Overview
Sport integrity policies aim at preventing, detecting and sanctioning.
That is why prevention, awareness raising, and education should result in the best outcome across the various areas of sports integrity (the functions of detection and sanction may involve disciplinary infringement, but also breach of administrative law or even criminal offences).
Although educational and awareness campaigns are a crucial pillar of comprehensive integrity programs, limited or non-existent legislation, lack of coordination between sporting governing bodies and law enforcement, insufficient governance procedures and tools, along a general lack of awareness about corruption risks, has put considerable constraints on the ability of the industry to successfully block, investigate, and prosecute these crimes.
For these reasons, training and education at the individual level is a critical component of corruption prevention, investigation, and prosecution.
The purpose of a comprehensive training & education plan should be to improve awareness and understanding of corruption in sport, strategies used by its perpetrators, and efficient methods to recognize, reject and report such criminal activities.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1
Implement capacity building programs, as well as training, education and public awareness initiatives, involving all key participants in sporting competitions and relevant stakeholders. (IO2)
Recommendation 2
Ensure the existence of appropriate risk assessment and risk management tools to assist in managing both the prevention and capacity building activities, the internal and external financial risks, and other threats that may arise in the context of sports betting. (IO4)
Recommendation 3
Encourage awareness-raising, education, training, dissemination of information and research to strengthen the fight against match-fixing. (IO3)
- Encouraging actions to implement educational and sensitization modules and implement reporting mechanisms for competition manipulation approaches, aimed at sports administrators, players and referees. UNODC2021
Recommendation 4
Training & Education programmes should ensure full comprehension of the potential consequences of unethical and illegal conduct and should aim at raising awareness about match-fixing issues for all the individuals involved in the game (players, coaches, team staff members, referees and their assistants, association/league and club officials, partners, etc.). Sorbonne-ICSS 2014
Recommendation 5
The various stakeholders should be kept informed about regulatory provisions, particularly the list of prohibited types of conduct, as an essential element of prevention and deterrence. Sorbonne-ICSS 2014
Recommendation 6
Adopt presentations and seminars that target stakeholder groups such as club officials, youth, referees, coaches, etc.; such presentations should be short, followed by discussions and may be part of training courses addressing broader integrity issues. (IO3)
- Continuing and increasing, where possible, the organization of awareness-raising sessions for officials from relevant government entities, sports organizations and related stakeholders on the threat posed by competition manipulation, with a focus on youth, vulnerable groups and women’s sports. UNODC2021
Recommendation 7
Establish clear and simple guidelines on procedures that should be followed when suspicions of match-fixing arise. (IO3)
- Any effective approach to tackling competition manipulation requires that law enforcement agencies, criminal justice authorities, corruption prevention authorities and relevant officials in sports organizations acquire appropriate knowledge, receive appropriate technical assistance and have access to cooperation mechanisms. UNODC2021
Recommendation 8
Promote the publication of articles/interactions in newspapers, magazines, social media sites aimed at the various stakeholder groups, e.g. fans, players, officials, general public, etc.. Sorbonne-ICSS 2014
Recommendation 9
Ensure that all the relevant agents are trained and equipped to recognize, reject and report an integrity breach or the imminence of its occurrence.
Recommendation 10
Ensure that the trainings are regular and continuous along the sporting seasons, to all agents and stakeholder’s groups. (IO4)