FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura on Monday acknowledged that FIFA is a damaged brand that it has not focused enough on grass roots or women’s football, but insisted that the new leadership will be stronger on discrimination, despite the closure of the anti-racism task force.

Samoura joined FIFA from the United Nations in June. “There were many surprises, good and bad,” she said at Soccerex Global Convention, citing FIFA’s “incredibly committed and highly educated staff” as a positive revelation.

“On the bad side, there were some habits that needed changing. There are some cultural behaviours that we have already started acting on, for example: not really focussing on the development of football at the grass roots level; putting women’s football at the centre of our core business.

“Through the FIFA Forward programme we are really trying to prioritise those two things.”

She began her first major public speech as FIFA Secretary General by admitting she was “new to the administration side of football,” and that attending such events will be important for her in “establishing relationships”.

“I bring another perspective derived from 25 years in the UN system, mostly in crisis and complex emergency situations,” she said.

“In the midst of turmoil, gunfire and confrontation, the only time people would stop warfare was when it was raining or when there was a football game – including during Ramadan and Christmas.

But despite this power, football is still not universally accessible, she said.

“This has given me a desire for an even bigger women’s game and for women to play a greater role in administration. Men and women, young and old, well off and not so well off, have a role in the game.”

“Stronger on discrimination”

FIFA has been widely criticised for closing down its anti-racism task force, with Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, President of the Jordanian Football Association calling the move "incredibly worrying".

Pressure group Kick it Out said in a statement “This comes at a time when there is clear evidence that discrimination, prejudice and hate are on the rise in developed societies, particularly in Europe but also in different forms across the world.”

Samoura’s speech at Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester followed a welcome address from Andrew Burnham, the frontrunner to become the first Mayor of Greater Manchester, in which he challenged her justify the closure of the anti-racism task force.

“It had a very specific mandate, which it has fully fulfilled” Samoura responded. “Its recommendations have now turned into a programme and a strong one.”

Asked by host David Davies if the problem is one of perception, she replied “We can live with perception, but what I can tell you that we are taking very seriously our role as the governing body to fight discrimination.

“As an example, we have a monitoring tool and we act when this comes to bullying and facing strange and extreme behaviours in the stadiums.

“We have several cases of disciplinary measures against several clubs and teams which have been accused, and based on solid legal grounding we have taken them through this disciplinary committee, which has taken very strong sanction against them.”

Despite the closure of the task force, she said “the new leadership will be stronger, not only on racism but any kind of discrimination – including any violation of human rights.

“We need to be firm. The zero tolerance policy is at the top of the new FIFA administration’s agenda.”

“Reputational damage”

Assuring stakeholders of the integrity of the organisation will be crucial to its continued success under the leadership of new president Gianni Infantino.

“It’s clear to me that fans and our member associations have all great expectations for FIFA,” said Samoura. “They are counting on Infantino to fundamentally change the way we do business.”

She cited the creation a Chief Compliance Officer position within FIFA, as “an example that is now being replicated by all the confederations.”

The development of the game at grass roots level will be driven by the new FIFA Forward programme, which consists of investments via member associations.

“The goal of FIFA Forward is to have a high impact programme with broader participation, better teams and leagues and a more attractive sport.

“In the end, this is all about making the difference and reducing the gap between dreaming about the World Cup and participating in the World Cup.”

Historically, investments intended for grass roots development have not always reached their intended recipients.

“We really want to put in place a monitoring and controlling tool, because the Forward programme is about a lot of money to national associations. It’s about US$5m – for clubs in England that’s nothing, but where I come from that’s a lot of money and we need to ensure that those resources are really well channelled,” the Senegalese diplomat said.

“I had a very comfortable position at the UN. I was convinced by Infantino that it is time for change. Yes, our brand has suffered a lot of reputational damage.

“My appearance here today is testimony to how we would like to restore trust and confidence. We have already started really working with commercial affiliates who still believe in the brand of FIFA, giving certainty that we are the partner of choice.

She insisted that the worst is over for FIFA, despite ongoing criminal investigations into several senior figures that led the organisation.

“We are putting the past behind us.” she said. “Let’s get the investigation done while not repeating the mistakes of the past.”

“We want to have the best administration by recruiting the best people we can find. In terms of governance and accountability, we have to reach the highest standard.

“I am ready to take these challenges. I count on everyone’s support to make the FIFA mission a successful one.”

Host City 2016: Two months to go and CGF, Red Bull, Feld (Disney) and European Commission join as speakers

With two months to go until Host City 2016, a new wave of international event brands has joined an already impressive line-up of speakers.

The largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events will open on 21 November with a Keynote Address by Sir Craig Reedie CBE, President, World Anti-Doping Agency.

David Grevemberg OBE, CEO, Commonwealth Games Federation makes a welcome return to Host City to speak on “Transformations in Multi-City and Multi-Sports Events”.

Erich Wolf, Managing Director, Red Bull Air Race and Claire Ballard, Regional Marketing Manager, Feld Entertainment (Disney Live) will join Wang Dong, Vice President, Alisports in a panel on “Building Sports and Entertainment Brands; China’s Investment Strategy”.

