rules.
Believing NGBs only wrote rules.
Put it right: They also ran competitions, regulated participants and resolved disputes.
Assuming one body governed all sports.
Put it right: Each sport developed its own governing body, such as the FA for football and the RFU for rugby.
Treating codification as instant and universal.
Put it right: Rules were agreed gradually and different regions and clubs adopted them at different times.
Exam tips
- Name a specific body and its sport when explaining the role of NGBs, rather than speaking generally.
- Link each function of an NGB to a problem it solved, such as inconsistent rules between clubs.
- Use dates only where you are confident, and always attach the date to the correct body and sport.
- When comparing options, reject any that describes local or informal organisation, which predates NGBs.
Try the lesson
The start of the Industrial and post-industrial (1780–1900): Development of national governing bodies. lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
During the industrial and post-industrial period in Britain, which type of organisation was formed to write standard rules and organise competitions for a single sport on a national scale?
Listen
As industrial Britain (1780–1900) urbanised, sport needed consistent rules, so national governing bodies (NGBs) emerged to codify, organise and control competition. The Football Association (1863) standardised football rules and the Rugby Football Union (1871) did the same for rugby, separating the codes. NGBs wrote rules, ran national competitions and cups, regulated players and clubs, and settled disputes. They also linked sport to respectability and helped spread games through railways and the press. Their growth shows sport moving from local, informal contests to nationally regulated activity. A strong answer earns marks for these points. National governing bodies were formed to create and enforce a single set of rules for a sport across the country. Examples include the Football Association (1863) and the Rugby Football Union (1871), which codified and separated the two football codes. NGBs supported the spread of sport by standardising rules that travelling teams and the press could rely on. Their development reflects the shift from local, informal and occasionally violent contests to nationally controlled, respectable sport. Exam tip: Name a specific body and its sport when explaining the role of NGBs, rather than speaking generally.
Key words
Say what each word means before you turn the card.
Codification and standardisation
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Governance and regulation
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Respectability and the spread of sport
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
National governing bodies
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
See every definition
- Codification and standardisation
- National governing bodies were formed to create and enforce a single set of rules for a sport across the country.
- Governance and regulation
- They organised national competitions and cup competitions and regulated clubs, players and fixtures, and settled disputes.
- Respectability and the spread of sport
- They linked sport to respectability and helped spread games through railways and the press, standardising rules that travelling teams and the press could rely on.
- National governing bodies
- Bodies that emerged as industrial Britain urbanised because sport needed consistent rules, and which codified, organised and controlled competition.
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