Play the Game 2009 – second call for papers

After a highly successful opening round for abstract submissions, the Play the Game 2009 programme organisers have decided to open a new call for papers. Academics, journalists, sports practitioners and other sports stakeholders are encouraged to send presentation proposals to the conference organisers by 31 March 2009, 15:00 CET.

Play the Game 2009, the sixth world communication conference on sport and society, will run from 8 – 12 June 2009 in the British city of Coventry, the first city outside the Nordic countries to host the event.

The conference will be co-hosted by the Centre for the International Business of Sport at Coventry University.

Confirmed conference speakers already include:

• Richard W. Pound, IOC member, former President of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and newly-selected President of the Play the Game Advisory Board.

• William Gaillard, Director of Communications and Public Affairs for UEFA, and Senior Adviser to UEFA President Michel Platini.

• David Howman, Director-General of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

• Wladimir Andreff, Professor emeritus in sports economy, University of Paris-Sorbonne

• Declan Hill, investigative journalist, academic and author of 'The Fix'

• Mark Davies, Managing Director of Betfair, the world's largest betting exchange.

Conference themes
The conference will operate under the sub-heading 'visions for sport in times of crisis'.

Conference presentations are requested for the following main themes:

• Ethics in governance: Will sports federations come clean?

• Between Beijing and London: Mega-events as drivers of development

• Business battles: The power struggles in football

• Match-fixing: A blow to the core of sport

• Terrible teenagers? Sport’s quest for the hearts and minds of the youth

• Anti-Doping: Will the technological arms race come to an end?

• Paralympic athletes: More different than the rest?

• Sport for the Good: What is it good for?

There will also be an open forum for accepted presentation suggestions that do not fall under the main conference themes.

Why attend?

We call upon leading stakeholders in sport to contribute with your expertise and experience to this unique and independent forum for sports debate. As an academic, journalist or sports practitioner your contribution is vital because:

Academics can play a key role by bringing comprehensive data, scientific methods and analytical skills into the process.

Journalists have a special responsibility, partly because the media are an integral part of the environment of sport, and partly because the media strongly influence which issues that are raised in public and which that are not.

Sports practitioners must balance a series of demands, some of which are crucial for the credibility of sport. Not only are they expected to provide economic growth, increased membership and bigger audiences, they must also guarantee ethical governance, strict anti-doping measures and social responsibility.

International launch of research projects

If you are preparing a major research project or a campaign, why not use Play the Game 2009 to launch the project internationally?

Play the Game expects the participation of more than 100 journalists representing media across the globe and is an ideal platform for reaching a worldwide audience and building lasting working relations.

Please contact Play the Game at info@playthegame.org to discuss how coordinated action can be taken.


Selection process

Abstracts and storylines will be evaluated by the Play the Game 2009 Programme Committee in the first half of April.

Submissions recieved before the 16 February deadline are now in the process of being evaluated, and submittors can expect to be informed of the decision of the Programme Committee in the first half of March.

Register now

More information about Play the Game 2009 can be found on our conference homepage. To submit an abstract, click on the tab in the left column marked 'Submissions'.

To register as a delegate, visit the conference homepage and click on 'Register'.