25 January 2018; Rome: UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin will deliver a keynote address via video to delegates at the third SIGA Sport Integrity Forum in Rome, next Tuesday, 30 January, where over 200 sports industry leaders, governments, international organisations, global business and other key stakeholders will gather to tackle the most serious governance and integrity issues effecting sport.
José Manuel Barroso, the former Prime Minister of Portugal and President of the European Commission between 2004 and 2014, and current Chairman of Goldman Sachs International, will also deliver a personal address via video. Building on his vast experience at the helm of leading institutions, Mr Barroso will share his personal insights on how a clean and trustworthy sport can influence positive change in society and global economy, and the role of SIGA as a catalyst for reform in the sector.
The SIGA Sport Integrity Forum will take place at Foro Italico, home of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI).
The third edition of the SIGA Forum will once again include lively, interactive, highly-informed and action-orientated panel discussions featuring a variety of industry experts. There will be six panel sessions throughout the day:
- Inter-Governmental Round-Table
- Kicking Corruption out of Sport – How can we avoid a legacy of distrust, dishonest and fraud?
- Athletes: Champions and Role Models – Inspiring the Future Generations
- Sponsorship, Brand Value and Reputation – Why does integrity matter to these stakeholders and why do they have a responsibility to get involved?
- Club Ownership, Players’ Transfers, Financial Flows and Tax Havens – Is the current financial model fit for purpose?
- Sports Betting Integrity – Is enough being done to prevent match-fixing and sports betting fraud?
- Protecting Minors in Sport – Developing a safe pathway to the top of professional sport.
Speaking ahead of the Forum, SIGA Coordinator Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros said:
“Sport is at a crossroads. At a time when people´s confidence in the governance and integrity of world sport is at its lowest level, the timing of the SIGA Sport Integrity Forum could not be more appropriate.
“This Forum is critically important. It is designed to take the rhetoric of integrity in sport and turn it into real reform. We will harness the demand for change and turn it into tangible progress in the immediate future. This is our aim and our pledge. The need for action and enhanced collaboration among all stakeholders is greater than ever. This is not a task for one country, one government, one sporting organisation, in isolation. This is a collective responsibility. SIGA calls upon all stakeholders to stand up and work together to ensure a trustworthy future for sport.”
The SIGA General Assembly will take place the day after the Forum, also at Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI).
To download the #SportIntegrityForum event guide click here.
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Notes to Editors
Richard Weber – Former Head of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division
“I am very excited to participate in the upcoming SIGA Sport Integrity Forum. It is imperative that organizations like SIGA exist to promote good governance and ensure financial integrity in this industry. I am honoured to be a speaker at this important event and to also Co-Chair the newly established SIGA Standing Committee on Financial Integrity. This is a critical platform to bring together all interested parties – including financial institutions, law enforcement and the industry – as we pursue the vision of the highest ethics and integrity in sports.”
Alfredo Lorenzo – Integrity and Security Director, La Liga
“Since the very beginning LaLiga is supporting SIGA as an engine of change in sports governance, looking for the best values and principles for sports, the best for our s societies.”
Angela Melo – Director of the Policies and Programmes Division of the Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO
“At times in which the role of sport as enabler of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development and for peace is increasingly recognized the protection of the integrity and credibility of sport is becoming ever more relevant. The Sport Integrity Global Alliance combines important assets for this endeavour. Founded on shared ethical and human values, it tackles several severe threats that endanger clean and fair sport, and sport integrity, including manipulation by transnational organized crime organizations, corruption, exploitation and child abuse, and human trafficking. It offers a sustainable, evidence-based platform shared by a broad range of stakeholders and competencies for bringing about positive changes in and through sport.”
About SIGA
SIGA is an independent and neutral coalition of more than 80 international multi-industry supporters. It 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 members and supporters include Mastercard, Deloitte, the European Professional Football Leagues, Dow Jones, PwC, the World Bank, the International Centre for Sport Security, the Basel Institute on Good Governance, the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees, Special Olympics, the Spanish Football League, the Portuguese Olympic Committee, esports, World Taekwondo, the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation and World Snooker.