By Ijaz Ahmad
TORONTO: More than 400 leaders from the Olympic Movement, governments, inter-governmental agencies and betting authorities and entities took part today, both in person and online, in the 5th International Forum for Sports Integrity (IFSI) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Forum adopted the Universal Declaration on Sports Integrity, a new action-oriented commitment to strengthen the protection of integrity in sport.
The Universal Declaration on Sports Integrity, unanimously endorsed during the event, outlines responsibilities and concrete follow-up actions for key stakeholders across four priority areas:
In her opening speech, IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who is a double Olympic champion in swimming, remarked how sports integrity translates to the field of play “I know from my journey that being able to have confidence in the competitions and in the stakeholders was always really important, and this is what we all we represent in this room. We are all the people that make the different decisions in and around how athletes will be protected, and how to strengthen different protocols and codes.”
The IOC President went on to stress the power of collaboration, and underscored the shared responsibility for sports integrity across sport, governments and society, comparing it to the functioning of a spider web, which is strong and resistant only when all the threads are intact and connected: “It takes all of us in our individual capacities to come together, to work together, and to ensure that we want the same outcome, which is to strengthen the integrity of our different individual institutions.
“We want athletes and the public to believe in us – we want them to understand that we are doing the right thing, and we are protecting what we believe in for generations to come. But it can only be done if we are that spider web – if we link together and we work together as one in a way that is collaborative and uses all of our strengths to ensure that everyone is getting stronger together.”
The importance of cooperation between entities was echoed by Glenn Micallef, European Union (EU) Commissioner for Youth, Intergenerational Justice, Sport and Culture, who addressed the participants via a video message: “Initiatives such as the IFSI are so vital: bringing governments, intergovernmental organisations and the sports movement together has shown how cooperation can make a real difference in fighting corruption and promoting good governance.”
“Integrity is key to strengthening the credibility of European sport and of sport worldwide,” he added. “It is what builds trust, and trust is the foundation of our sporting community.”
Stressing the value of a collective effort to tackle corruption and protect integrity in sport at large, Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, highlighted the fundamental role of the International Partnership Against Corruption in Sport (IPACS) , which was launched at the second IFSI in 2017 and has worked on finding pragmatic solutions ever since: “It is a multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together sports organisations, governments and intergovernmental organisations to promote sports integrity. The Council of Europe, being a co-founder of IPACS, reiterates its commitment to continuing strengthening the Partnership and working alongside the IOC to further promote good governance in sport.”
On the sidelines of the Forum, the IOC renewed its commitment to collaborate closely with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Council of Europe and INTERPOL to protect together sports integrity as best as possible. “Strengthening the integrity of sport helps ensure its role as a key driver of positive social and economic development,” said Brigitte Strobel-Shaw, Chief, Corruption and Economic Crime Branch, UNODC. “In this effort, the global partnership between the UNODC and the IOC has been a driving force. We look forward to enhancing this collaboration and supporting governments and sports organisations to protect sport from those looking to exploit it for illicit gain.”
Edited by Sumayyah Ahmad
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