Florence, 25th and 26th September 2023. The European BITEFIX project concluded with the project’s last transnational meeting in Florence, Italy. BITEFIX produced innovative and practical tools to allow sport stakeholders to work together, contributing to greater efficiency of the systems of information exchange in general, in particular to assist the national platforms provided for by the Macolin Convention, to strengthen the resilience of the system to counter match fixing.
The project, co-funded by the European Union, aimed at developing and delivering practical tools to enable committed stakeholders to work and collaborate to tackle match fixing and sports betting fraud through the exchange of timely, secure and reliable information, while raising awareness of the importance of safeguarding the integrity of sport and its irreplaceable role in European society, with particular attention to grassroots sport – through comprehensive learning tools.
Diogo GUIA (ICSS, Project Coordinator, UK):
“We are honored to have held the last meeting and final conference of the BITEFIX Transnational Project in Florence, at the LegaPro headquarters. The event demonstrated the enthusiasm and commitment of the EU-funded partnership in creating positive and innovative tools to safeguard sport from match-fixing throughout its multi-year journey. Inspired by the example and words of LegaPro vice president and football legend Gianfranco Zola, we underlined the importance of uniting people to strengthen the resilience of sports organizations, build safety nets, ensure the exchange of information and work with patience, humility, determination and passion to safeguard the values of sport and the integrity of competitions“.
“The education that each club can give to its members, making them reflect on the negative consequences they may face, is fundamental. In my time we thought about achieving the goal without cheating or seeking ulterior motives” stressed Lega Pro deputy president and Football legend Gianfranco Zola.
The project was coordinated by:
ICSS INSIGHT | The International Center for Sport Security (ICSS), in partnership with Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University; ISCTE | Associação ISCTE Conhecimento e Inovação; SFC | Foundation Sevilla Fútbol Club Foundation; LEAGUE PRO | Calcio Servizi Lega Pro Srl / Italian Professional Football League; SIS | Starlizard Integrity Services; HAŠK | HAŠK Mladost; GDEP | Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia.