An exclusive interview with Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, Global CEO of SIGA, has been published on the G&M News portal. The interview discusses various topics relevant to both SIGA and SIGA LATIN AMERICA.
Key topics addressed in the interview include but are not limited to:
- Compliance with the SIGA Independent Rating and Verification System (SIRVS).
- Future of Football and Sport Betting in Brazil
- SIGA’s efforts to enhance transparency and sustainability in Sport.
Read the interview in Portuguese here.
Alternatively, you can view the translated version below.
Read the interview in Portuguese here.
Alternatively, you can view the translated version below.
Interview by Leticia Navarro, journalist at G&M News.
Tell us about the nature of SIGA, an independent and global body, its mission, and responsibilities in the world of Sport.
SIGA is the largest and most representative independent coalition worldwide in the field of Sport Integrity. We work towards a Sport that is integral, transparent, and credible. Our vision is reformist and is based on the most advanced set of Universal Standards in five major interconnected areas: Good Governance in Sport; Financial Integrity and transparency; Sports Betting Integrity; Youth Development and Protection; and, finally, Environment, Sustainability, and Corporate Social Responsibility. The adoption of these Standards is essential for Sport and their organizations to be recognized as suitable and deserving of the trust of fans, sponsors, governments, and society. Through our Independent Rating and Verification System (SIRVS), we assess who effectively complies and who merely preaches but does not comply. This also applies to the Sports betting sector. Through SIRVS, we determine the degree of compliance of sports organizations with the Standards, which results, in positive cases, in Bronze, Silver, or Gold certification. SIGA provides the strategy and antidote for the Sport industry to restore its reputation, safeguard its credibility, and maintain public trust.
What is your assessment after seven years at the head of the organization?
SIGA is my intellectual creation. This month, on the 31st, we celebrate the eighth anniversary as an organization with legal personality. Looking back, it would be terribly ungrateful not to feel proud of the work done and to have confidence in the future. The work that, with the support of our members, partners, and team, we have been doing, and the reforms we have been implementing speak for themselves. We put Integrity at the top of the agenda, established a new culture, mobilized stakeholders, implemented solutions, and spared no effort. Among members, partners, and supporters, we have involved more than 200 organizations in this journey. Over the years, we have achieved several accomplishments. The creation and implementation of SIRVS is one of them, allowing us to evaluate and certify various Sport organizations in different parts of the world. SIGA has also advanced in strategic partnerships with governments, Sports federations, and private companies, promoting concrete actions to tackle problems like match-fixing and ensure the sustainability of Sport. We created a world-leading program to promote female leadership in Sport. In the Brazilian and Latin American context, we launched our continental structure about three years ago, based in São Paulo. Since then, we have held high-level events with our member São Paulo Futebol Clube, signed agreements with the Federal Government and relevant entities in the Sports sector, and actively participated in significant decision-making processes regarding Brazilian Sport. With this aim, we are involved in the current process of regulating the betting sector, by advocating for the preservation of Integrity in Sport. We are also preparing the Independent Study on the Future of Football in Brazil. Yes, the advances are meaningful, but the challenges remain.
Why did SIGA partner with the Brazilian Football Confederation and the Ministry of Finance in favour of Sport Integrity? What objectives are you seeking to achieve with these agreements?
The partnerships established with the CBF and the Ministry of Finance, through its Betting Prizes Secretariat, are essential and reflect our commitment to join forces with the main Sport and government entities to address challenges related to Sport Integrity. SIGA and SIGA Latin America are 100% committed to collaborating with the Brazilian Government in this common objective of making the Integrity of Sport betting one of the fundamental pillars for the healthy and sustainable development of this sector and, consequently, for the Brazilian and global economy. The collaboration with the Government has been frankly positive. Through this fundamental framework, we will provide the Government with a proactive response to the expansion of the Sport betting market in the country, strengthening regulation and reinforcing public trust and sector credibility. In 2024, we created the Permanent Committee on Sport Betting Integrity, which directly supports the development and implementation of best practices. Additionally, we have held public awareness and training events, addressing threats to Sport Integrity and promoting dialogue with sector stakeholders.
What’s your view on the issue of match-fixing in Sport and what fundamental aspects of governance and measures should be adopted to combat these and other illegalities?
Match-fixing is a critical challenge that threatens the Integrity and credibility of Sport worldwide. We have seen, on various occasions, how the lack of adequate regulation and effective supervision can facilitate criminal infiltration. SIGA firmly believes that Integrity must be at the centre of all Sport operations, and this includes combating match-fixing with proactive and effective measures. Manipulation affects the essence of Sport, which is why SIGA’s missio n is to ensure that all Sport stakeholders, without exception, recognize this threat and act in accordance with its impact. Education on the risks associated with manipulation and the promotion of transparent governance are essential steps to ensure that respect for Sport Integrity remains a priority.
How do you analyze the current situation of football in Brazil and its challenges in the country? How do you think the regulated betting scenario will develop?
Brazilian football is at a crossroads. It has quality and enormous development potential, but in many aspects, it is lagging and faces serious challenges. Fulfilling its mission to safeguard Sport Integrity and promote Sport development, SIGA is committed to completing the Independent Study on the Future of Football in Brazil, commissioned by the Parliamentary Front for the Modernization of Football. Through the broad participation of the main national stakeholders, this Independent Study will provide Congress with a rigorous and neutral diagnosis of the current state of Brazilian football and propose appropriate reforms to ensure that football makes the qualitative leap it has been waiting for over 20 years and can develop on a sustainable way. Regarding the betting sector, after witnessing the legal “desert”, the no man’s land, and a certain “arms race” by betting operators trying to secure sponsorship contracts with Sports organizations, we are now in a phase of regulation. Until the sector effectively regulated, the country lived a period of “anarchy.” With the assumption of responsibilities by the current Government and the decision to prioritize sector regulation, this “wild” growth is now entering a period of legalization through the various legislative stages outlined by the Government. I must say that Brazil has proven to be a more successful legislative experience than, for example, the United States. I have no problem praising the legislative option followed in Brazil, expecting it to continue on the right path. This is, therefore, a critical moment that requires a joint effort from all involved, and SIGA is committed to supporting it, ensuring that Integrity remains a priority.
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ABOUT SIGA
SIGA is the world’s leading organisation for Sport Integrity. We are creating a whole new landscape for the sports industry by delivering independent global rating and certification for world Sport to ensure it is governed and operates under the highest integrity standards: The SIGA Universal Standards.
Funded by our Members, SIGA is a non for profit global independent organisation with one aim: To ensure the sport industry is governed under the highest integrity standards so that the values of sport are protected.
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 is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, as a non for-profit association, and comprises of the following continental subsidiaries: SIGA AMERICA, SIGA EUROPE and SIGA LATIN AMERICA.
For more information on SIGA, including its vision, mission and reform agenda, please refer to the website: www.siga-sport.com and FAQs.
To contact SIGA, please email: [email protected].
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