PtG Article 27.06.2022

Play the Game 2022 celebrates 25 years of unique sports debate

Play the Game 2022 marks 25 years of bringing together stakeholders in sport to discuss and find solutions to the problems facing international sport. The challenge is no longer to break the silence around the problems, but to qualify the exponentially growing debates in the sports community.

Today, the 12th Play the Game conference opened in Odense, Denmark, with 350 participants who will be discussing some of the most pressing issues facing the world of sport today from the lack of human rights in sport over the fate of female athletes in Afghanistan to the urgent need for reform of the international Court of Arbitration for Sport and the loss of faith in the anti-doping system after the Russian doping scandal.

The debates will be informed by approximately 160 interventions from journalists, academics, athletes, NGOs, and sport leaders who have travelled to Denmark from all over the world to join the four-day event.

This conference also marks the 25th anniversary of Play the Game and the concept of bringing together researchers, journalists, and others with a stake in sport to talk about how to solve the many problems in international sport.

“Personally, I suffered from the illusion that as soon as the problems of corruption, doping, and abuse were brought into the public domain, someone would start tackling them and they would soon dwindle. Well, here we are, 25 years later, much richer in experience and somewhat poorer in illusions,” said international director of Play the Game, Jens Sejer Andersen in his opening speech.

While the problems in sport have not all been solved over the past 25 years, Play the Game can no longer call itself home for the homeless questions in sport, because on many issues the silence has been broken.

“25 years ago, I opened our conference by saying ‘It is our task to break the silence’. Now that the silence has been broken, it might be more correct to say: ‘It is our task to cut through the noise,’ and ensure that the exponential growth in the sports debate is accompanied by an equal growth in quality,” Andersen said.

Play the Game will be livestreaming key sessions from the conference on its website to allow anyone to follow the debates and learn from the interventions and speeches.

The livestreaming can be accessed from the conference site, and pictures from the conference will be updated continuously on Play the Game’s flickr account.

News from Play the Game 2022

James M Dorsey at Play the Game 2022
PtG Article 27.07.2022
From sportswashing in autocracies to soft power in democracies 
Mikhail Zaleuski at Play the Game 2022
PtG Article 22.07.2022
Solidarity in sport: Athletes should speak up for democracy and against climate change
Panel in front of slide with CO2 emissions
PtG Article 08.07.2022
Climate expert: Sports’ own carbon footprint is limited
Panel debate
PtG Article 04.07.2022
Professor: Cut the amount of football in half for the sake of sustainability
Drago Kos at Play the Game 2022
PtG Article 04.07.2022
Play the Game may be the correct forum to develop a sports anti-corruption agency
Panel
PtG Article 04.07.2022
Call for nuances in media reporting of the World Cup in Qatar
Panel
PtG Article 04.07.2022
Many nations lack the will and resources to implement governance reforms
Dejan Stefanović in a session.
PtG Article 30.06.2022
Athletes and commercial interests put pressure on European sports model
Rikke Rønholt.
PtG Article 30.06.2022
Without performance data for trans athletes, only principles guide the discussions
Friba Rezayee holder oplæg
PtG Article 30.06.2022
Afghanistan’s first female Olympian: IOC is funding the Taliban-controlled NOC in Kabul
Panel at Play the Game 2022.
PtG Article 30.06.2022
Greed is the order of the day in top European football clubs
Khalida Popal i paneldebat
PtG Article 30.06.2022
Khalida Popal: The international community has failed the women of Afghanistan
the Athletics Exploratorium at the SDU.
PtG Article 30.06.2022
Play the Game 2022 visits the Athletics Exploratorium at the University of Southern Denmark
minister for culture
PtG Comment 30.06.2022
Sportswashing is a deep contradiction of the core values of sport
Award winners
PtG Article 30.06.2022
Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation and Khalida Popal receive the Play the Game Award 2022
Presenter
PtG Article 29.06.2022
External oversight key to athlete trust in abuse and violence investigations
Speaker
PtG Article 29.06.2022
Proposal for independent sports integrity body to be unveiled in September
Panel at conference
PtG Article 29.06.2022
Reports of abuse of athletes continue to emerge across the globe
Panel
PtG Article 29.06.2022
Investigative data project exposes dubious actions in betting industry
Panel at conference
PtG Article 29.06.2022
Investigative journalism in the post-Jennings era

See the conference website