Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law called on Thursday for the city's national sports associations (NSAs) to make use of resources provided by the new sports governance and integrity alliance to raise management and integrity standards in the field.

The alliance, formed by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, the Jockey Club and the Chartered Governance Institute, has rolled out a three-year initiative aimed at enhancing governance of NSAs.

Officiating at the launch, Law said the government has expectations and demands towards such associations' integrity and management, and their achieving good governance is fundamental to the city's sports development.

"National sports associations have a very important role when it comes to increasing Hong Kong's sporting standards and enhancing the local sports community's international influence and voice," she said.

"The efficiency of such associations' governance and integrity of its leadership directly impacts performance, athlete morale and results, as well as the potential for the sport's flourishing development."

Law said the alliance would provide professional legal and accounting services, along with corruption prevention advisory services.

ICAC commissioner Danny Woo said sports would only be meaningful if athletes could compete fairly.

"A single instance of cheating in any sport can destroy reputations built over years of effort, it undermines public confidence in the sporting field," he said.

"Moreover, the community requires a lot of resources to offer optimal training and competition environment for athletes.

"The effective utilisation of resources by associations can allow athletes to deliver their best performance in all kinds of events."

The commission, Woo added, will also work on prevention and education, such as providing guidelines and training programmes for NSAs to take part in.

This would integrate integrity management and anti-corruption forces into the sporting system, he said, to ensure that athletes can compete in an environment they can rely on.