Play the Game spoke in the German Parliament

A few days before Play the Game starts in Cologne, Play the Game’s International Director, Jens Sejer Andersen, gave his opinion on how corruption in sport could be fought when on September 28th he was invited to speak at a hearing held by the Sports Committee of the German Parliament, Der Bundestag.

The German parliament has decided to focus on the issue after the past year’s debate about mismanagement in FIFA, widespread match-fixing and other forms of corruption in sport, reflecting an increased willingness among European politicians to find ways to respond to the credibility crisis in sport.

The purpose of the hearing was to discuss measures by which the public authorities in Germany could make an effort to prevent corruption in sport. Germany, for instance, has no laws targeting sports fraud.

In his speech Jens Sejer Andersen said that corruption in sport not only reflects the lack of moral by certain individuals,; it is also closely connected to the huge amounts of money circulating in international sports organisations that are generally reluctant to accept efficient internal or external controlling mechanisms.

Jens Sejer Andersen mentioned the possible establishment of a World Anti-Corruption Agency as one way to go, but he also stressed that one should not exclude other models. Needed are initiatives, that:

• Fight all sorts of corruption, including corruption within sports organisations
• Fight corruption in all sports, also at an international level
• Promote cooperation between sports, governments and other stakeholders, such as supporters, sponsors, media, NGOs etc.  

For those who read German, Jens Sejer Andersen’s speech can be read here. The speech can be translated into English or other languages by using Google Translate.

The hearing was covered by the German journalist Daniel Drepper on his blog (in German). Daniel Drepper will also report from the upcoming Play the Game 2011 in Cologne on the blog together with Anja Perkuhn and Jonathan Sachse.