Join the webinar: ClearingSport proposes new global entity to fight integrity breaches in sport

After almost three years of expert consultations, conference debates, and research, the ClearingSport project will launch its proposal for an international entity able to counter crime, corruption, and other breaches of integrity in sport on Monday 31 March.

The proposal will be open for debate during a webinar on Thursday 3 April, from 15.30-18.30 CET, and you can join the more than 280 people who have already registered here.

“The interest is very encouraging and reflects the same impatience in the sports integrity environment that we have experienced ever since Play the Game was first asked in 2022 to start a process leading to a proposal. We have heard too many promises and seen too little enforcement across the areas of sports integrity,” says Jens Sejer Andersen, senior advisor at Play the Game.

The webinar will offer an oral presentation of the proposal and its considerations. Then, various panels with a broad range of stakeholders will take the floor. So far, the following speakers and panellists have confirmed (in alphabetical order):

• João Paulo Almeida, director general at Comité Olímpico de Portugal
• Steven Berryman, principal, Berryman Prime LLC, USA
• Ingrid Beutler, senior partner, ThinkBeyond Consulting, Switzerland
• Arnout Geeraert, assistant professor, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
• Teemu Japisson, secretary general, Finnish Center for Integrity in Sport (FINCIS), Finland
• Sophie Kwasny, head of the Sports Division, Council of Europe, France
• Wilhelm Rauch, head of legal affairs, BASPO, Switzerland
• Paulina Tomczyk, secretary general, EU Athletes, Spain
• Allison Wagner, director of athlete & international relations, USADA, USA
• Chiel Warners, CW Consulting, the Netherlands
• Brian Wesaala, founder and CEO, Football Foundation for Africa, Kenya

The beginning of a wider discussion

At the webinar and over the coming months, Play the Game will more actively reach out to vital stakeholder groups such as governments, parliamentarians, and sports officials to continue the debate.

“For two decades, proposals of an international sports integrity entity have been almost automatically rejected – in particular by the most powerful sports organisations. Our ambition has been to come up with something too solid to brush off and ignore,” Andersen says.

Andersen is pleased that more than 200 experts have contributed to the process of drafting the proposal.

“However, we do not see our proposal as an all-or-nothing solution that will put an end to all discussion. On the contrary, we hope to re-vitalise interest among decision-makers in sports and government, and we will appreciate any input that can help us move forward together from the unsatisfying status quo,” Andersen says.