EP Sport Group and UNODC: Webinar on sport and corruption

The EP Sport Group together with the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) Brussels Office organised a webinar on 9 December titled “How to safeguard sport from corruption? A multi-stakeholder discussion on challenges and opportunities”. The moderator was Ronan Lorcan o Laoire (UNODC) and several guest speakers were invited: MEPs Violan von Cramon and Daniel Freund, the first from the Sport Group and the second from the Anti-Corruption Group; Yatta Dakowah (UNODC); Paolo Bertaccini, Advisor for the Italian G20 Presidency; Pâquerette Girard Zappelli (IOC) and Matteo Zaccheti (DG EAC). 

The aim of the webinar was to raise awareness on the topics of corruption and unethical behaviours in sport, exchange views and propose potential tools to address the different issues linked to these topics. A lively discussion took place on the role of sport and political stakeholders. While from the Parliament's side, more pressure and monitoring on sport was advocated, other stakeholders from public authorities, law enforcement and hte sport world defended the autonomy of sport and called for a multi-stakeholder approach.

Pâquerette Girard Zappelli on behalf of IOC, recalled of the strong commitment of the Olympic movement to the safeguarding of values in sport, including ethics, transparency and good governance. 

Overall, it was said that regarding the economic importance of sport in the world and in the EU, more cooperation to address the challenges of corruption in sport were needed, as well as further discussion on the ways, whether legal, political or internal, to tackle unethical behaviours.