Speakers

Play the Game conferences always present a long line of expert speakers from various areas of world sport.

Speakers who have confirmed their invitation and/or have had their abstract accepted and session chairpersons at Play the Game 2024 (in alphabetical order):

• Adam Scharpf, assistant professor, University of Copenhagen, Germany
  
  
• Ahmar Abdoulaye Maiga, executive director, Young Players Protection in Africa, Mali
  
  
• Airnel Abarra, PhD candidate, Hungarian University of Sports Science, Hungary
  
  
• Alberto Carrio, professor, Pompeu Fabra University, Spain
  
  
• Alex Krumer, professor, Molde University College, Israel
  
  
• Alex Phillips, freelance consultant, Switzerland
  
  
• Alexandra Shaw, PhD student, Swansea University, UK
  
  
• Alexandra Gómez Bruinewoud, senior legal counsel; FIFPRO, Uruguay
  
  
• Aliaksandr Apeikin, CEO, Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, Estonia
  
  
• Allison Wagner, director of athlete and international relations, USADA, USA
  
  
• Ana María Arias Castaño, professor, Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales (UDCA), Colombia
  
  
• Anatol Kotau, head of international relations, Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, Belarus
  
  
• Anders Solheim, CEO, Anti-Doping Norway, Norway
  
  
• Andrea Florence, director, Sport & Rights Alliance, Brazil
  
  
• Andrea N. Geurin, professor, Loughborough University London, UK
  
  
• Andreas Selliaas, journalist, www.idrettspolitikk.no, Norway
  
  
• Andrew Harvey, chair of the board, Gamechanger360, UK
  
  
• Andriy Chesnokov, deputy minister for youth and sport of Ukraine, Ukraine
  
  
• Andy Brown, journalist, Sports Integrity Initiative, UK
  
  
• Ann Lukowiak, federal prosecutor/vice chair, Federal Prosecution Office
  Belgium/MARS Network, Belgium
  
  
• Anna Semenova, project and policy officer, EU Athletes, Belgium
  
  
• Anna Thorstenson, Ombuds, Athletes' Anti-Doping Ombuds (WADA), Switzerland
  
  
• Anne Rognerud, senior sports reporter, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), Norway
  
  
• Anne Tjønndal, professor, Nord University, Norway
  
  
• Arthur Whitehead, international liaison officer, Kingston University, UK
  
  
• Aya Sadamasu, researcher, Chiba University, Japan
  
  
• Benedikt Stoffers, research assistant, University of Münster, Germany
  
  
• Bernt Jakob Oksnes, journalist, Dagbladet, Norway
  
  
• Bieke Gils, assistant professor, University of South-Eastern Norway, Norway
  
  
• Brad Horn, professor of practice/associate dean, Syracuse University, USA
  
  
• Brian Wesaala, founder and CEO, The Football Foundation for Africa, Kenya
  
  
• Bruce Kidd, professor emeritus, University of Toronto, Canada
  
  
• Byron Juma, PhD candidate,University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, United States
  
  
• Camille Clausse-Pujo, sport project manager, France Victimes, France
                 
• Cem Abanazir, lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University, Turkey
  
  
• Cheri Bradish, professor, Toronto Met University, Canada
  
  
• Chiel Warners, independent consultant, Netherlands
  
  
• Christina Philippou, principal lecturer, University of Portsmouth, UK
  
  
• Christoph Jankowski, manager, Warsaw School of Economics | NOC POL, Poland
  
  
• Claudia Villa, independent safeguarding specialist, CV Consultancy and Centre for Sport & Human Rights, UK
  
  
• Cleo Schyvinck, postdoctoral researcher, Ghent University, Belgium
  
  
• Clémence Cathelain, Associated researcher, Sorbonne Legal Research Institute, France
  
  
• Corentin Segalen, chair, Group of Copenhagen, France
  
  
• Cornel Maria Nesseler, researcher, University of Stavanger, Germany
  
  
• Cosmas Ezeoke, journalist/MAiSI scholar, Nigeria
  
  
• Craig LaMay, professor, Northwestern University in Qatar, USA
  
  
• Csilla Szomolaiová, PhD student, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
  
