October 15 – The Portuguese Professional Football League (Liga Portugal) has committed to going through SIGA’s Independent Rating and Verification System (SIRVS), as well as committing to become a member of the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA), via a co-operation agreement.
SIRVS are SIGA’s rating system that assesses sports bodies’ governance standards across a number of criteria, including the culture of the organisation. The resulting rating will show the health of the organisation and in the case of many, will help them improve their internal governance and transparency to members throughout the process.
A number of major sports sponsors have said that going forward they will use SIRVS in their own criteria when it comes to agreeing partnership and sponsorship deals with governing bodies.
At the core of the rating system’s values is SIGA’s Universal Standards on good governance that Liga Portugal will adopt.
The Portuguese League will be the first football league in Europe to enter the SIRVs process, starting next season. UEFA and the Qatar Stars League are also undertaking a SIRVS rating. The European Rugby League is soon to have their rating revealed, while IMMAF, Chess International Federation, and the National Olympic Committee of Portugal principles and a number of other sports are entering the process.
Pedro Proença (pictured right) president, Liga Portugal, emphasised the importance of sports integrity in the promotion of Portuguese professional football: “The path of rigour and transparency is fundamental for the next steps we want to achieve. Branding, credibility and defending the integrity of competitions are the greatest values we want to follow. Liga Portugal is happy to sign this agreement at a time when integrity problems are experienced, namely in sport, and good governance models are being discussed.”
SIGA and Liga Portugal have also agreed to collaborate on the promotion and implementation of: sports’ positive values and social, educational and cultural role; good governance, integrity, and transparency in Sport; Financial Integrity, Sustainability and Transparency in Sport; Prevention and fight against illegal betting and match fixing in Sport; and Youth development and child protection in and through Sport.
Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros (pictured left) SIGA Global CEO, said: “Signing this Cooperation Agreement is a very important step. It reflects the unequivocal commitment of both parties to work together to ensure that the SIGA Universal Standards are effectively implemented.”
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