Before sitting down for a high-level fireside chat with UEFA Deputy General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti, Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, Co-Founder and Global CEO of the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) and Executive Chairman of SIGA ASIA, delivered a keynote at ESTAAD, within Cityscape Global, in Riyadh, where he issued a direct call to the leaders of world sport:
“Side with SIGA. Football belongs to the world – and the world is asking for integrity.”
Addressing decision-makers, investors and representatives of sports organisations, Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros underlined that SIGA’s strategic partnership with Cityscape Global, now in its second year, and its role as Official Sport Integrity Partner of ESTAAD reflect a shared vision of sport as a driver of human development, innovation, social progress and sustainable economic growth.
In his remarks, SIGA’s CEO highlighted the ongoing transformation in Saudi Arabia, a country that, he noted, “has embraced sport not as a pastime, but as a catalyst of innovation, social progress, economic diversification and sustainable growth.”
“Vision 2030 is not a slogan but a blueprint for a thriving future in which sport plays a central and defining role, fully aligned with SIGA’s mission”, he added.
Recalling that SIGA was created to put integrity on the podium of the global sports system, Macedo de Medeiros stressed that transparency, accountability and good governance cannot be optional:
“They must be essential requirements if sport is to fulfil its true potential”.
Football belongs to the world: shared responsibility
Drawing on three decades of leadership in the football industry – including as founder and former CEO of the European Leagues and the World League Association – Emanuel stressed that football is far more than a game or a business.
“Football is the world’s universal language — spoken fluently in every village, every city, every continent. It unites people in moments of joy and passion. It inspires hope in places where hope is scarce. It opens doors of opportunity, bridging cultures and breaking down walls. Few forces on earth can unify humanity with such a power. But for football — and all Sport — to deliver its full promise, we must protect it. We must safeguard its credibility, its reputation, and its values.
Sport must lead by example. It must put integrity at the top. This is our shared responsibility. This is our collective opportunity. The Time to show Leadership and take Action is Now!”
A shared vision with UEFA’s Giorgio Marchetti
Macedo de Medeiros’ message was further reinforced in a public conversation with Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA Deputy General Secretary. Marchetti echoed the central theme that football is “much more than a business,” insisting that while the game must continue to grow as far as possible, that growth must remain firmly rooted in tradition and community. He highlighted the European sports model as a single pyramid in which revenues generated at the top are channelled back to the grassroots, warning that if the business side is allowed to overrun the sport itself, football “will develop in a negative way.”
Addressing one of the most pressing challenges in modern football, Marchetti pointed to competitive balance and uncertainty of outcome as essential to the game’s long-term appeal. He noted that UEFA has increased the share of revenues distributed to clubs that do not participate in its competitions from 4 to 7 percent, amounting to €1.2 billion in solidarity payments – a level of redistribution he described as unparalleled. On women’s football, he underlined UEFA’s commitment to invest €1 billion through 2030, stressing that strong leadership and robust structures are just as important as funding in sustaining the exponential growth of the women’s game at all levels.
On integrity, Marchetti aligned closely with SIGA’s agenda, warning that football will lose its attraction if it is not perceived as fully credible. He cited UEFA’s club licensing and financial sustainability rules as core tools to protect the game’s financial health, and welcomed the evolution of governance towards more inclusive, consensus-based decision-making, with structured consultation of fans, clubs and other stakeholders.
For Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, these converging priorities – solidarity, community roots, women’s football and integrity-centred governance – underscore the urgency and relevance of SIGA’s call from Riyadh: to unite the global football family behind a common agenda that keeps integrity at the heart of the game’s future.
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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: comms@siga-sport.com.
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