  
• Daniel Read, researcher, Loughborough University London, UK
  
  
• Daniela Heerdt, researcher, Asser Institute, Netherlands
  
  
• David Legg, professor, Mount Royal University, Canada
  
  
• David Pavot, professor of law, Université de Sherbrooke, Canada
  
  
• Emma Thomas, MAiSI student and journalist, Under the Ropes, Thailand/UK
  
  
• Emma Terho, chair, IOC Athletes' Commission, Finland
  
  
• Erlend Hanstveit, state secretary, The Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality, Norway 
  
  
• Espen Thorsby, chairman, We Play Green, Norway
  
  
• Eze Alloysius, executive director, PLAYYA Nigeria, Nigeria
  
  
• Faraz Shahlaei, adjunct professor, Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, USA
  
  
• Federico Dario Teijeiro, investigative and data journalist, Universidad de San Andrés y Clarín, Argentina
  
  
• Firzie Adrian Idris, sub-editor, Kompas.com, Indonesia
  
  
• Florian Petrica, lecturer, Bucharest University, Romania
  
  
• Frank Conde Tangberg, policy advisor, Amnesty International Norway, Norway
  
  
• Frea De Keyzer, PhD student, KU Leuven, Belgium
  
  
• Frédéric van Leeuw, federal prosecutor, Belgian Ministry of Public Affairs, Belgium
  
  
• Fréderique Reynertz, managing director, FRConsulting, Monaco
  
  
• Friba Rezayee, executive director, Women Leaders of Tomorrow, Afghanistan
  
  
• Frida Austmo Wågan, PhD student, Nord University, Norway
  
  
• Gareth Parry, student, UK
  
  
• Genevieve Birren, professor, SUNY Cortland, USA
  
  
• Gerke Berenschot, journalist and researcher, The System Behind the Incident, The Netherlands
  
  
• Ginous Alford, director of sport and human rights, World Players Association, Switzerland
  
  
• Grit Hartmann, freelance journalist, Germany
  
  
• Grzegorz Botwina, president, Institute for Sport Governance, Poland
  
  
• Hanne Marie Brevik, head of sports reporting, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), Norway
  
  
• Hans Natorp, president, National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark, Denmark
  
  
• Harry Arne Solberg, professor, NTNU Business School, Norway
  
  
• Henrik H. Brandt, manager, Sports Hub Denmark, Denmark
  
  
• Håvard Melnæs, editor, Josimar, Norway
  
  
• Ian Mengel, board member, PLAY!YA, Germany
  
  
• Ingrid Beutler, founder, Beutler International Sports Advisory, Switzerland
  
  
• Ivana Pranjic, PhD candidate, German Sport University Cologne, Croatia
  
  
• Jakob Færch, development consultant, Danish Foundation for Sports Facilities, Denmark
  
  
• Jakob Werner Jeppesen, student, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
  
  
• Jacqueline Mueller, lecturer, Loughborough University London, UK
  
  
• James Corbett, journalist and senior correspondent, Off The Pitch, Ireland
  
  
• James M. Dorsey, academic, journalist, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies / The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey, Singapore/ Germany/Morocco
  
  
• Jean-Yves Lourgouilloux, public prosecutor, Marseilles Magistrates Court, France
  
  
• Jens Sejer Andersen, international director, Play the Game, Denmark
  
  
• Jérôme Champagne, associate founder, Sportlyanz, France/Switzerland
  
  
• Joanna Maranhão, network coordinator, Sport & Rights Alliance, Brazil
  
  
• Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia and UAE Researcher, Human Rights Watch, Canada
  
  
• John Rasmussen, journalist, Dagbladet, Norway
  
  
• Josh Fine, investigative reporter, freelance, USA
  
  
• Jules Woolf, assistant professor, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, USA
  
  
• Julia Cook, researcher, Swansea University, UK
  
  
• Julian Lanfer, PhD student, University of Münster, Germany
  
  
• Julie Hortencia Gómez Solano, professor, Fundación Universitaria del Área Andina, Colombia
  
  
• Julie Ann Rivers-Cochran, executive director, The Army of Survivors, USA
  
  
• Jürgen Mittag, Head of the Institute of European Sport Development and Leisure Studies, German Sport University Cologne, Germany
  
  
• Kamilla Swart-Arries, associate professor, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
  
  
• Karim Zidan, investigative journalist, Sports Politika, and Sports & Dictators Fellow, Human Rights Foundation, Egypt
  
