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.
Jessica Smith
Paralympian; SIGA Champion; Member, SIGAWomen Council
FIFA’s biggest integrity issue isn’t just betting or match-fixing; it’s FIFA’s own governance. As a Swiss association, we know that it isn’t required to publish full accounts or submit to independent oversight, and that opacity makes everything downstream harder to fix. It matters even more because hundreds of millions of children are watching, forming early ideas about fairness and honesty based on how the adults in charge behave. If leadership isn’t held to the standards we expect of players, that’s the lesson children absorb, quietly and long after the final whistle.
José Ricardo Gonçalves
Partner, RBMS; Chair, SIGA Audit & Compliance Committee
Education on integrity, prevention and the fight against match-fixing, illegal betting and doping should be prioritised. These practices negatively influence players, distort competition and seriously damage the credibility of the tournament. They not only affect results and the competition itself, but also destroy the trust of fans and sponsors and can damage the image and reputation of athletes for life.
Keith Jones
President & CEO, SoulTouchin’ Experiences LLC; Member, SIGA GRID Committee
Prior to the World Cup, there was excitement and an opportunity to see the “Beautiful Game” bring joy to the country and the world. As a Black American, what I had hoped for was dashed. What I wanted to see in the competition was fairness and respect for humanity. I am paying attention to how the world sees us and its favourite players. Sadly, the current state of the country has only exacerbated an ugly reality. It has also, however, provided a wellspring of infinite hope that, through the competition and the beautiful game, we are one family.
Markéta Vochoska Haindlová
Chair, Executive Board of the Czech Association of Football Players; Board Member, FIFPRO Europe,;Member, UEFA Social and Environmental Sustainability Committee
I consider the extreme and unsustainable physical and mental strain placed on players by an overcrowded international calendar to be the most important integrity issue surrounding the ongoing FIFA World Cup. When players are forced to compete in an excessive number of matches without adequate recovery time or mandatory off-season breaks, this leads to a decline in sporting performance, an increase in injuries and, potentially, a greater risk of mental burnout.
Jessica Smith
Paralympian; SIGA Champion; Member, SIGAWomen Council
Sport integrity is fairness, accountability, transparency—the basics we should expect anywhere. It’s honestly a shame that we even have to spell this out as a separate cause. Integrity also means access: who gets a seat at the table, whose voices shape decisions, and whether leadership reflects the people it serves. Sport has the power to model this brilliantly. Real integrity means leaders being held to the same standards as the athletes they govern.
José Ricardo Gonçalves
Partner, RBMS; Chair, SIGA Audit & Compliance Committee
Integrity means respecting the rules, competing using only our physical and mental abilities, developed through the commitment and effort dedicated to training, promoting fair play, and inspiring athletes and fans alike to keep sport honest, healthy and trustworthy, while setting an example of how to conduct oneself in life.
Keith Jones
President & CEO, SoulTouchin’ Experiences LLC; Member, SIGA GRID Committee
It is in the statement. Integrity in sport is key. By definition, it is the embodiment of sport: the purity of the game, supported by leagues that understand and value the human being who is the athlete. It means integrity in the conduct of the business of sport, free from sexism, racism, classism or xenophobia.
Markéta Vochoska Haindlová
Chair, Executive Board of the Czech Association of Football Players; Board Member, FIFPRO Europe,;Member, UEFA Social and Environmental Sustainability Committee
Sport Integrity means a set of clearly defined rules and values that are upheld by all stakeholders involved in the organisation and practice of any sport, regardless of whether it is at amateur or professional level.
Jessica Smith
Paralympian; SIGA Champion; Member, SIGAWomen Council
We need to lead with transparency at the top, not just testing at the bottom. Governance matters just as much as doping controls. It’s about separating regulation from commercial incentives where possible, since a body profiting from betting or sponsorship deals will always face questions about its credibility when policing them. Bring in independent oversight with no stake in the next revenue cycle, and make findings public by default rather than managing them quietly.
José Ricardo Gonçalves
Partner, RBMS; Chair, SIGA Audit & Compliance Committee
Trust in sport can be protected through stronger education and training, stricter enforcement and greater transparency. The industry must make it clear that no financial benefit is worth compromising fairness, integrity or the trust of fans, athletes, sponsors and society in general. Athletes, clubs, sports organisations and sponsors must send a clear, strong and public message that there is absolutely no room in sport for such misconduct: zero tolerance.
Keith Jones
President & CEO, SoulTouchin’ Experiences LLC; Member, SIGA GRID Committee
Simply, by being better human beings. Corruption is a character flaw that, if not addressed, becomes the poison that kills trust. Transparency, accountability and a commitment to fairness are how sport can protect trust—be that which you want to see in the world.
