On the road
Over the last few months, the OM Unit PMC has not only provided support to key stakeholders and event organisers; it has also continued to advocate and share expertise at the conferences of intergovernmental expert bodies and national partners.
6th meeting of the Macolin Convention Follow-Up Committee
At the 6th meeting of the Council of Europe’s Macolin Convention Follow-Up Committee, held on 9 and 10 May 2023 in Paris, the OM Unit PMC provided an update on its recent activities and ensured that the relevant interests and input of the Olympic Movement were considered in topical discussions. In addition, the Unit presented the activities of the Council of Europe’s working group on data protection. The OM Unit PMC is actively involved in the activities of this group, notably regarding the sharing of account-based information.
In June 2023, France became the ninth country to ratify the Macolin Convention and will now also be joining the Convention’s Follow-Up Committee.
UEFA Anti-Match-Fixing Working Group
On 13 and 14 June 2023, the OM Unit PMC took part in the annual meeting of the UEFA Anti-Match-Fixing Working Group in Rotterdam, dedicated to international cooperation, the sharing of good practices, and discussions on operational challenges. The general purpose of this group is to assess innovative means of tackling match-fixing internationally and to ensure continued stakeholder engagement with the following objectives:
- consultation and dialogue – bringing together the most important stakeholders;
- transnational efforts – promotion of international cooperation;
- convergence between sport and public policies – discussions on topical issues; and
- communication – leverage general awareness across Europe.
The Unit provided an operational update on the Olympic Movement’s activities delivered throughout the past year. Particular focus was placed on multi-sport and continental events on the road to Paris 2024, as well as the review of the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions (OM Code PMC). Read more.
UNODC workshop for South Asia
Also last month, the OM Unit PMC participated in the UNODC workshop on “Safeguarding Sport from Corruption: Focus on South Asia”, held on 20 and 21 June in Vienna. The event, officially supported by the IOC, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the International Cricket Council (ICC), brought together 50 high-level experts from anti-corruption and judicial authorities, law enforcement, intergovernmental organisations and sports organisations, including the Olympic Council of Asia and certain NOCs in the region. The objectives of the workshop were to raise awareness of corruption risks in sport, with a focus on competition manipulation and corruption associated with organising sports events; share good practices on how to mitigate such risks; and promote cooperation between criminal justice authorities and sports organisations.
The Unit participated in an expert discussion on existing laws and regulations to tackle corruption in sport, in particular competition manipulation, and explained the important role of NOCs in national cooperation frameworks (national platforms). Believe in Sport Ambassador Andrej Miklav from Slovenia also joined the event to provide the athletes’ perspective. He highlighted the importance of awareness-raising among athletes and their entourage, notably regarding the obligation to report any incidents and the available reporting mechanisms. The Unit used the opportunity to organise a short side event for the NOCs of Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka to promote the transfer of knowledge and best practices between them.
French NOC gathers national integrity experts
From Vienna to Paris! The Unit participated in a meeting organised by the French NOC (CNOSF) on 21 June, which brought together the integrity experts of all NFs as well as the national platform. This annual event had been put on hold during the global pandemic, and the Unit took the opportunity to update the delegates on its role and how it works with NOCs to prevent competition manipulation. Activating NFs in this way is a good practice that other NOCs could also consider developing.
INTERPOL workshop ahead of 2023 Rugby World Cup and Paris 2024
The OM Unit PMC also joined a workshop organised by INTERPOL on 22 and 23 June in preparation for the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The focus was on joining forces and strengthening efforts in fighting competition manipulation ahead of these two upcoming major events in France. Accordingly, the event brought together all key players in this field, including the relevant French authorities, betting regulators, law enforcement, the French NOC and the event organisers. The OM Unit PMC presented the ambitions and related activities of the Olympic Movement in this field.