  
• Katarina Pijetlovic, assistant professor, Católica Global School of Law, Estonia
  
  
• Kati Lehtonen, principal researcher, Jamk University of Applied Sciences
  
  
• Katie Taylor, senior lecturer, Nottingham Trent University, UK
  
  
• Kelsey Sloan, global sports fellow, The Boarding School/Harvard Global Sports Initiative, USA
  
  
• Kent Ranum, mayor, City of Trondheim, Norway
  
  
• Khalida Popal, director, Girl Power Organisation, Afghanistan
  
  
• Kim Højgaard Ravn, director, Anti Doping Denmark, Denmark
  
  
• Kim Shore, independent, Canada
  
  
• Kimberly Holst, PhD student, Arizona State University, USA
  
  
• Kirsten-Maria Schapira-Felderhoff, Senior multilateral cooperation specialist, International Labour Organization (ILO), Switzerland/Germany
  
  
• Koen Breedveld, lector, The Hague University of Applied Science, Netherlands
  
  
• Kristin Kloster, member of the Executive Board, IOC, Norway
  
  
• Lars Haue-Pedersen, managing director, Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW), Denmark
  
  
• Lars Mortsiefer, chairperson of the executive board, National Anti-Doping Agency Germany, Germany
  
  
• Laura Robinson, freelance journalist, Canada
  
  
• Lauren M. Burch, senior lecturer, Loughborough University London, UK
  
  
• Lina Alhathloul, head of monitoring and advocacy, ALQST for human rights, Saudi Arabia
  
  
• Linda Hofstad Helleland, chairperson, Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, Council of Europe, and MP, Norwegian Parliament, Norway
   
• Lingling Liu, founder, The Sports DAO, China
  
  
• Lisa A. Kihl, professor, University of Minnesota, USA
  
  
• Lise Klaveness, president, Norwegian Football Association, Norway
  
  
• Lorenz Fiege, research associate / ph.d. candidate, German Sport University Cologne, Germany
  
  
• Lucy Piggott, postdoctoral fellow, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
  
  
• Madeleine Orr, assistant professor, University of Toronto, Canada
  
  
• Mahfoud Amara, associate professor, Qatar University, Qatar 
  
  
• Marc Wonneberger, head of section 'Fight Against Doping', Federal Institute of Sport Science, Germany
  
  
• Marcus Mazzucco, adjunct lecturer, University of Toronto, Canada
  
  
• Mariam Mpaata, founder/CEO, AfriKa Sports Foundation Center, Uganda
  
  
• Marijke Taks, professor, University of Ottawa, Canada
  
  
• Marius Sprenger, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Münster, Germany
  
  
• Marko Begović, associate professor, Molde University College, Norway
  
  
• Marko Kananen, research manager, Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports, Finland
  
  
• Martin Dubbey, managing director, Harrod Associates Ltd, UK
  
  
• Matthew Graham, (interim) executive director, World Players Association, USA
  
  
• Mauricio Hernandez, director, Transparency in Sport, Colombia
  
  
• Maximilian Rieger, editor, Deutschlandradio, Germany
  
  
• Mazin Eltayib Abusin, president, Sudan Youth Sports Authority, UK
  
  
• Michael Ask, senior manager, International Testing Agency, Switzerland
  
  
• Michael Gibbons, attorney, MPG Law, USA
  
  
• Minky Worden, director of Global Initiatives, Human Rights Watch, USA
  
  
• Mogens Kirkeby, president, ISCA, Denmark
  
  
• Murali Krishnan, journalist/international broadcaster, Freelance, India
  
  
• Nicholas McGeehan, co-director, FairSquare, France
  
  
• Nicholas Raudenski, Head of intelligence & investigations, International Testing Agency, Switzerland
  
  
• Nick Harris, journalist, Sporting Intelligence, United Kingdom
  
  
• Olof Lundh, journalist, TV4, Sweden
  
  
• Ophélie Delobel, MAiSI alumni, Ethics of Sport and Integrity, Belgium
  
  
• Owen Evans, senior lecturer, University of Brighton, England
  
  
• Paul Downward, professor, Loughborough University, UK
  
  
• Paulo Marcos Schmitt, integrity consultant, Brazilian Olympic Committee, Brazil
  
