From match-fixing to stadium construction kickbacks, the sporting world has experienced a string of corruption scandals, revealing that even sport is not immune to foul play.

Collaborative efforts between sporting organisations, sponsors, sports betting organisations and government have the potential to create effective solutions to combat corruption in sport. However, raising the levels of transparency and risk awareness across the sporting industry are two challenges that must first be met.

André Chaker is a lawyer who served as a director in the World Championships in Athletics project and is now the director of business development and international affairs at Veikkaus Oy, the Finnish state lottery. He is the author of the book, "Good Governance in Sport: A European Survey" published by the Council of Europe.

Sylvia Schenk is a former Olympic runner turned lawyer who served as the first female president of the German Cycling Federation and is now the chairwoman of Transparency International Germany

SS: Sport has a very positive image and reaches huge audiences all over the world, bringing together people across all social boundaries of class, language and culture. That’s why it is so important that sport becomes and stays clean, and is truly committed to fighting corruption. However, so far sport is lagging behind in comparison to anti-corruption efforts in other sectors. For a long time many people involved did not even realise that there was a problem in sport or if they did, they didn’t want to face it. Even now, some downplay recognised problems because of the major costs involved – for example, the fear of losing sponsors or TV time. This lack of dialogue has been holding back progress.

Although sport has a very positive image all over the world, it is important that sport really is fair and that people stick to the regulations.

AC: I realised back in the early 90’s just how immature governance in the sport world was. Few rules of good governance existed and if they did, they weren’t implemented.

In the last 18 years sport law has rocketed, but much of the new legislation and international agreements tend to be scandal driven. For instance, doping scandals in the Tour de France and the Olympics drove the creation of a law and anti-doping agency. We are creating good groundwork, but it is not helping us to get ahead of the curve where preventive rules are made that tell us how transparent and accountable the sport world is and how responsibly they run their businesses.

SS: When stadiums, arenas or other sport facilities are built, often these structures must be built in a short amount of time and a large amount of money is poured in. This multiplies the risks and magnitude for possible corruption. Currently, sport organisations provide the requirements for the facilities and the city or country is then responsible for the costs and how it is carried out. However, if you are responsible for a big event, like the Olympics or FIFA World Cup, I think you should also be responsible for what is happening onsite.

TI’s Integrity Pacts (IPs) for procurement would be a very useful tool to help oversee such large amounts of money. Sport organisations could take the lead by requiring IPs during the bidding process. IPs and a specified monitoring process could also be integrated into their contracts with the responsible city or country. Finally, the responsible government could be required to set up IPs with all parties bidding for construction and other related contracts.

AC: Match fixing is one of the areas that is starting to attract more public scrutiny, and it’s emerging as an international problem, because the internet has brought sport betting to every computer screen around the world. Someone in China, for example, can place bets and have an interest in fixing a game in a place like Finland. To tackle this problem we need an international approach with strong cooperation between sport betting companies, sport organisations and police forces. An early warning system has already been set up through alliances between betting companies and their counterparts in the sport world, like FIFA and the UEFA. From our side, betting companies can supply information on irregular fluxes of money. For example, if we see a million euro bet on a small match by an unlikely person, we would inform the responsible sport organisation, and they could inform the police.

SS: The public needs to understand that they play an important role in driving change. If people say, I’m not going to watch cycling because there’s always doping, then sponsors will have to reconsider the terms of their sponsorships as audience levels drop – for example, by including clauses against doping, corruption or conflicts of interest into contracts.

Corruption and Sport: Building Integrity and Preventing Abuses

Chelsea banned from transfer market to 2011
BBC, 3 September 2009
Kieren Fallon is back for his final furlong, demons and all
The Guardian, 3 September 2009
Bloodgate: scandal opens the doors to a world of sinister practice in rugby
The Telegraph, 29 August 2009
US Open 2009: players warned over sharing 'inside information' on Twitter
The Telegraph, 28 August 2009
ICC stresses importance of vigilance over match-fixing
The Guardian, 19 August 2009
ASHES 2009: ICC confident alleged betting corruption will not overshadow crucial fifth Test
The Daily Mail, 19 August 2009
Tetteh bemoans corruption in Ghana football
JoyOnline, 2 August 2009
FIFA cracks down on corruption in player transfers
Canadian Broadcasting Centre, 14 July 2009
Federer worried about tennis corruption
Sydney Morning Herald 25 June 2009
Wimbledon concerns prompt Government move to stem corruption in sports betting
The Telegraph, 24 June 2009
Exclusive: Wimbledon on high alert over suspected match-fixing rings
The Independent, 18 June 2009
German corruption watchdog warns sport at risk
ESPN, 3 April 2006
UEFA takes extreme measures to stamp out corruption and match fixing
The Sofia Echo, 26 March 2009

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