By Andrew Warshaw
August 20 – FIFA is to host the first ever conference on ethical sports leadership in conjunction with the Brussels-based World Forum for Ethics in Business.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter will open the September 19 landmark forum with speakers to include both Michael Garcia and Joachim Eckert, respective chairmen of the investigative and adjudicatory sections of the FIFA ethics committee.
It is not clear whether they will reveal fresh details of the investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process but their attendance will in itself be widely anticipated.
Others due to attend the so-called World Summit on Ethics in Sports include Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar, two-time Olympic figure-skating champion Katarina Witt, the corruption watchdog Transparency International and international criminal prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo of Argentina.
FIFA says the event will “propose a substantial agenda for action”.
The summit will focus on what business and politics can learn from sports and address current challenges in sports ethics. “Ethics and integrity are essential in the world of sport and are topics that have continued to gain importance for FIFA and the football community in recent years,” said Blatter.
“We therefore welcome the opportunity to host this special summit and look forward to a fruitful debate among international experts on these important topics.”
FIFA will also be represented by chief medical officer Professor Jiri Dvorak, security director Ralf Mutschke and ambassador for fair play Simone Farina who, in 2011, famously refused to take a bribe during a Coppa Italia match and turned whistle-blower, his evidence leading to 17 arrests.
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