Leaving Certificate Physical Education Practice Test

National Governing Bodies are the organisations given formal authority to oversee a sport across the whole country. They set the rules for competition within the nation, organise major national events, and manage essential functions like coaching standards, refereeing/umpiring, development programs, and the selection and support of national teams. This broad, nationwide governance role—recognized by the sport’s international federation and often coordinated with the government or national Olympic committee—defines them as the national administrators of the sport. Other terms describe related but different roles. A national federation is often used interchangeably in everyday language, but the governing-body emphasis highlights authority over governance and nationwide oversight. Sports councils tend to refer to government-backed bodies that fund and coordinate sport across multiple sports rather than running a single sport. Provincial associations operate at a subnational level, not across the entire country.