SCOPE
The aim of the Conference was to help outline and plan the initiatives to be taken by EPAS, the Working Party on the Council of Europe Convention on the Handling of Sports Competitions (known as the Magglingen Convention), the Council of Europe Associated States and their partners from 2022 within three specific areas of intervention:
1. Guidelines on Integrity in Sport of the UNESCO Kazan Action Plan
The Kazan Action Plan was adopted on 15 July 2017 as part of MINEPS VI, the sixth UNESCO International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport. EPAS had the honour of developing detailed guidelines on integrity in sport following
Action 3 of the Kazan Action Plan.
Five areas for action in this regard were identified:
i. Preserving the rights, safety and security of athletes, spectators, workers and other groups involved.
ii. Preventing and addressing harassment and abuse in sport.
iii. Promote good governance of sports organisations.
iv. Strengthen measures against the manipulation of sporting competitions.
v. Ensure an adequate framework for anti-doping policy, its implementation and the adoption of effective compliance measures.
The Conference on Integrity in Sport provided an opportunity to reflect on how best to promote and implement the guidelines. Issues concerning the types of services needed to support sports ministries were also addressed, including cross-sectoral cooperation through case studies of countries that are already implementing such initiatives. A report on a risk assessment module was given and the particular methodological or cross-cutting aspects on which specific initiatives should focus were discussed.
In addition, the following issues were addressed
- How best to promote and implement the integrity guidelines of the Kazan Action Plan?
- What kind of services are needed to support sports ministries?
- In addition to the risk assessment module, what other methodological or cross-cutting aspects should specific initiatives focus on?
2. Manipulation of sporting competitions - Match-fixing
The Magglingen Convention is the only legally binding international instrument to combat the manipulation of sports competitions. It outlines a common legal framework for efficient international cooperation to respond to this global threat. It requires public authorities to cooperate with sports organisations, betting operators and competition organisers in order to prevent, detect and punish the manipulation of sports competitions.
Seven States Parties have currently ratified the Convention (Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine). The highest priority should be given to increasing the number of ratifications. The Special Committee started working on a number of priority areas: the promotion of the Convention, the evaluation of its implementation, the definition of the list of sports organisations and the integration of the Network of National Platforms ("the Copenhagen Group") as its advisory group.
The conference addressed the key issue of information sharing and data protection under the Convention. A case study illustrating a success against a criminal organisation in the field of manipulation was also presented. Issues that were further addressed during the conference include:
- How can cooperation with prosecutors be strengthened?
- In the fight against manipulation, what tools are needed to train stakeholders on data protection?
- How can the international transfer of data be facilitated?
3. Good governance in sport
In terms of good governance in sport, a vital role is played by IPACS (International Partnership Against Corruption in Sport), an informal network of intergovernmental organisations, international sport organisations and governments. IPACS brings together the efforts of various actors in the fight against corruption in sport governance, including EPAS and GRECO, the anti-corruption governing body of the Council of Europe, as well as a number of Member States and other sport bodies.
Among the four task forces created by IPACS to improve coordination and action against corruption in sports governance, task force three aimed to define a benchmark for sports governance that would be recognised by the international sports movement and governments and that would be applicable nationally and internationally. In addition, the same task force also proposed several solutions to advise, support and monitor the benchmark, at international and national level. This benchmark was approved in 2020 and comprises five dimensions:
Transparency;
Integrity;
Democracy;
Development and Solidarity;
Checks and balances/control mechanisms.
For more information see: https://www.coe.int/en/web/sport/ipacs-benchmark
One of the points of reflection at the conference was how best to communicate the information on the IPACS benchmark.
The recently adopted and revised European Charter for Sport also emphasises the importance of good governance in sport, with particular reference to public authorities and sport-related movements. It is based on existing Council of Europe legislation in this area, as well as Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)12 on Promoting Good Governance in Sport.
The Conference offered concrete feedback on the Italian Presidency of the G20 in 2021 and also allowed participants to share examples of supporting and monitoring good governance in sport. It also focused on the different methods of cooperation that should be established between organisations and governments in the review of good governance in sport organisations and how to involve more organisations and governments in the implementation of the integrity guidelines.
The following themes were explored in the conference:
- How to improve communication on the IPACS benchmark?
- What kind of cooperation should be established between organisations and governments for the assessment of good governance of sport organisations? How can more organisations and governments be involved in the implementation of the integrity guidelines?