  
• Peter Donnelly, professor emeritus, University of Toronto, Canada
  
  
• Philippe Auclair, journalist, Josimar and France Football, France
  
  
• Poul Broberg, director of public affairs, National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark
  
  
• Rasmus K. Storm, head of research, Play the Game, Denmark
  
  
• Richard H. McLaren, CEO, McLaren Global Sport Solutions Inc., Canada
  
  
• Rikke Rønholt Albertsen, board member, National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF), Denmark
  
  
• Rob Koehler, director general, Global Athlete, USA
  
  
• Rocco Porreca, senior lecturer, Oxford Brookes University, UK
  
  
• Roger Pielke, professor, Colorado University Boulder, USA
  
  
• Ryan Gauthier, associate professor, Thompson Rivers University, Canada
  
  
• Ryan Murphy, executive director, Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC), USA
  
  
• Sabrina Furtado, researcher, Instituto Inteligência Esportiva, Brazil
  
  
• Sada Reed, assistant professor, Arizona State University, USA
  
  
• Samindra Kunti, journalist, freelance, Belgium
  
  
• Samuli Oja, researcher, Jamk University of Applied Sciences, Finland
  
  
• Sanchita Aidasani, sports integrity analyst, Athletics Integrity Unit, Monaco
  
  
• Sandra Meeuwsen, director, ESPRIT, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
  
  
• Sara Amalie Solheim, postdoctoral fellow, Norwegian Doping Control Laboratory and Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway
  
  
• Seth Kirby, senior lecturer, Nottingham Trent University, UK
  
  
• Shireen Ahmed, senior contributor, CBC Sports, Canada
  
  
• Sigmund Loland, professor, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway
  
  
• Simon Taes, assistant professor, KU Leuven - Institute for Labour Law, Belgium
  
  
• Spencer Harris, professor, Colorado University Colorado Springs, USA
  
  
• Spurgeon Chisulo, co-Founder, Ace Sports Management, Zambia
  
  
• Stanis Elsborg, senior analyst and head of conference, Play the Game, Denmark
  
  
• Steffany Ndei, Masters in sports ethics and integrity, KU Leuven, Belgium
  
  
• Steve Menary, journalist, freelance, United Kingdom
  
  
• Sudesh Baniya, student, Northwestern University in Qatar, Qatar
  
  
• Sven Daniel Wolfe, assistant professor, ETH Zürich, Schwitzerland
  
  
• Sylvain Croteau, instigator and general manager, Sport’Aide, Canada
  
  
• Sönke Schadwinkel, executive director, European Olympic Academies (EOA), Germany
  
  
• Tarek Elias, policy and public affairs officer, Ethleten Deutschland e.V., Germany
  
  
• Tariq Panja, journalist, New York Times, UK
  
  
• Thilde Asmussen, freelance journalist, Denmark
  
  
• Tim Walters, college professor, Okanagan College, Canada
  
  
• Tine Vertommen, researcher, Thomas More University, Belgium, and expert consultant, IOC Safe Sport Unit, Switzerland
  
  
• Tor Georg Jakobsen, professor, NTNU Business School, Norway
  
  
• Travis T. Tygart, CEO, USADA, USA
  
  
• Truls Ørneberg, PhD researcher, Northumbria University, UK
  
  
• Tsubasa Shinohara, human rights officer, Swiss Esports Federation, Switzerland
  
  
• Victoria Silverwood, criminology lecturer, Swansea University, UK
  
  
• Vitaly Kazakov, RANNÍS postdoctoral fellow, University of Iceland, Canada
  
  
• Vladyslav Heraskevych, master of science & two times Olympian, Ukraine 
  
  
• Whitney Bragagnolo, ph.d. researcher, MAiSI Alumni | Charles University, The Netherlands
  
  
• Wladimir Andreff, honorary professor, Ministry for sports & University Paris 1, France
  
  
• Yannich Kluch, assistant professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
  
  
• Zoe John, lecturer, Swansea University, UK
  
  
• Zoe Flood, journalist and filmmaker, freelance, UK
  
  
• Zohreh Abdollahkhani, PhD research fellow, University of South-Eastern Norway, Iran
  
  
• Åge Skinstad, CEO, World Ski Championship 2025, Norway
  
  
• Åsa Ekvall, gender expert, ESPRIT, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands