As the FIFA World Cup commands global attention, Integrity Voices looks beyond the pitch — to the values, choices and leadership shaping the future of Sport.
Four leaders. Five questions. Four perspectives from across the global game.
A platform for our Members. A forum for dialogue. A contribution to the global conversation on Sport Integrity — at a moment when Football has the world’s full attention.
António José Silva
President, European Aquatics (SIGA Member); Vice-President, World Aquatics; Member, SIGA Council
The most important integrity issue is sport’s ability to preserve its credibility in an increasingly complex environment. From governance and safeguarding to betting-related risks, digital misinformation and ethical leadership, the challenge is no longer confined to isolated threats. It is about ensuring that the values that make sport a force for good remain stronger than the pressures surrounding it.
Athena Constantinou
Managing Director, APC Compliance Ltd (SIGA Member); Member, SIGA Council
The global attention generated by the World Cup shines a spotlight on elite athletes, but it should also remind us of the millions of young players who aspire to reach that level. Too often, young athletes are exposed to serious risks, including unethical recruitment practices, financial exploitation and inadequate safeguarding measures. Sport Integrity is not only about protecting the competition itself; it is also about protecting the people who make that competition possible. We must ensure that every young player develops in a safe environment that prioritises their long-term wellbeing.
Densign White
CEO, IMMAF (SIGA Member); Member, SIGA Council
Every qualified national team, official and fan should be able to participate without political interference or discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation. Any host nation unable to guarantee these basic human rights should not be granted the privilege of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event. In a divided world, sport must uphold diversity, equity and inclusion as a means of bringing people together. Football, because of its universal reach, has the greatest power to promote those ideals.
Paul Buck
CEO and Founder, EPIC Global Solutions (SIGA Member)
Gambling. You have billions of people watching, billions of dollars being wagered, and athletes under greater financial and psychological pressure than ever. Match manipulation does not happen in a vacuum. It happens when gambling harm goes undetected and unaddressed. Sport cannot protect the game if it is not prepared to speak honestly about what is putting it at risk.
António José Silva
President, European Aquatics (SIGA Member); Vice-President, World Aquatics; Member, SIGA Council
Sport Integrity means making decisions guided by principles rather than convenience. It is reflected in how organisations govern themselves, manage resources, protect athletes, engage with stakeholders and respond to challenges. True integrity becomes visible not when circumstances are easy, but when difficult decisions must be made and values upheld, regardless of the consequences.
Athena Constantinou
Managing Director, APC Compliance Ltd (SIGA Member); Member, SIGA Council
Sport Integrity means doing the right thing consistently, even when it is difficult or inconvenient. It is about turning principles into practice through ethical leadership, good governance, transparency, accountability and respect for all stakeholders. In sport, integrity is not a slogan. It is reflected in everyday decisions that protect fair competition, safeguard participants and ensure that sport remains a force for good.
Densign White
CEO, IMMAF (SIGA Member); Member, SIGA Council
Sport Integrity means fair play and a level playing field for everyone. It means the highest standards of governance, including full transparency and accountability to the public, sponsors and members, with athlete welfare placed at the centre of decision-making.
Paul Buck
CEO and Founder, EPIC Global Solutions (SIGA Member)
It means doing the right thing when nobody is watching — and I say that as someone who did not, for a very long time. Integrity is not a policy document or a compliance checklist. It is the gap between what you say publicly and what you do privately. Close that gap. That is it.
António José Silva
President, European Aquatics (SIGA Member); Vice-President, World Aquatics; Member, SIGA Council
Trust grows when organisations are transparent, accountable and willing to be scrutinised. Sport must continue to invest in stronger governance frameworks, independent oversight mechanisms, athlete protection systems and meaningful stakeholder engagement. People trust organisations that are prepared to demonstrate, not simply declare, their commitment to integrity.
Athena Constantinou
Managing Director, APC Compliance Ltd (SIGA Member); Member, SIGA Council
Trust is built when stakeholders can see that sport is governed fairly, transparently and responsibly. To protect that trust, sports organisations must adopt and enforce strong governance standards, promote financial transparency and accountability, strengthen measures against corruption, match-fixing and unethical conduct, prioritise athlete welfare and safeguarding, ensure diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities, and communicate openly with fans, partners and the wider public.
Densign White
CEO, IMMAF (SIGA Member); Member, SIGA Council
Without athletes and fans, there is no sport. Both should be treated with the utmost respect and not taken for granted, as too often happens. Ordinary fans want to support their teams, but many are being priced out by eye-watering ticket prices. More also needs to be done to improve the fan experience for those who can still afford to attend matches. There is enormous wealth at the top end of football, but very little trickles down to community football. If fans and sponsors could see a visible, positive impact on deprived communities, they would be more inclined to support the game financially.
Paul Buck
CEO and Founder, EPIC Global Solutions (SIGA Member)
Do the right thing consistently, and be proactive rather than reactive. Stop treating harm as a reputational problem to manage, and start treating it as a human problem to prevent. Fans and athletes can tell the difference. Lived experience, honest education, early intervention — that is what builds real trust. Window dressing does not.
António José Silva
President, European Aquatics (SIGA Member); Vice-President, World Aquatics; Member, SIGA Council
Integrity should become a leadership responsibility embedded across the entire organisation. One practical step is to ensure that every major decision, whether sporting, commercial or operational, is assessed through an integrity lens. When integrity becomes part of everyday decision-making, rather than a separate compliance exercise, lasting cultural change follows.
Athena Constantinou
Managing Director, APC Compliance Ltd (SIGA Member); Member, SIGA Council
One practical step is to embed independent integrity oversight into their governance structures. This means establishing robust compliance systems, independent ethics mechanisms, clear reporting channels and regular integrity audits. Integrity should not be treated as a temporary initiative linked to major events. It must become a permanent part of organisational culture and decision-making.
Densign White
CEO, IMMAF (SIGA Member); Member, SIGA Council
They should conduct honest and detailed post-event reviews and evaluations of what went well and what did not, with concrete recommendations and policies to ensure that real improvement follows. Leadership must drive the change agenda and empower people within the organisation to execute it.
Paul Buck
CEO and Founder, EPIC Global Solutions (SIGA Member)
Embed player protection education into athlete welfare programmes — not as a one-off session, but as an ongoing conversation throughout a career. The vulnerabilities do not disappear when the tournament ends. Neither should the support.
António José Silva
President, European Aquatics (SIGA Member); Vice-President, World Aquatics; Member, SIGA Council
As expectations around transparency, accountability and ethical conduct continue to rise, sport needs common standards and collective leadership. SIGA has established itself as a global catalyst for positive change by bringing together organisations from across the sporting ecosystem around a shared commitment to integrity. Its mission is particularly relevant today because safeguarding trust in sport can no longer be achieved by individual organisations acting alone. It requires collaboration, consistency and leadership at a global level, precisely the role that SIGA continues to play.
Athena Constantinou
Managing Director, APC Compliance Ltd (SIGA Member); Member, SIGA Council
SIGA is more relevant than ever because sport faces mounting challenges that threaten its credibility, from governance failures and corruption risks to technological disruption, betting-related threats and growing public scrutiny. SIGA brings stakeholders from across the sporting ecosystem together around a shared commitment to protecting sport’s most valuable asset: trust. Without integrity, there is no credibility. Without credibility, sport cannot fulfil its full potential to inspire, unite and create positive change in society.
Densign White
CEO, IMMAF (SIGA Member); Member, SIGA Council
For too long, international sports federations have been self-regulating, and the system has often resembled the “Wild West”. Even those international federations that are fortunate enough to receive IOC funding or other sponsorship often operate with little or no meaningful oversight. In effect, they have been marking their own homework. With this approach to governance, it should not be surprising when corruption occurs. SIGA is the only independent Sport Integrity body capable of changing this landscape and giving funders, sponsors and fans confidence that sport is being objectively audited by a third party, free from conflicts of interest or bias.
Paul Buck
CEO and Founder, EPIC Global Solutions (SIGA Member)
Because integrity does not regulate itself. The scale of global sport, the speed of online gambling, and the expansion into new markets do not come with automatic safeguards. Someone has to set the standard and hold people to it. That is exactly what SIGA exists to do, and the world needs it more now than when it started.
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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.