Driving dialogue for democracy in sport

Our conference title – driving dialogue for democracy in sport – reflects something very important. Not only to this year’s programme, but to the very reason why Play the Game exists: the spirit we work in, the spirit we want the coming days to reflect, a spirit I have sought to carry forward since taking the driver’s seat a year ago when Jens Sejer Andersen stepped back to become our senior advisor. 

We are both deeply grateful that this year’s conference has seen an unprecedented increase in interest, but we have also felt the weight of increased expectations, pressure, and outright demands.

More often than before, we have been told that

“This voice must be included.”
“This issue cannot be ignored.”
“This person should not be given a platform.”

Each message carried urgency. Sometimes even harsh words from those who disagreed with how we arrange our conference and how we designed the programme.

And for a moment, I felt quite overwhelmed. One evening, I found myself staring at different emails where every contributor argued their case with conviction. I asked myself: how could we possibly meet all these expectations?

The truth is simple: we can’t. But what we can do and what we have spent countless hours preparing, is to ensure that this conference reflects openness and the meeting of different perspectives and voices.

Fencing alone is no fun

Play the Game has grown out of the Danish people’s enlightenment tradition, which emphasises democratic dialogue, free debate, and open-mindedness. It is built on a culture where sport is meant to empower the individual for both personal andcommunity development. In short, you can say we aim to make sport more democratic – and democracy more sportive.

Fortunately, this endeavour has proven relevant far beyond our home turf. Since the turn of the century, Play the Game has met a growing global interest in building a community in sport based on a culture of dialogue, where we learn from each other and where disagreement is met with arguments, not with silencing.

So even if the passion I have been confronted with over the past months has sometimes kept me awake at night, this is not a plea for you to hold back your engagement. 

On the contrary: Your passion, your knowledge, and your experience are what keeps Play the Game alive. 

But I do have one plea: 

Don’t go down the road of silencing people with other opinions. Like the fencers in the conference image behind me, let your opponent bring out the best in you. After all, fencing alone is no fun. 

We aim to turn disagreement into understanding 

Play the Game is an old expression from cricket, meaning play by the rules, play fair. 

We do not try to erase conflict, but to transform it. To take disagreement and turn it into understanding. To let perspectives and opinions clash through dialogue. Because, with dialogue, even disagreement can become a path to greater understanding.

We live in a time when polarisation is accelerating, and where too many decision-makers – including sports leaders – shy away from public debate. They prefer stage-managed appearances, controlled media exposure, and uncritical applause. But sport does not need stage-managed consensus, and it is not what we are here for.

What we can offer here – or rather, what you can offer here - is an alternative that sport needs more than ever. Courage, honesty, facts, and respectful debate. If power is to be challenged, if knowledge is to be shared, if marginalised voices are to be heard, then the only way forward is democratic dialogue.

I also urge you to think about something over the next couple of days. At Play the Game, we believe that doubt is not weakness. It is the beginning of reflection. It opens a space for questions, and for recognition of perspectives you may not have considered. In the end, your doubt may reaffirm your convictions – or it may move you towards new realisations.

That is what Play the Game seeks to provide. A place where difficult conversations are not avoided but facilitated. To make space for doubt, for questioning, for diverse perspectives, and for the disagreements that so many others try to suppress.

Understanding comes from open, respectful dialogue

In the days ahead, we will analyse power – in football, in the Olympic movement, in the global balance of sport itself.

We will examine integrity issues – from anti-doping to match-fixing and unregulated gambling.

We will confront human suffering – abuse in sport, the risks faced by whistleblowers, and the silencing of those who dare to speak. 

We will open the floor to debates about identity, fairness, inclusion, and transgender participation in sport, and we will not shy away from sensitive issues like how sport should respond to wars in Gaza, Ukraine, or other parts of the world.

More than 57 sessions and over 300 speakers will take us through these urgent issues: Journalists, researchers, athletes, advocates, whistleblowers, and decision-makers.

Play the Game 2025 is more than a conference. It is a commitment. A commitment to keep democratic dialogue alive in sport at a time when it is urgently needed. We once called ourselves the home for the homeless questions in sport. And if sport still has homeless questions, Play the Game must remain their home. Because those questions deserve a home. And they deserve your voice.

We do not pretend that this conference will give us all the answers. But we know this: without the courage to ask the right and difficult questions together, there will be no way forward. And maybe Play the Game 2025 can be a reminder that understanding comes not from the absence of disagreement, but from the willingness to confront it through an open, respectful dialogue.

So let us begin.
Let us challenge each other and ourselves.
Let us allow dialogue to do its work.
Thank you – and welcome to Play the Game 2025!