Joining forces to protect integrity

During these last few months, several stakeholders have continued to undertake a number of important initiatives in the field of governance and the protection of sports integrity, supported by the IOC and the OM Unit PMC. Here is a quick overview, featuring the stakeholders and their activities in alphabetical order:

ASOIF

The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) recently published the results of the fourth governance review of its member federations. The aim of the project, led by ASOIF’s Governance Task Force (GTF), on which the IOC is also represented, is to promote and ensure a culture of good governance within the IFs and help drive continuous progress. Almost all IFs had improved their performance since the last assessment, with the highest scores among the five sections achieved in the area of transparency, and the lowest scores in the control mechanisms section. Scores in the development section had collectively improved more than the others, reflecting the work by IFs in the areas of sustainability and social responsibility. Read more here.

Council of Europe – Monitoring Committee of the Macolin Convention

On behalf of the Olympic Movement and in its capacity as an observer, the IOC attended the fourth meeting of the Council of Europe’s Monitoring Committee of the Macolin Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, which took place in April. The Convention is the only legally binding instrument in this field. During the meeting, the IOC highlighted the fact that competition manipulation can affect all sports and all countries, recalling the joint efforts to safeguard the integrity of sporting competitions during the last two editions of the Olympics, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022. The IOC also stressed the importance of coordinating disciplinary and law enforcement investigations for cases of competition manipulation.

FIFA Global Integrity ProgrammeThe International Association Football Federation (FIFA) continues to conduct its Global Integrity Programme for National Football Associations, with the ongoing support of the OM Unit PMC. The programme, developed in collaboration with the UNODC, is aimed at providing Integrity Officers in FIFA’s member associations all over the world with an in-depth understanding of the scourge of match manipulation and measures to tackle it effectively. In April and May, the OM Unit PMC took part in sessions organised for member associations in Oceania and Europe to explain its activities, related methodologies and in particular the work undertaken with NOCs. Following these sessions, the OM Unit PMC and FIFA offered to foster links between their respective Integrity Officers in the NOCs and National Football Associations in these regions to facilitate efficient collaboration.

INTERPOL International Match-Fixing Taskforce meeting

As mentioned earlier in the newsletter, the OM Unit PMC attended INTERPOL’s International Match-Fixing Taskforce meeting, which was held in May in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The conference brought together more than 100 law enforcement authorities from across the globe, major IFs and the IOC. The OM Unit PMC presented its methodology and activities. It also highlighted the importance of cooperation between sports organisations and law enforcement authorities, as well as the need to coordinate law enforcement and sports disciplinary investigations.