Programme for Play the Game 2025

Between inclusion and regulation: Transgender athletes in the sporting arena

09.00  
Room: Small auditorium
Chair: Minky Worden 

• Fair and Evidence-based Classification: Lessons from Paralympic Sport 
  Jonas Christensen, PhD fellow, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Denmark
• Fair Play or Free Play? Why Women’s Sport Needs Defensible Boundaries 
  Ask Vest Christiansen, associate professor, Aarhus University, Denmark
• Sport For All: Trans & Intersex Athletes Right to Play Sport 
  Lily Dong Li Rosengard, senior specialist, ILGA World, UK
• The United States attempt to Regulate Transwomen Athletes Participation Globally 
  Genevieve Birren, professor, SUNY Cortland, USA, & Kerry Fischer, associate professor, Suny Fredonia, USA
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

Producing child prodigies or offering meaningful competitions

09.00  
Room: Duetto 1
Chair: Petteri Kilpinen

Session organised by the Nordic National Olympic Committees.

• Examples and experiences from Denmark
  Karin Ingemann, development director, NOC & Sports Confederation of Denmark, Denmark
• Examples and experiences from Finland
  Juha Sten, high performance manager, Finnish Olympic Committee, Finland
• Examples and experiences from Norway
  Rune Arctander, head of international relations, The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports, Norway
• Play their Way: A rights-based approach to youth sport
  Sorcha Rowan Kennedy, child rights and sport specialist, UNICEF UK, UK
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers
  

Documentary: We are Greenland: Football is freedom

09.00  
Room: Duetto 2
Chair: Troels Rasmussen

A powerful story of Greenland’s fight for football recognition. With FIFA membership out of reach due to their political
status and rejected from UEFA, Greenland turns to Concacaf to play official matches. The documentary highlights the
intersection of sport, identity, and global politics in a David vs. Goliath battle against football’s bureaucracy.
Meet director Søren Høy and journalist and author Steve Menary for a discussion following the screening.

Panellists: 

• Søren Høy, director, Solo / N29 Films, Denmark
• Steve Menary, freelance reporter, UK

Broken trust, blurred lines: Is the anti-doping system still working?

09.00  
Room: Maestro
Chair: Kim Ravn 

• Integrity of sports in Brazil: An analysis of national sports governing bodies and the federal government's anti-doping procedures 
  Emily Kohler, Phd student, University of Minnesota, Brazil
• It takes two to tango – Partnerships between NADOs and IFs 
  Peter Van de Vliet, CEO, iNADO, Belgium
• Strengthening the status quo: Moral regulation of anti-doping policy 
  Samuli Oja, researcher, Jamk University of Applied Sciences, Finland
• A practitioners perspective on the anti-doping system 
  Paul J. Greene, founding partner, Global Sports Advocates, LLC, USA
• Increased Democracy at WADA?
  Allison Wagner director of athlete and international relations, USADA, USA
• A Decade of Ignorance : A lifetime of loss 
  Lizzy Banks, retired athlete, UK
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

The illusion of independence, neutrality and autonomy in sport

09.00  
Room: Riffi
Chair: Simon Licen 

• A Critical View at the Autonomy of Sport Concept in Light of Recent Developments 
  Viktoriia Smirnova, PhD candidate, DAiSI, Russia
• Reimagining the concept of political neutrality within the Olympic Movement amid war conflicts 
  Fragkiskos Tsiros, doctoral researcher, European University Institute, Greece
• How to Kill a Football League: The Rise of FK Arkadag 
  Neel Shelat, undergraduate journalism student, Northwestern University in Qatar, India
• Bluewashing: how FIFA polishes its image through UN partnerships 
  Samindra Kunti, reporter, Josimar/Freelance, Belgium
• How Ramzan Kadyrov is using MMA to cement his power and shape Chechnya’s identity 
  Gëzim Qadraku, content creator, Sports and Geopolitics, Kosovo
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

