Photo: Thomas Søndergaard / Play the Game
Conference themes
Play the Game welcomes and encourages diverse forms of knowledge and storytelling - from academic research and investigative reporting to personal testimonies and lived experiences.
Together with its programme committee, Play the Game has selected several topics that are particularly relevant for discussion, but we also welcome contributions on other pressing issues.
Submit your abstract/storyline
If you would like to be part of Play the Game 2025, please submit your abstract or storyline via our application system. Read more about how to take part in the conference in our call for papers and other contributions.
Key themes
- The geopolitical power games in sport
- Safe sport: Protecting athletes and those who interact with sport
- Behind the game: Gambling, match-fixing, and exploitation in sport
- Inclusion and diversity: Breaking barriers in sport
- AI: An asset or a risk for sports?
- Sport, climate, and sustainability: Between authentic efforts and greenwashing
- ClearingSport: How can we best constrain corruption and crime in sport?
- Anti-doping: Can trust and transparency be restored?
Sport is more than a game. It reflects the values, struggles, and aspirations of people and power players across the globe. As the world of sports faces unprecedented political, ethical, technological, and environmental challenges, the values and integrity of sport are increasingly under threat. Play the Game 2025 invites you to explore the most pressing issues and contribute ideas that inspire change.
The geopolitical power games in sport
In today’s intensely charged geopolitical landscape, sport is increasingly wielded by nations to advance their political agendas. Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar investments, China’s state-led use of sports, and the return of Donald Trump’s leadership in the U.S. highlight how sport is used as a tool for influence, both at home and abroad. With the next FIFA World Cup and Summer Olympics on the horizon, the new U.S. presidency introduces another political layer to sport. At the same time, global governing bodies play their own role in the political dynamics of sport, whether through decisions on participation, regulation, or diplomacy.
These developments raise questions about autonomy, ethics, and governance. How do we ensure that sport serves as a platform for the public good and its practitioners, rather than a tool for power brokers with dubious intentions? Can sport truly resist the pull of political and financial interests, or is it already complicit in their advancement?
Safe sport: Protecting athletes and those who interact with sport
Safeguarding in sport has become one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Scandals of abuse, harassment, and exploitation have revealed systemic failures in protecting athletes. While new safeguarding frameworks and grievance mechanisms are being introduced, questions remain about their implementation and effectiveness. How do you rebuild confidence in a system that has failed so many for so many decades?
Safeguarding in sport also raises critical questions about children as elite athletes. The presence of children in elite sport and ongoing debates about age limits in different sports is topical and requires sports professionals to engage in discussions that place the well-being of young athletes at the forefront. How can sport balance performance demands with the fundamental rights and protections of children and young athletes?
Behind the game: Gambling, match-fixing, and exploitation in sport
The integrity of sport is under increasing threat from the growing intersection of criminal activities, including match-fixing, illegal gambling, and forced labour. Many illicit gambling operations exploit vulnerable individuals through cyber slavery camps, while organised crime syndicates take advantage of expanding betting markets worldwide, further eroding trust in competition.
The ethical dilemmas surrounding sponsorship deals with gambling companies, the lack of athlete protection, and conflicts of interest require urgent scrutiny, especially as these issues intersect with the financial sustainability of sports organisations. The opening of Finland’s betting market highlights the timeliness of this issue as we examine how match-fixing and illegal gambling impact governance and the integrity of the game at all levels, as well as having severe human consequences.
Beyond the betting industry, sport is also entangled in human trafficking and forced labour. From young athletes trafficked under false promises to the exploitation of migrant workers in major event infrastructure projects, the darker underbelly of sport demands urgent attention.
Inclusion and diversity: Breaking barriers in sport
Inclusion remains a fundamental challenge in sport. Issues ranging from refugee athletes facing barriers for participation while in exile, to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ communities, the marginalisation of Indigenous communities, and broader inequalities in access to sport all reveal how power and privilege are entrenched in international sports governance.
How can sport truly embrace diversity and equality, ensuring it is a platform for unity rather than division? The fight for inclusion also raises broader structural questions about privilege, representation, and power dynamics within international sports federations.
AI: An asset or a risk for sports?
Technological advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), are reshaping the way we experience and govern sport. From AI-powered performance analyses and content creation to data ownership and athlete rights, technology brings opportunities – but also risks, including privacy concerns. At the same time, sports must find ways to remain relevant in an era of hyper-personalised entertainment while maintaining the unpredictability and raw human emotion that make sport unique. Artificial intelligence opens new opportunities for those who fight crime and corruption, but also for those who work in the shadows of the industry.
Sport, climate, and sustainability: Between authentic efforts and greenwashing
Climate change looms large as a call to action for sport. The survival of winter sports in the face of warming temperatures highlights the need to rethink how events are hosted and how environmental sustainability can be meaningfully integrated into the sports world. Beyond ecological concerns, sustainability must also address social and economic dimensions, from community impact to financial responsibility. While bold commitments to sustainability are being made across the sports sector, their effectiveness and sincerity vary - some initiatives signal genuine progress, while others raise concerns about greenwashing. Where is sport making meaningful strides, and where do critical gaps remain?
ClearingSport: How can we best constrain corruption and crime in sport?
Despite growing awareness and repeated commitments to integrity, corruption and crime continue to undermine sport at every level. From match manipulation and financial fraud to governance scandals, the lack of meaningful oversight and enforcement enables wrongdoing to persist. Is the current model of governance fit for purpose, or does it need a radical overhaul? How can sport move beyond declarations and implement real accountability? What mechanisms are needed to fight corruption and crime, protect integrity, and ensure governing bodies uphold the very values they claim to protect?
Anti-doping: Can trust and transparency be restored?
High-profile doping scandals, secrecy, and inadequate reforms threaten the credibility of organisations tasked with ensuring fair play. The implications stretch beyond elite competition to recreational sport. With growing calls for transparency and accountability, can anti-doping efforts regain the trust of athletes and the public?
At the same time, the sports community is seeing the rise of "doping-friendly" competitions, most notably the so-called Enhanced Games, where traditional anti-doping frameworks are abandoned in favour of regulated performance enhancement. This trend raises fundamental ethical questions about the very definition of fair play and the credibility of sport. Should anti-doping policies adapt to evolving attitudes, or does this undermine the core principles that define sport and clean competition?
Other themes
Although we have identified key themes, we also encourage submissions covering other topics under the ‘Open Forum’. These could include but are not limited to
- The role of sport in promoting, defending, and preserving human rights
- The European Model of Sport: Unity or Fragmentation?
- The political, economic and societal aspects of mega sporting events
- Ethical dilemmas in sponsorships and governance
- How to protect whistleblowers who expose corruption and abuse
- The evolving role of sports journalism in the digital age
- The relationship between the autonomy of sport and freedom of association
Please make sure you submit under the ‘Open Forum’ option if your subject does not fit within one of the key themes for the conference.
Submit your abstract/storyline
If you would like to be part of Play the Game 2025, please submit your abstract or storyline via our application system.
Read more about how to take part in the conference in our call for papers and other contributions.