In June 2022, sports integrity leaders gathered at Play the Game 2022. They encouraged Play the Game to explore the viability of an international agency against all forms of corruption in sport. Photo: Thomas Søndergaard/Play the Game
The ClearingSport project
Over the past 25 years, different actors have suggested a stronger coordination of efforts to address integrity issues in sport.
In 2022, experts called on Play the Game to revitalise the idea of an international entity able to counter all kinds of crime and corruption in sport and protect athletes and those who interact with sport.
This led Play the Game to start the ClearingSport project.
Photos: Thomas Søndergaard/Play the Game
The voices shaping ClearingSport
ClearingSport builds on consultations with over 200 experts, members, and representatives across a broad range of stakeholders.
- Academics
- Athletes
- Journalists and media
- Judiciary bodies
- Law enforcement agencies and investigators
- Specialised anti-corruption agencies
- Sport integrity bodies
- Relevant activists and NGOs
These groups represented a wide range of expertise, including but not limited to
- Anti-corruption and integrity frameworks
- Criminal, tax, and financial laws and their enforcement
- Ethics and compliance
- Human rights and athlete welfare
- International initiatives and collaborations
- Legal and judicial processes
- Media and investigative journalism in sport
- Sport-specific crimes, including match-fixing and doping
- Sport governance and regulations
These groups were consulted and engaged through various means, including but not limited to
- Surveys on global integrity in sport
- Discussions on global integrity in sport, involving multiple stakeholders in public and private settings
- A dedicated multi-stakeholder advisory group of twenty members
With a few exceptions, representatives of governments and sports governing bodies have not yet been consulted. Their involvement will be essential for the success of our proposal, but we decided to let experts shape it and then open a broad public debate with governments and sports organisations as key stakeholders at the time of its launch.
In February 2024, the ClearingSport project was debated by dozens of key stakeholders during Play the Game 2024 in Trondheim. Photo: Thomas Søndergaard/Play the Game
What we have done?
In collaboration with this extensive group of experts, the ClearingSport project has conducted various types of research and analysis, including
- Systemic review and contextual analysis
- Systematic literature reviews of sports governance and integrity to synthesise existing research and key debates
- Event history analysis to construct a timeline of major developments over the last 25 years, including noteworthy scandals and criminal cases, key reforms in sports governance, and best practice examples in sports integrity
- Legacy and policy analysis
- Comparative legal and regulatory analysis to map existing legislative and regulatory frameworks affecting the field of sports integrity
- Stakeholder and network mapping to assess partnerships, initiatives, and mechanisms established both in and outside of sport to deal with the increasing risks
- Assessments
- of economic impact, to evaluate the costs associated with criminal and corrupt activity in sport
- of policy effectiveness, to test the efficacy of existing efforts to tackle crime and corruption in sport and identify the remaining gaps for improvement
Work to be continued
This booklet sums up the findings of ClearingSport and proposes practical solutions to counter crime and corruption in sport. We hope it will stimulate and inspire the ongoing debate across stakeholders.
We present the key findings of our research by defining challenges to integrity in sport and identifying potential solutions to each of these challenges. In line with our original call to action, this booklet proposes an all-encompassing, international entity.
Even though we have tried to reach consensus, we recognise that not all stakeholders necessarily agree on every single element. That’s where you – the reader – come in.
This booklet encourages you to approach the content with a selective eye. We do not present it as an all-or-nothing exercise. You may embrace certain elements and reject others. Ultimately, we hope you will help expand on the challenges, refine and debate the solutions, and adapt and adjust our proposal if needed. Let’s continue to work together to shape more efficient solutions in sport.
Credits
Since the beginning of 2024, the ClearingSport project has benefited from advice from an advisory group including the following experts:
- Chiel Warners (chair), CW Consulting, the Netherlands
- Ana María Arias, lecturer, Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales, Colombia
- Steven Berryman, principal at Berryman Prime LLC, USA
- Ingrid Beutler, senior partner, ThinkBeyond, Switzerland
- Teemu Japisson, secretary general, Finnish Center for Integrity in Sport (FINCIS), Finland
- Maximilian Klein, representative for international sport policy, Athleten Deutschland, Germany
- Drago Kos, anti-corruption expert, Slovenia
- Thomas Könecke, associate professor, KU Leuven, Belgium
- Miguel Maduro, dean at Católica Global School of Law, Portugal
- Tom Mangine, financial crimes compliance consultant, Ernst & Young, USA
- Alex Phillips, Secretary General, FIFPRO, Switzerland
- Brendan Schwab, director of Schwab Legal, Australia
- Ed Stier, former senior US and New Jersey state prosecutor, USA
- Allison Wagner, director of athlete & international relations, USADA, USA
- Brian Wesaala, founder, CEO, Football Foundation Africa, Kenya
Special thanks to
- Ingrid Beutler, senior partner, ThinkBeyond, Switzerland
- Arnout Geeraert, assistant professor, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
- Grit Hartmann, freelance journalist, Germany
- Chiel Warners, CW Consulting, the Netherlands