Breaking barriers: Leadership, inclusion and athlete empowerment

09.00  
Room: Aaria
Chair: Kim Shore 

• True Stories From a Woman in Football 
  Sally Freedman, freelance writer, Switzerland
• Women's leadership in sport: Beyond gender quotas 
  Ruby Lorena Carrillo Barbosa, researcher and teacher, Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz, Colombia
• From Tokenism to Transformation: A Framework for Meaningful Youth Engagement in Sport Advisories 
  Sasha Gollish, knowledge mobilization director, University of Toronto, Canada
• Players force redress of game dress rules 
  Michael Gibbons, attorney, MPG Law, USA
• Beyond the pitch: Inclusive spaces and leadership in football 
  Erica Puppo, head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, FIFPRO, Brazil/Italy
• Athlete Empowerment and Improved Sport Governance 
  Kelsey Sloan, researcher, Harvard Global Sports Initiative, USA
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

Mitigating public-health challenges from sports betting

09.00 
Room: Opus 3
Chair: Bruce Kidd 

• Public-Health Challenges of Sports Betting 
  Joel Finlay, independent management consultant, Ban Ads for Gambling, Canada
• Public-Health Challenges of Sports Betting: The Canadian View 
  Bruce Kidd, professor emeritus, University of Toronto, Canada
• Public-Health Challenges of Sports Betting: The U.S. View 
  Mark Sternman, chief of staff, Massachusetts State Senator Keenan, USA
• Gamblification of sport: tendencies, practices and related harms 
  Marcelo Moriconi & César Tiago Afonso Costa De Cima, researchers, ISCTE Instituto Universitario de Lisboa, Portugal
• Gambling culture in elite female sports clubs in England 
  Anca-Maria Gherghel, research manager and PhD student, EPIC Global Solutions/SHU, Romania
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

The voices that matter: Survivors and the future of systemic reform in sport 

14.15
Room: Small auditorium
Chair: Kat Craig 

• The Voices That Will Change Sport: Survivors Leading the Way 
  Kim Shore, founder, Project Safe Kids, Canada
• In their own voices: historically marginalized athletes’ insights on what creates safe sport environments and governance 
  Catalina Melendro, researcher and former Colombian athlete, Sport Equity Lab and CCCU, Colombia
• Engaging Athlete Survivors in Creating Safer Sports for Athletes: How to Build Trauma-Informed Advocacy for System Reform
  Julie Ann Rivers Cochran, executive director, & Emily Austin, senior policy & advocacy specialist, The Army of Survivors USA
• Voices of impacted people on eligibility and accreditation of individuals with criminal convictions in sport 
  Joanna Maranhão, network coordinator, Sport & Rights Alliance, Brazil, & Gabriela Garton, player relations coordinator, World Players Association, Australia
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

The return of sex testing to international sport: Is it justified? Is it ethical?

14.15  
Room: Duetto 1
Chair: Madeleine Pape
Session organised by the panel

• A history of the present: The evolution of sex testing and how we got (back) here 
  Sone Erikainen, lecturer in sociology, University of Aberdeen, Finland
• Following the Science? Sex Testing, Values, and the Politics of Protection in Women’s Sport 
  Silvia Camporesi, professor of sports ethics and bioethics, KU Leuven, Italy
• Rethinking fairness: Performance data and the inclusion of athletes with sex variations 
  Sasha Gollish, knowledge mobilization director, University of Toronto, Canada
• Disappeared women: Naming the harm caused by sex eligibility regulations in sport 
  Payoshni Mitra, executive director, Humans of Sport, UK
• Using Data Protection Laws to Challenge Sex Testing Practices in International Sport 
  Marcus Mazzucco, adjunct lecturer, University of Toronto, Canada
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

