Time to refuel the sports debate!

Just as the biggest crisis ever in world sport is unfolding in and around FIFA, Play the Game gathers close to 400 journalists, researchers, sports leaders and other experts for a debate about the major challenges to world sport.

The conference runs from 25-28 October and kicks off with an opening session, open to the public, in the City Hall of Aarhus.

Danish Minister of Culture, Bertel Haarder, will be performing the official opening for the four-day conference after which the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council (PACE), Anne Brasseur, will take the stage.

During Play the Game 2015, leaders from the IOC, FBI, EU, Council of Europe, UN and some of the most knowledgable journalists, academics and whistleblowers will address issues such as match-fixing, trafficking, doping, the need for investment in grass-root sport and other issues closely linked to the an overarching challenge: the  lack of good governance in sports organisations.

These experts will be handed new material to discuss from, when Play the Game presents the most comprehensive report to date on the state of governance in the 35 Olympic federations, entitled ‘The Sports Governance Observer 2015’.

On very short notice, David Nakhid has announced his arrival at the conference to present his FIFA presidential candidature after Sepp Blatter. This will happen during an evening session, in which Jérôme Champagne, who has just declared his FIFA president candidature as well. The session takes place on Monday 26 October, 18:00-20:30, and will further feature a discussion about the future of FIFA. Read more about this session

Play the Game 2015 is supported by the Danish Ministry of Culture, the City of Aarhus and other organisations from Danish sport. Also the sports political section of the Council of Europe, EPAS is also largely engaged in the conference and has secured the participation of representatives from sports ministries and sports organisations from a number of European countries.