Izmir chosen as priority candidate for Play the Game 2013

Play the Game has chosen the city of Izmir, Turkey, as the priority candidate to host the 8th world communication conference on sport and society, Play the Game 2013.

The proposal of Izmir has been forwarded by sports consultant Tolga Senel from Eurasia Sports, who after taking part in three consecutive Play the Game conferences decided it was time to bring the event to his home country.

On a visit to Izmir in May, the international director of Play the Game, Jens Sejer Andersen, had promising meetings with a number of organisations and institutions that would be potential co-hosts and stakeholders.

”Turkish sport has great ambitions on the international stage, and it has also in recent years suffered dramatic consequences of some of the downsides to modern sport, like match fixing. Both trends have led to a growing desire among sports stakeholders to have an open and truthful debate about the realities of Turkish sport and its international perspectives, and we are thankful that some people believe a Play the Game conference can serve this purpose,” Jens Sejer Andersen says.

It is up to the board of Play the Game/The Danish Institute for Sports Studies to make a final decision, most likely at the end of August. Till then, Tolga Senel and his allies will work to provide the financial guarantees and organisational alliances that are necessary for a successful conference.

The conference is expected to be held in the late autumn of 2013. In the process of selecting a host, also proposals from Madrid, Spain, and Aarhus, Denmark, were considered.