Former FIFA director Champagne joins Play the Game day in Brazil, registration opens

One of the most outspoken leaders in world football, the former FIFA deputy general secretary and director for international relations, Jérôme Champagne, has accepted to give a keynote adress when Play the Game stages a one-day seminar ”Mega-events and Democracy: Risks and Opportunities” the 24 October in São Paulo, Brazil.

Champagne, who was forced out of FIFA in January 2010, has contributed actively to the debate on reforms of FIFA and world football in general since he first broke his silence at the Play the Game 2011 conference in Cologne in October last year.

On that occasion he laid out a comprehensive political programme for world football which was later sent to all national football federations and widely reported by the international media.

”Brazil has played a crucial role in the development of FIFA and will continue to do so. Therefore I look much forward to meeting journalists, academics and other sports political stakeholders in Brazil and discuss how the country can create a positive legacy for itself and for the rest of the world when hosting the World Cup 2014,” Jérôme Champagne says.

At a personal level, Champagne has a special relation to Brazil. Three years at a key post in the French Embassy in Brasilia was his last mission as a diplomat before turning his energy into football as head of protocol during the World Cup in France 1998.

Inspiration from Siemens
Also Siemens will be represented at the Play the Game day and share experiences about its global campaign against corruption in its own ranks. After being involved in one of the corporate worlds biggest corruption scandals in 2008, Siemens changed its entire top leadership and made a strategic turnaround, aiming at becoming completely corruption-free.

Corporate Compliance Consultant Peter Andreas Gölitz from Siemens Brazil, will tell about how this dramatic change may inspire the outside world – including the sports federations.

In Brazil, Siemens is supporting the Jogos Limpos (Clean Games) project, run by the private Instituto Ethos in order to prevent corruption in the arrangements of the World Cup 2014 and the Summer Olympics in Rio 2016.

Jogos Limpos will be represented by its public policy project coordinator Betina Sarue.

The three speakers are added to a list of speakers which already contains the following:

• Juca Kfouri, investigative journalist  [may alternatively speak on good governance in the afternoon]
• Alberto Murray, lawyer, former member of COB
• Erich Beting, journalist, founder and director of maquinadoesporte.uol.com.br
• Roberto Maluf de Mesquita, professor, Uninove
• Christopher Gaffney, visiting professor, Universidade Federal Fluminense
• Jens Sejer Andersen, international director, Play the Game

The arrangement receives logistical support from SESC São Paulo, Abraji and the Danish Cultural Institute in Rio.

Participation free, register now
The seminar takes place at SESC Vila Mariana, Rua Pelotas 141, São Paulo, Wednesday 24 October from 9.30h-18h. Participation in the seminar is free, but it is required to register – which you can do here (no longer possible).

Due to a limited number of seats we recommend to register soon, as participants will be accepted as first come, first served.

SESC São Paulo offers free simultaneous translation. Lunch can be bought for low prices at Vila Marina. Later the same day, SESC SP opens the international grass-root sports conference, Move2012, which runs from 24-27 October.

You can also join this event by clicking here Please direct any questions or inquiries to the following:

In Brazil: Marina Atoji, Abraji here

In Europe: Jens Sejer Andersen here , Cell phone +45 20 71 07 01.

Read earlier news about the seminar here

Register for the event here

Read about the international congress on grass-root sport development Move2012 here