By Andrew Warshaw in London
September 7 – The head of the increasingly influential International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has warned that the need for action to combat global corruption is greater than ever.
Opening the Qatar-based watchdog’s two-day Securing Sport conference in London, ICSS president Mohamed Hanzab (pictured), who set up the organisation four years ago to improve safety, security and integrity in sport by engaging with key stakeholders and providing intelligence and investigation support, said sport was “under threat in a way unprecedented in its history” with corruption “lurking in the shadows.”
The annual conference, staged for the first time outside Qatar, is being attended by a range of specialists and decision-makers, who heard that the global sports-betting industry is currently worth up to €500 billion, 80% of which is illegal with over €140 billion laundered in sports betting every year.
“When a fan pays to watch sport, they want a fair competition,” Hanzab told his audience. “When an athlete trains, it is because they expect the competition to be fair and the rules to be upheld. Too often, these are not happening.
“As we all know, corruption in sport is now at the top of the international agenda, but unfortunately, it is not the only enemy to sport. Threats to its safety and its security remain high and significant. The threat of terrorism, in particular, is still alive and growing, often transforming major sporting events into public exhibitions of major security measures.
“This is not the sport we want. We are at a crossroads. If we continue on this path, sport will come to be seen as an arena of corruption, violence, and anti-heroes.”
As part of its drive to safeguard sport against the unprecedented threat from corruption, match-fixing and sport betting fraud, the ICSS will partner with UNESCO to host around 100 government officials, technical experts and leaders in sport at a special technical meeting in Doha in the first half of 2015.
During a question and answer session on the first day of the conference, Emanuel Maradas de Medeiros, Portuguese head of the newly opened ICSS office in Europe, deflected a question about where the organisation, which is staging its London conference at the prestigious Lancaster House and hosted a VIP dinner in equally affluent surroundings Monday night, got its funding from and whether it had some kind of political agenda.
But in an earlier address to delegates, Medeiros made it clear the ICSS “doesn’t have profit-making purposes or represent leagues, federations or clubs and does not depend on governments. We are truly an independent body.”
He added: “Our interest is to promote and safeguard positive values, ethics and good governance. The integrity of sport is being threatened on a daily basis. Hard questions are being asked about transparency and financial integrity. Reform is clearly long overdue and to address these threats we must take urgent action.”
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