48 stakeholders in sport ask the IOC to combat corruption effectively

A varied group of committed individuals have raised their voice just before the International Olympic Committee will discuss ethics and good governance in the Olympic family.

In an Open Letter to the IOC President Jacques Rogge and the IOC members, the multi-stakeholder group urges the IOC “to take immediate, concrete and convincing steps to counter all forms of corruption in sport in order to safeguard the social, cultural and educational values of sport.”

The initiative comes from Play the Game in co-operation with investigative journalist and Play the Game Award-winner Declan Hill.

“A few days before the Olympic Congress we lacked signs that the IOC will take concrete measures against all forms of corruption,” Play the Game director Jens Sejer Andersen says.

“So far at this event, IOC President Rogge has declared a zero-tolerance policy against doping, match-fixing and corruption in two opening speeches. But it remains to be seen if this will lead anywhere, and by mobilizing a small group of influential people to start this call we hope to inspire the IOC to act.”

In the group of subscribers are names like United Nations Sport Ambassador and long-distance runner Tegla Loroupe, a three-time Olympian, the famous Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano, the director of the Dutch De Lotto company Tjeerd Venstra, Member of the European Parliament Christel Schaldemose and Chief Executive of Supporters Direct, Dave Boyle.

“Because of the narrow deadline, we decided to gather a small, but very diverse group of subscribers to illustrate that the concern about corruption in sport is widespread. Now we open for the everybody else to sign up at our website,” Play the Game’s Director says.

Rumours about IOC initiative against match fixing
Reliable sources yesterday told Play the Game that the IOC is planning an initiative against on aspect of corruption: Match fixing. Play the Game has then found that a company called “International Sports Monitoring” has been filed in the Swiss trade register on the 29 September, naming no contact persons.

“Hopefully this does not mean that the IOC forgets other forms of corruption. Because then they will miss a very important point, namely corruption within the Olympic family. The ISL affair that our resolution refers to, shows that the international sport federations lie open to corruption in big scale among their own leaders,” Jens Sejer Andersen says.

The 48 persons behind the Open Letter asks the IOC to consider a number of measures, including

• a definition of common standards of good governance and accountability

• a strengthening of the role of the Ethical Committees in sport so they can be allowed to act truly independently and have capacity to sanction those who violate the rules

• a modernisation of the way international federations manage democracy and transparency

• mechanisms for exchange of information and intelligence related to corruption

• and, if necessary, the establishment of an international anti-corruption institution for all countries and all sports

To see the full text and list of subscribers and to add your own signature to the open letter, click here