"There are a lot of vulnerabilities still left": Governance Issues in Virtual Sports

International sport governing bodies are investing considerable time and effort into the development of competitive virtual sports, with two prominent examples being virtual cycling and virtual triathlon. As virtual cycling, triathlon and other virtual sports sit between the intersection of sport and esports, these innovative sporting formats create novel governance dilemmas. Against this backdrop, this study examines the governance issues that stakeholders in virtual sports are currently facing. Methodologically, the study is based on qualitative interviews with representatives from national and international sport governing bodies, elite athletes, journalists and content creators in virtual cycling and virtual triathlon. Central to our findings is the notion that governance issues in virtual sports both mirror and nuance those of esports and sport. The analysis identified four types of governance issues related to (1) doping, (2) platform fragmentation, (3) transparency and (4) commitment and decision-making. In particular, governance issues experienced by stakeholders encompass physical-, cognitive-, software-, and hardware-related manipulation, as well as concerns around the intersection of commercial interests, data privacy, and performance verification. Overall, the unanimous call for stronger commitment of international governing bodies point to a critical gap in proactive governance, social responsibility, and athlete support within the emerging discipline of virtual cycling.