Call for action against all forms of corruption in sport

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Open letter to the IOC President
and the International Olympic Committee,
gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark
on the occasion of
the 121st IOC Session
and the XIII IOC Congress

October, 2009

Dear President Rogge and IOC members,

Call for action against all forms of corruption in sport

We believe the time has come to act against all forms of corruption in sports.

We are alarmed that the sporting community is now in a situation where worldwide illegal gamblers and match-fixers are operating at all levels of sport. Their activities are a small slice of an illegal gambling market that is worth hundreds of billions of dollars and poses an imminent threat to the core values and credibility of sport.

Also, we believe that within a number of sports and national associations non-transparent and corrupt practices continue. For instance, the ISL affair in which a small group of leaders in international sport has cashed in more than 100 million dollars as secret personal commissions in return for TV and marketing rights should be met with a strong response.

We believe that there is a number of other forms of corruption in sport: human trafficking, money laundering and tax evasion. These activities are thriving thanks to the non-intervention of the sports community, local and national governments, sports sponsors, the media and other stakeholders.

We believe that the global sports community has an obligation to act as a role model of transparency, accountability and democracy if it is to promote positive social, cultural and personal values to society and youth.

The International Olympic Committee is the worldwide leader in sports. It has the moral aspirations as well as financial and political clout to show effective political leadership in this matter.

Therefore, we urge the IOC to take immediate, concrete and convincing steps to counter all forms of corruption in sport in order to safeguard the social, cultural and educational values of sport.  

We ask you to urgently consider all relevant measures, including

• a definition of common standards of good governance and accountability
• a strengthening of the role of the Ethical Committees in sport so they can be allowed to act truly independently and have capacity to sanction those who violate the rules
• a modernisation of the way international federations manage democracy and transparency
• mechanisms for exchange of information and intelligence related to corruption
• and, if necessary, the establishment of an international anti-corruption institution for all countries and all sports

In a defining moment for world sport, we call on the IOC to take decisive steps.

Yours sincerely,

Adam Jefferson Kreek
Rower, Trainer, Author, Entrepreneur
Olympic Gold Medallist , two-times Olympian
Canada

Aidan White
General Secretary
International Federation of Journalists
Belgium

Alessandro Donati
Member of the governmental Anti-Doping Commission
Rome Ministry of Health
Italy

Andrew Jennings
Investigative reporter
Author
United Kingdom

Anne-Marie Dohm
Rector
Danish School of Media and Journalism
Denmark

Bert Schaap
Sportswriter
De Telegraaf
Holland

Bob Munro
Chairman
Mathare United
Kenya

Christel Schaldemose
Member of the European Parliament
Denmark

Christopher A. Shaw
Professor, Author
University of British Columbia
Canada

Dave Boyle
Chief Executive
Supporters Direct
United Kingdom

David Rowe
Professor of Cultural Research
University of Western Sydney
Australia

Declan Hill
Investigative Journalist, PhD
Canada

Eduardo Galeano
Author
Uruguay

Ezequiel Fernández Moores
Sports Editor
ANSA Latinamerica
Argentina

Florian Petrica
Editor-in-Chief of Sport
The Money Channel, Realitatea Media
Romania

Gary Wicks
PhD, Associate Professor Emeritus
St. Olaf College
USA

Gerhard Treutlein
Professor
Centre for Doping Prevention, Heidelberg
Germany

Henning Eichberg
Lecturer, Dr. Phil.
University of Southern Denmark
Denmark

Henrik Brandt
Director
Danish Institute for Sports Studies
Denmark

Ivan Waddington
Visiting Professor
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and University of Chester
United Kingdom

Jan Mühletaler
M.A., Head of section
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Switzerland

Jens Brinch
Chairman of the Board of Play the Game
Former Secretary General of the Sports Confederation of Greenland
Denmark

Jens Sejer Andersen
Director
Play the Game
Denmark

Jens Weinreich
Investigative journalist
Author
www.jensweinreich.de
Germany

John Beech
Head of Sport & Tourism Applied Research
Coventry University
United Kingdom

John Thrane
Editor-in-Chief
Danish Association of Company Sport (DFIF)
Denmark

John Volkers
Sports reporter
de Volkskrant
Holland

Joseph Maguire
Professor, School of Sport & Exercise Sciences
Loughborough University
United Kingdom

Jørgen Povlsen
Head of the Institute of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics
University of Southern Denmark
Denmark

Jørn Hansen
Lecturer, Institute of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics
University of Southern Denmark
Denmark

Kaj Kunnas
Sports Journalist
OY Yleisradio AB/Finnish Broadcasting Company
Finland

Kim Schimmel
Associate Professor of the Sociology of Sport
Kent State University
USA

Lasse Svensson
Chairman, County Sports Federation of Västmanland
Former national and international volleyball leader
Sweden

Laura Robinson
Investigative journalist
Author
Canada

Malcolm Clarke
Chairman
Football Supporters Federation
England and Wales

Mario Rodrigues
Editor
All Sports Magazine, Mumbai
India

Mike McNamee
Professor of Applied Ethics
Swansea University
United Kingdom

Nikki Dryden
Human Rights Attorney  
Two-time Olympic swimmer
Canada /USA

Olukayode Thomas
Sports Editor
Timbuktu Media
Nigeria

Paul Einar Borgen
Marketing Director
Sportsmaster
Norway

Sigmund Loland
Professor
The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Norway

Søren Riiskjær
Director of the Secretariat of Sports Politics
Danish Gymnastics and Sports Associations (DGI)
Denmark
 
Tegla Loroupe
United Nations Ambassador of Sport
Long-distance runner, Olympic bronze medallist and tree-times Olympian
Kenya

Terri Byers
Principal Lecturer Sport Management
Coventry University
United Kingdom

Terry Monnington
Director of Physical Education and Sport
University of Warwick
United Kingdom

Tine Rindum Teilmann
Board member, Danish Paralympic Committee
member of the IOC’s Women in Sport Commission
Denmark

Tjeerd Veenstra
Director De Lotto
Chair Legal, Statutes & Members Committee, European Lotteries
Holland

Veerle De Bosscher
Lecturer in Sports Management
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Belgium

Wladimir Andreff
Professor Emeritus at the University Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne 
Honorary President of the International Association of Sport Economists France
France

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For further reference please contact Jens Sejer Andersen

Director, Play the Game

+45 20 71 07 01

jens@playthegame.org

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