Discover NOC activities across the globe

Over the last year, more than 150 NOCs all over the world have participated in dozens of workshops and webinars run by the OM Unit PMC – always customised to the level of expertise in the given country or region. The aim is to educate NOCs about the threat of competition manipulation, share tips and tools for prevention, support them in setting up national cooperation frameworks and help optimise processes and cross-sector collaboration. It’s a systematic, ongoing and impactful effort to prevent cheating across all levels, and here is a snapshot of the most recent developments!

IOC-INTERPOL training

As part of the IOC-INTERPOL partnership, a hybrid training session took place in March in Belgium, mainly aimed at the country’s law enforcement authorities, but also involving the Belgian NOC. The session focused on betting and betting monitoring activities, as well as the cooperation between law enforcement and disciplinary investigations. Matthias Van Baelen, the single point of contact (SPOC) for integrity at the NOC, stated: “This hybrid event was quite helpful in terms of better understanding the specifics of betting and betting monitoring. Most importantly, it helped us strengthen our relations with our law enforcement colleagues in the country and enhance the coordination as part of the national platform.”

Exchanging knowledge, optimising processes

The same month, further north, the OM Unit PMC, together with INTERPOL and the UNODC, organised a webinar for the Nordic countries of Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland, all of which have in place sophisticated structures and processes against competition manipulation. The webinar allowed representatives from national platforms, sports organisations, law enforcement and state authorities to share experiences and lessons learnt during disciplinary and law enforcement investigations. As part of the exercise and prior to the event, participants were asked to tackle some case studies, showcasing and proposing concrete action.

Linney Halldorsdottir, the SPOC from Iceland, concluded: “The webinar was quite high level and went in depth on the topic of investigations. We had the chance to understand the practices and experiences of other Nordic countries and learn from experts. Especially for Iceland, this was really helpful for both the NOC and the national platform representatives.”

Promoting the concept of single points of contact

From Europe to the Americas – in April, the OM Unit PMC, INTERPOL and Panam Sport joined forces to organise a webinar for all Americas-based NOCs and certain law enforcement authorities in the region. In focus: how to best investigate cases of competition manipulation and promote collaboration between sports organisations and law enforcement authorities in this respect.

The session brought together more than 90 participants, and Fanny Huezo Guido, integrity expert from the NOC of Costa Rica, was one of them. She said: “The webinar was really helpful to better understand the role of the NOC single point of contact for integrity matters and the actions we need to take to prevent match-fixing in our countries. Following the webinar, our NOC proceeded with the adoption of the necessary rules, and we are planning further activities in this important field.”

The ambitious, long-term aim is to have each NOC appoint an SPOC and empower this person to act efficiently when it comes to supporting the development of relevant regulations and awareness-raising activities, as well as following up on potential cases of competition manipulation. This includes a good understanding of the national jurisdiction, as well as close coordination with law enforcement. The SPOC model has taken off successfully in Europe and is now being rolled out to NOCs on other continents.

Helping to shape legislation

Next destination: the Middle East, where an IOC-INTERPOL workshop took place in mid-May, aimed at the authorities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The in-person session in Abu Dhabi was part of the INTERPOL International Match-Fixing Taskforce meeting and brought together more than 40 participants representing the NOC, National Federations and ministries. Experts from the IOC, INTERPOL and IFs (such as FIFA and the ICC), and integrity units (Athletics Integrity Unit and International Tennis Integrity Agency), explained the different roles and responsibilities of the sports and law enforcement authorities and how they can work together. The timing was favourable, as the UAE authorities are currently planning a new sports bill.

HE Azza bin Sulaiman, Deputy Secretary General of the UAE NOC, said after the event: “This workshop provided an excellent opportunity for us to better understand the phenomenon and the actions that need to be taken. It also enabled us to work closer with our National Federations and public authorities in this field. A sports bill is already under way which includes provisions on this topic.”

Mutual trust and collaboration as key success factors

And finally, from Southwest Asia to Africa: two IOC-INTERPOL webinars were organised in May for sports organisations and state authorities in Namibia and Zimbabwe. The objective: determining the role of each key stakeholder (sports organisations and law enforcement) in the fight against competition manipulation, empowering the participants to set up national cooperation frameworks and underlining the importance of collaboration in an environment of mutual trust.