07 October; London: The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) – an independent and neutral coalition of more than 70 international multi-industry members – today announced that it has created a draft set of universal integrity standards for sport and will now launch a comprehensive consultation process with stakeholders throughout the world of sport.
SIGA, which also launched its new brand identity today, was established in November 2015 with the aim of supporting the sports industry in achieving sustainable reform.
SIGA is the only organisation to bring together sport, governments, academia, international organisations, sponsors, business, rights holders, NGOs and professional services companies, from every region in the world, around a common cause of fostering greater integrity throughout sport.
SIGA’s supporters, who all believe urgent action needs to take place to safeguard the reputation of sport, include MasterCard, Deloitte, the European Professional Football Leagues, Dow Jones, PwC, the World Bank, the International Centre for Sport Security, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees, the Spanish Football League, the Portuguese Olympic Committee and esports.
Over the last six months, highly respected multi-industry experts from the independent coalition’s membership have been working to develop an outline of draft Universal Standards in good governance, financial integrity and sports betting integrity. These Universal Standards have been drafted, taking into consideration the best of what is currently available to the sports industry and beyond to ensure best practice and successful implementation.
SIGA has committed to meet and consult with as many sports organisations as possible to discuss these standards and identify areas where they can be strengthened and improved. This collaborative phase and process of updating the initial set of Universal Standards is expected to last until early next year before SIGA then launches the final draft and suggested next steps towards implementation and adoption.
The SIGA Council said:
“As all of our membership are stakeholders in sport we believe we can make a real contribution to a successful and sustainable set of integrity standards for sport. SIGA’s membership encompasses leading and respected organisations from across multiple industries; today shows that we are united in our common desire to bring about real and positive change in the sports industry.
“We all care deeply about sport and are passionate about doing all we can to protect its integrity and ensure its long-term future. To do that, we believe that enhanced dialogue and cooperation with the sports sector is vital.
“SIGA recognises and believes that there is no monopoly on sport integrity. Today is a potential milestone for the future of sport’s integrity: a holistic multi-stakeholder approach that attempts to bring a workable solution for all sport, not just one part of it.
“Our Universal Standards, which are a living document, have been prepared to reflect the realities of global sport today and recognise the concerns and circumstances of individual sports organisations and the differences in their resources, capabilities and capacity, which will impact on their degree of implementation.
“We are very proud of the initial set of Universal Standards we have developed, based on multiindustry best practice. However, that is just the first step; the next step is to welcome as many organisations and individuals as possible to contribute to improving and tailoring them to the needs of the sports world.”
The new SIGA logo and identity reflects the global nature of the alliance whilst emphasising its collaborative approach, aligned to complete transparency.