The fight against corruption, match fixing and abuse of power in international sport is increasingly on the international political agenda and top politicians will continue the debate at Play the Game 2011.
The list of speakers at Play the Game 2011 is still expanding and we are proud to present the latest three speakers who have agreed to join the debate in Cologne.
Polish Minister of sport and culture, Adam Giersz has made battling corruption and match fixing a top priority during the Polish EU presidency that started on July 1, 2011. During the last years, Polish football has been racked by corruption and match fixing scandals and Poland is supporting the idea of an international anti-corruption agency based on the WADA model. At Play the Game 2011 Giersz will share his visions and views on how EU can protect the integrity of sport.
Doris Pack MEP, Chairwoman of the Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament and as such in charge of EU’s Sport sector, will be giving a keynote speech on the opening day of the conference. The experienced parliamentarian is a driving force in the making of a comprehensive European sports policy.
Another newcomer to the speakers list is Crusade Yau. Yau is head of INTERPOL’s Asian Organised Crime Team and has been in charge of creating the INTERPOL Match Fixing Task as well as coordinating the joint efforts of member countries in the fight against illegal gambling in the Asia-Pacific region. Yau will do a presentation on INTERPOL’s efforts in combating illegal gambling and match fixing in Asia.
Anti-corruption on the agenda
A large number of stakeholders are currently calling for the establishment of an international anti corruption agency with the authority to independently and impartially investigate cases concerning e.g. corruption and match fixing. Lately the Council of Europe as well as the European Parliament have issued declarations about the importance of focusing on the fight against corruption in sport. But the politicians have yet to transform these declarations into actual plans of action.
At Play the Game 2011, during the conference’s last day, dubbed “Change in sport day”, delegates will seek to draw up a series of practical and concrete suggestions to how we go from acknowledging that corruption in sport is a problem that needs to be dealt with and move on to how we actually fight it.
Find the full conference programme on www.playthegame.org/2011 where you can also register for the conference.
Read about the latest initiatives in support of good governance and anti-corrupition in sport:
Council of Europe members support battle to protect sport
EU Parliament calls for fight against corruption in sport
European Lotteries pass resolution on integrity in sport
