German Sport University Cologne will host Play the Game 2011

Play the Game 2011 will run from 3 to 6 October 2011 and is expected to gather around 300 leading media professionals, academics and practitioners in debates about some of the most vital challenges to modern sport: doping, corruption, match fixing and the declining participation in sport and physical activity, just to mention a few.

“Play the Game is an important initiative helping to develop a transparent and critical view on the world of Sport and its surroundings. The German Sport University Cologne is looking forward to welcoming international journalists and scientists for an open exchange on the important societal and political topics of sport,” says the university’s President, Dr. Walter Tokarski.

On its side Play the Game is honored by the partnership with this internationally leading institution in sports science and physical education: “Cologne is a goldmine of academic and practical insight into virtually all aspects of sport, in social as well as natural sciences, and we are convinced that the partnership will further raise the quality of information, ideas and solutions coming out of Play the Game,” says Jens Sejer Andersen, Founding Director of the conference.

“As one of the biggest countries in Europe Germany also features some of the most innovative thinking as well as some of the toughest dilemmas in the social and financial development of sport, so there will be a lot of inspiration and case stories to deal with when we meet in Cologne.”

The German Sport University Cologne – also called Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln – is a learning place for 5,200 students of which around 500 come from abroad. It counts 19 scientific institutes, including one for media and communication research, located on a campus with facilities for 30 different sports.

The chairman of Play the Game, Jens Brinch, also pay tributes to the other contenders for hosting Play the Game 2011.

“We are grateful for the interesting bids we received from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and SPOLINT institute in Slovenia, and we hope that the contacts made in this process will be the base of future cooperation in other projects. Both places offered fresh perspectives for developing the conference, but at the end of the day Cologne had the stronger position.”

A contract will be signed in September upon the meeting of the Management Board of the German Sport University Cologne.

More information on registration, conference themes, call for abstracts etc. is expected to be available on

overbeck@dshs-koeln.de
Phone +49(0)221 4982 3850/Fax +49 (0)221 4982 8400
web: www.dshs-koeln.de

Play the Game:
Jens Brinch, chairman
brinch@playthegame.org
cell phone +45 23 25 17 92
or
Jens Sejer Andersen
jens@playthegame.org
cell phone +45 20 71 07 01