From Palestine to Norway: Football’s struggles with political power

14.15  
Room: Duetto 2
Chair: Simon Licen

• Governance and Ethics in Sport: Celtic Football Clubs Controversial Fundraising in Support of Israeli Settlement Projects in Palestine
  Jill Thomson, campaigner/researcher, Scottish Sport for Palestine, Scotland
• UEFA MAFIA: A Small Norwegian Football Club’s Fight for Freedom of Expression 
  Justin Fiacconi, journalist, CBC, Canada
• The political capture of FIFA 2.0 and the need for radical reform 
  Nicholas McGeehan, co-director, FairSquare, France
• The untold story of Don Alejandro and Conmebol 
  Lúcio de Castro, journalist, Jornal Lance, Brazil
• Panelist: Philippe Auclair, investigative reporter, Josimar, France/UK
• Panelist: James M. Dorsey, adjunct senior fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey, Singapore
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

Sport for development and peace

14:15  
Room: Maestro
Chair: Mogens Kirkeby 

• Sport for Development and Peace Amidst Persistent Global Aid Cuts and Geopolitical Tensions in Palestine 
  Derrick Charway, postdoctoral fellow, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway/Ghana
• The Role of Transnational Law in Safe Sport Policy Development in Sport for Development Programs 
  Kadija Richards, PhD fellow, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (DAiSI), Jamaica
• Sport for Development in the Shadow of Gender Apartheid and Athleticide 
  Shannon Galpin, founder, Combat Apathy, USA
• Intersectionality is critical in sports development 
  Friba Rezayee, executive director, Women Leaders of Tomorrow, Afghanistan
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

Fair play under scrutiny: New frontiers in anti-doping

14.15
Room: Riffi
Chair: Kim Ravn

• Fairness for All: Inclusive and diverse Anti-Doping Practices
  Eva Bunthoff, member of the Executive Board, National Anti Doping Agency Germany, Germany
• Viability of Strict Liability in Era of Extreme Laboratory Sensitivity
  Jeff Cook, chief legal and operations officer, USADA, USA
• (Un)declared narratives: What researchers assume about anti-doping
  Brianna Walsh, PhD researcher, Swansea Universit, Canada
• From Sanction to Education: Evaluating the Implementation of WADA’s International Standard for Education
  Jules Woolf, assistant professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

Activists and diplomats: Athletes challenging the system

14.15  
Room: Aaria
Chair: Shireen Ahmed

• Athlete-Led Diplomacy: Reclaiming Sport from Geopolitical Power Games 
  Scarlen Martinez, CEO, Maven Strategy Group, USA
• Understanding the process of athlete eco-activism between individual and organisational conditions. The case of ultra-trail runners
  Pim Verschuuren, senior lecturer, University of Rennes 2, France
• Framing Dissent: A Comparative Media Analysis of Athlete Activism in Germany and the United States 
  Marloes Ekkelboom, lecturer / PhD candidate, German Sport University Cologne, Germany
• The Online Micropolitics of Olympic Opposition: The Case of Brisbane 2032 
  David McGillivray, professor, University of the West of Scotland, UK
• Athlete Advocacy, Grassroots Organizing, and the Campaign to Open Figure Skating to Teams of Any Gender Composition 
  Anna Kellar, advocate, The Future of Figure Skating, USA
• Jorge Carrascosa: the Argentine captain who renounced his role as world champion under dictator Videla
  Ezequiel Matias Fernandez Moores, journalist, La Nación, Argentina
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers

Fields of change: The future of sustainability in sport

14.15  
Room: Opus 3
Chair: Ioannis Konstantopoulos

• Regional Tournament Design in Lower Football Leagues: A More Sustainable Approach to Emission Reduction in Türkiye 
  Ercument Yigit, independent researcher, Dr., Turkey
• First Place Goes to Winning, Second Place to CSR? How Sport Performance Shapes CSR Perceptions 
  Marie B De Cock, PhD researcher, Ghent University, Belgium
• Youth Eco Sports Scorecard (YESS) A Youth-Led Digital Initiative for Sustainability in Sports 
  Rishin Tandon, founder, The Youth Eco Sports Scorecard (YESS), USA
• Sustainability in Ugandan Sports: Balancing Authentic Environmental Action and Corporate Greenwashing 
  Sharon Muzaki, environmental and science journalist, The Great Lakes Centre for Climate, Uganda
• Panel debate, Q&A: All speakers