The Portuguese Professional Football League (Liga Portugal) gathered SIGA Global CEO Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, former Chair of FIFA’s Governance and Review Committee Miguel Poiares Maduro, and José Francisco Neves, Chief Marketing Officer at Allianz Portugal, to discuss Integrity in sport.
In an event aimed at promoting the Thinking Football summit (18-20 November 2022, Oporto, Portugal), the three guests agreed on the need for football to implement good governance and tackle criminal infiltration.
José Francisco Neves spoke on behalf of the sponsors and said that at Allianz there is regular debate around the importance of integrity:
“I still believe that, in the end, football is positive for brands because it’s where the fans are. We believe that the passion that football brings to us is positive. We, do however have been internally debating integrity, as well as the damage or reputational gain it can bring. I’m worried about the day when corporate CEOs stop liking football. We would like to continue to be naming sponsors of the Portuguese League Cup, but not at any cost. We do not sell our soul to the devil, so one day we may have to leave”.
Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, SIGA Global CEO, agreed that integrity is key for the industry, and gave a brief explanation on SIGA’s silver bullet to the problems:
“We do not intend to create an anathema on sport. We seek to adapt regulations and create critical mass, to build a culture of integrity. Organisations have to comply not because there is a policeman on every corner, but because our conscience determines it. In times of chaos, SIGA took responsibility for creating a set of solutions for integrity. We have moved forward with an independent rating system supported by the entire industry. The SIGA Independent Rating and Verification System (SIRVS) guarantees that supporters and governments have a safety net. The only way is for us to get organisations to adopt Universal Standards on Sport Integrity. The role of sponsors is important for that. By the way, during the FIFA Gate what we saw was that the sponsors were the only ones to speak out publicly”.
Miguel Poiares Maduro, former Chair of FIFA’s Governance and Review Committee, complained that football governing bodies don’t work hard towards implementing integrity:
“Criminal cases on court convey a negative image for sport, and that reaches the sponsors. In fact, sponsors from Western countries are less and less investing in sport, and the little reformist impulse I detected while I was at FIFA was all caused by the fear of losing the sponsors. It is clear that judicial authorities must ensure football to enforce rules of good governance. After what I saw while I was at FIFA, I don’t know how I still love football so much”.
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SIGA is the world´s largest coalition in the field of sport´s governance and integrity. Supported by more than 100 international multi-industry supporters, SIGA is an independent and neutral organisation whose mission is to bring about meaningful reforms and enhance the integrity of all sports through a set of universal standards operated by an independent and neutral body. 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. Click on the hyperlinks for the list of SIGA Members and Committed Supporters and SIGA Partners.
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