First Integrity Officers' Seminar brings together representatives of more than 30 sports federations

On 17 December, Kyiv hosted a seminar for integrity officers in sports federations, organised by the National Platform of Sports Integrity and the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. The event was held in a hybrid format and brought together more than 60 participants both in person and online from different parts of the country and the world.

In his opening remarks, the First Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Yurii Muzyka, stressed the importance of integrity as a fundamental principle of modern sport.

Without the support of the sports movement, any state mechanism will not work at full capacity. That is why the National Platform, under the coordination of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, is actively building partnerships with the sports movement. In less than 2 years, a series of seminars and other events on combating the manipulation of sports competitions have been held with the participation of almost 600 athletes, coaches, managers, and judges, - First Deputy Minister said.

Vadym Gutzeit, President of the NOC of Ukraine, thanked the representatives of sports federations for their active position and understanding of the critical role played by the fight against manipulation in sport. He also highlighted the strategic step taken by the NOC of Ukraine to approve a mandatory Code of Integrity for all participants in the Olympic Movement.

International experts who also joined the event presented the global context of the fight against manipulation in detail. Their presentations were particularly valuable due to the practical cases, research and methodologies that have already proven their effectiveness around the world. They focused on the latest international initiatives and successful strategies to combat manipulation in sports competitions.

Evangelos Alexandrakis and Rida Ahmed, representatives of the Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions, presented the IOC's rules and tools for sports federations, including the Olympic Movement Code of Conduct for the Prevention of Manipulation of Sport Competitions, as well as the Model Rules for National Olympic Committees, International Federations and National Federations.

The Head of the Copenhagen Group, a network of national sports integrity platforms, and Coordinator of the French National Platform Corentin Segalen shared examples of best practices in the global sports community's response to integrity challenges.

Nataliia Radchuk, Secretary of the Interagency Working Group "National Platform of Sports Integrity", presented the work of the platform, the regulatory framework for its activities, modern approaches to investigating sports abuse, as well as best practices of cooperation between the state and sports movement organisations to counteract manipulation in sports.

Oleksii Perevezentsev, Deputy Chairman of the National Platform of Sports Integrity Interagency Working Group and First Vice President of the NOC of Ukraine, spoke about international examples of combating manipulation in sports, stressing the importance of athletes and other representatives of the sports movement complying with the rules on immediate reporting of misconduct to maintain the integrity of sports.

During the seminar, the participants discussed the key challenges facing national and international sports federations in today's reality, with a focus on the importance of transparent procedures, preventive measures and close cooperation between sports institutions to minimise risks and combat foul play.

Andrii Davydenko, Head of the Ethics and Fair Play Committee of the Ukrainian Football Association, and Anastasiia Bilenko, Secretary of the Committee, Volodymyr Samoylyk, Secretary of the Ethics and Fair Play Committee of the Table Tennis Federation of Ukraine, Olesia Nikolenko, Secretary General of the Badminton Federation of Ukraine, and Sviatoslav Syrota, representative of the NGO Play Fair, shared their best practices and experiences.

The seminar became a platform for dialogue, where theoretical developments met practical cases. Such events not only help to raise awareness among the sports community, but also allow them to join forces to effectively combat manipulation in sport. Participants stressed the importance of continuing such initiatives, which help to strengthen the integrity of sport at both national and international levels.