UNESCO Backs Sports Integrity Project

The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) and the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) signed an agreement to build up “A Business Case for Sport Integrity.”

This initiative is a key component of the implementation of the Kazan Action Plan, approved by the world sport Ministers’ Conference in 2017.

The primary purpose of the partnership is to foster a meaningful increase of government investment in the promotion and protection of sport integrity.

The project aims to gather empirical evidence and establish a business case, demonstrating the political, economic and social benefits of protecting the integrity of sport and, notably, the return on investments in this area.

It also aims to raise the awareness of government decision-makers and encourage them to invest in the protection of sport integrity.

Attendees at the launch of the partnership at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris included senior representatives from the UN and European governments, as Kenya, Mexico, Qatar, Malaysia, Gambia, Russia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Cameroon and others.

Other attending organisations included the Union Internationale d’Avocats, the Sport Employer’s representative organisation (COSMOS), the Union des Clubs Professionelles de Football, beIN Sports, Sorbonne University, ADIT and Transparency International (France).

SIGA CEO Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros said: “Governments acknowledge that sport pursues a mission of public interest. It has the potential to positively shape, influence and enrich society, communities and individual lives. It can act as a catalyst for economic development, create revenue streams, employment opportunities and technological advances.

“It is therefore only logical that Governments support and invest in the protection of integrity of sport in the same way they invest in other key sectors. This joint project with UNESCO and its member States aims to foster the due government investment in the promotion and protection of sport integrity. Investing in sport, with transparency and accountability, is the right thing to do. It will yield significant benefits for governments and its citizens.”

Nada Al-Nashif, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO, said: “Sport integrity is not mainly a matter of compliance with standards for elite competitions but an important vector for citizenship, justice and security.

“We are pleased that SIGA accepted our proposal to use its collective intelligence and convening power to carry out this project of a Business Case for Investing in Sport Integrity. In line with the leitmotif of Agenda 2030 to ‘leave no one behind’, the result of this project will help reduce capacity gaps by helping to measure and demonstrate the relevance of sport integrity for specific SDGs and targets.”