On the road
Over the last few weeks, the IOC, via the OM Unit PMC, has not only provided support to key stakeholders, it has also continued to advocate and share expertise at the meetings of intergovernmental expert bodies, and both national and international partners.
Council of Europe: Macolin Follow-Up Committee
The IOC attended the 9th meeting of the Follow-Up Committee of the Macolin Convention which took place on 7 October in Porto, Portugal, where it presented the measures taken to safeguard the integrity of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 this summer. These covered in particular the fields of intelligence, awareness-raising and capacity-building. The IOC has Observer status on the Follow-Up Committee, representing the entire Olympic Movement.
The following day, the Council of Europe organised a conference celebrating the “10 years of Macolin Convention”, which addresses the manipulation of sports competitions. The conference was organised within the wider framework of the 18th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers Responsible for Sport. The IOC’s Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Pâquerette Girard-Zappelli, delivered a short opening address to the more-than 150 participants, underlining the IOC’s support for the Convention from its early stages of creation until now. The IOC’s Friedrich Martens, Head of the OM Unit PMC, was also part of a panel discussion and pointed out the importance of the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions, which fully mirrors the Macolin Convention and ensures the compliance of all Olympic Movement stakeholders, including the athletes.
INTERPOL Match-Fixing Taskforce
From Porto to Prague: On 15 October, the OM Unit PMC attended INTERPOL’s annual Match-Fixing Taskforce (IMFTF) meeting held in the Czech capital, and gave a presentation to the more-than 100 attending representatives from law enforcement, who specialise in fighting competition manipulation. The longstanding partnership between the IOC and INTERPOL was highlighted on several occasions and appreciated by both sides. Within the framework of the meeting, a regional IOC-INTERPOL workshop was organised for six countries: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland and Croatia.
Sports betting forums
The OM Unit PMC continues to work closely with globally recognised associations of betting operators, which pass on critical information and intelligence on potential breaches of the rules on a permanent basis, not just during the Olympic Games. In this context, the Unit supported the relevant events of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and the United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports (ULIS) throughout recent months.
In September, the OM Unit PMC joined the IBIA Working Group in Lisbon to share insights into the Unit’s work in the field of intelligence, showcasing the efforts undertaken during Paris 2024.
The OM Unit PMC also supported an event organised by ULIS for lotteries and relevant stakeholders at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, last month. On this occasion, the Unit presented the value of betting alerts during both disciplinary and judicial processes. The audience was also updated on the awareness-raising activities undertaken by the Unit in the context of Paris 2024.
Supporting key stakeholders’ events
In September, the OM Unit PMC attended the PlayFairCode Austria Talks 2.0 in Vienna, commenting on the very good work carried out by the organisation and the good coordination between sports and state authorities in the country.
Moreover, the Unit took part in the ENGSO European Sport Platform on 22 November in Kosovo, joining key stakeholders from sports and governments in addressing ENGSO members, including NOCs and grassroots organisations from Europe.
Finally, the Unit attended the closing conference of the INTEGRISPORT NEXT Erasmus+ project on 11 November in Amsterdam. The project was intended to raise awareness among law enforcement officials in Europe.