Markéta Vochoska Haindlová
Chair, Executive Board of the Czech Association of Football Players; Board Member, FIFPRO Europe,;Member, UEFA Social and Environmental Sustainability Committee
To protect trust among fans, athletes, sponsors and society, sport needs social dialogue and inclusive governance. Governing bodies such as FIFA and UEFA can no longer make unilateral decisions on competition formats and commercial projects. To fully safeguard trust, this cooperation must extend to all these stakeholders, ensuring that no major decisions are made on an “about us, without us” basis. In this context, I welcome, for example, the recent agreements concluded between FIFA and FIFPRO, and between UEFA and FIFPRO Europe.
Jessica Smith
Paralympian; SIGA Champion; Member, SIGAWomen Council
Submit to external, binding financial and governance audits—not internal task forces or self-published reports, but scrutiny from a body with no financial relationship to the organisation itself. Tournament-specific integrity units receive attention while the cameras are rolling, but what is often overlooked is the legal structure that allows federations to avoid year-round transparency. Fixing that outlasts the spotlight, and it is exactly the space an independent movement like SIGA exists to fill.
José Ricardo Gonçalves
Partner, RBMS; Chair, SIGA Audit & Compliance Committee
Sports organisations should adopt stricter, consistent and severe sanctions for athletes, officials or other stakeholders in sport involved in corruption, match-fixing, doping or similar misconduct. Clear consequences must be combined with continuous education on the importance of integrity, applying the three Rs rule — recognise, refuse and report — so that athletes understand not only the rules, but also the damage these actions cause to their careers and to public trust in sport. Sports organisations should also cooperate permanently with local and international law-enforcement authorities, and violations of sport integrity rules should be specifically punishable as criminal offences in every country around the world, as has been the case in Portugal since 2007.
Keith Jones
President & CEO, SoulTouchin’ Experiences LLC; Member, SIGA GRID Committee
There are some very basic steps to take: Acknowledge that the world has seen both the good and the bad of humanity and, with that, reflect on the role your organisation played; Commit resources and the organisation itself to real systemic change; Establish independent advisory councils with the power to safeguard integrity; Engage with communities and fans. This is to remind owners that, without the support of fans, teams are merely expensive vanity projects.
Markéta Vochoska Haindlová
Chair, Executive Board of the Czech Association of Football Players; Board Member, FIFPRO Europe,;Member, UEFA Social and Environmental Sustainability Committee
To sustain integrity once the World Cup spotlight moves on, sports organisations must formally recognise players as employees and guarantee their fundamental labour rights. Legally binding employment relationships are the ultimate safeguard against exploitation, unpaid wages and match-fixing. We cannot talk about integrity while athletes lack basic contractual security and social protection. Protecting players’ fundamental rights as employees is not just a legal duty; it is the absolute foundation of a clean, ethical and sustainable sporting ecosystem.
Jessica Smith
Paralympian; SIGA Champion; Member, SIGAWomen Council
Because sport has grown so large, so commercial, and so cross-border that no single federation can credibly police itself. Governing bodies are often both regulators and commercial beneficiaries, a conflict that undermines trust from within. An independent movement with no stake in the next sponsorship or broadcast deal can say what federations structurally cannot. As money, betting markets, and politics reach deeper into sport, that outside voice is no longer optional but essential to protecting what makes sport worth watching. This is why SIGA is so important.
José Ricardo Gonçalves
Partner, RBMS; Chair, SIGA Audit & Compliance Committee
Sport faces increasingly complex and transnational integrity challenges that must be addressed through an interdisciplinary approach, given that corruption, match-fixing and doping undermine public trust and the credibility of sport. As an independent global movement, SIGA provides an environment that brings together representatives of sport, business and civil society to promote the highest standards of transparency, accountability and ethical conduct in relation to sport integrity. It supports education and encourages compliance with universal standards and rules, the sharing of best practices and the promotion of collective responsibility.
Keith Jones
President & CEO, SoulTouchin’ Experiences LLC; Member, SIGA GRID Committee
Having an independent authority gives sports leaders an anchor point and provides their leagues and fans with the most valuable thing: trust. This World Cup has shown how even a hint of dishonesty can alter fan perceptions. SIGA, as that voice, is perfectly placed either to restore or to build that trust, which is an essential element of integrity.
Markéta Vochoska Haindlová
Chair, Executive Board of the Czech Association of Football Players; Board Member, FIFPRO Europe,;Member, UEFA Social and Environmental Sustainability Committee
Professional sport today faces unprecedented pressures—from massive commercialisation and the influx of multinational investment groups to rapid technological advances. These changes bring a dynamic evolution of threats to Sport Integrity. It is unrealistic to expect national sports governing bodies to tackle these complex, cross-border threats on their own. This is why an organisation like SIGA is more relevant than ever. It bridges the gaps that national organisations cannot, providing the global standards, collective action and neutral oversight needed to safeguard the future of sport.
– THE END –
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.