Also recently confirmed to speak at Host City 2016 are Bridget McConnell CBE, Chief Executive, Glasgow Life; Yves Le Lostecque, Head of Sport Unit at the European Commission and Risto Nieminen, President, Finnish Olympic Committee.

These new speakers join a star-studded cast that includes city leaders from New Zealand, Odense, Rotterdam and Paris, as well as: Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, Visit Scotland; Ugur Erdener, Vice President, IOC; Dimitri Kerkentzes, deputy Secretary General, BIE (World Expos); Simon Clegg, Chief Operating Officer, World Expo Dubai 2020; Michel D’Hooghe, FIFA Council Member and Chairman of the Medical Committee, FIFA; Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy CEO, Messe Munich; Sooad Islam, Associate, Populous; John Langford, Vice President and General Manager, The O2, AEG Facilities and more international experts.

Host City 2016 is firmly established as the largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events. View the full speaker line-up on the Host City website.

Host City 2016 is an event that you don't want to miss! Get your pass today to attend the leading meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events in Glasgow on 21-22 November. Register online

A very limited number of speaking opportunities remain. For opportunities please contact Ben Avison on +44 (0) 7876 682072 or ben.avison@hostcity.net

[SOURCE: IPC Academy / WoAS] The second and final day at the 2016 IPC Academy Inclusion Summit (15-16 September) is now underway in Rio de Janeiro with the event turning its attention away from understanding inclusion through policy setting and good leadership towards the theme of ‘Delivering Inclusion Operations, how inclusion has been applied’.

Addressing the Inclusion Summit audience, Shanthi Flynn, Chief HR Officer, Adecco Group (Partner of the Inclusion Summit) covered the issues of inclusion in the workplace, and how Paralympic athletes can achieve life-long success on and off the field of play. Flynn discussed the IPC Athlete Career Programme, which helps athletes through education, career coaching and job placement and boosts diversity in the workplace.

“There are more than one billion people with an impairment in the world - 15%-20% of the global population,” she says. “Unfortunately people with impairments face prejudice, discrimination and limited accessibility in the workplace.”

She considers that sport events, such as the Paralympic Games, have the power to drive societal change and believes inclusiveness is about respecting and valuing differences.

“It’s about changing perceptions and understanding that conscious and unconscious bias are barriers to being an effective workplace,” Flynn says.

“From there, it’s a short step to see that inclusiveness can help companies be more innovative, engaging and competitive. Watching Paralympians in action is truly inspiring. It is clear that they have key skills and attributes that employers seek and need: they are highly driven, focused on success and team players who overcome barriers every day. Why wouldn't you employ individuals with this profile?”

Over 200 people from a wide variety of Organising Committees and Candidate Cities of Olympics and Paralympics Games, International Federations, government bodies, suppliers to the major events and educational institutions have been listening to the insights of a wide variety of global speakers over the last two days including Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC); Andrew Parsons, Vice President of the IPC & President of the Brazil National Paralympic Committee; Carlos Nuzman, Chairman, Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games; Madame Zhang Haidi, Executive President, Beijing 2022 and President, NPC China; and Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, Disability Advisor of the World Bank.

A must-attend IPC Academy Campus Cocktail Function, hosted at British House and sponsored by the UK’s Department for International Trade, will bring proceedings to a close on 16 September and allow attendees to network with all participants of the Campus, which also includes an IPC Observers’ Programme and Games Experience Programme.

About IPC Academy Campus and the Inclusion Summit

Standing alongside but distinct from the IPC Academy Observers’ Programme, the Inclusion Summit provides the ultimate forum to bring together business leaders, governments and the Paralympic Movement. Together they are discussing inclusion and accessibility, their impact on society, and how the Paralympic Games have developed into the world’s number one sporting event for driving social inclusion.

Delivered by the IPC Academy - the educational division created in 2009 as a partnership between the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the World Academy of Sport (WAoS) – the 2016 IPC Academy Campus (4-17 September) is a unique event-based learning initiative that gives stakeholders of major sports events the chance to learn from their peers during the Paralympic Games. The IPC Academy Campus features an Observers’ Programme, Games Experience Programme (GEP), Inclusion Summit and a Closing IPC Academy Cocktail Function, hosted at British House.   

Its Event Partners include the Adecco Group and the UK’s Department for International Trade. Its Media Partners are Sportcal (Intelligence Partner), Major Events International (Digest Partner), Around the Rings (Online Partner), Host City (Magazine Partner) and AXS Chat (Social Media Partner).

For further information about the the IPC Academy Campus, please visit www.ipcacademycampus.com or contact Claire Bennett, Project Coordinator, World Academy of Sport cbennett@worldacademysport.com.

[Source: The World Anti-Doping Agency] WADA confirms that a Russian cyber espionage group operator by the name of Tsar Team (APT28), also known as Fancy Bear, illegally gained access to WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) database via an International Olympic Committee (IOC)-created account for the Rio 2016 Games. The group accessed athlete data, including confidential medical data – such as Therapeutic Use Exemptions delivered by International Sports Federations (IFs) and National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) – related to the Rio Games; and, subsequently released some of the data in the public domain, accompanied by the threat that they will release more.

While it is an evolving situation, at present, we believe that access to ADAMS was obtained through spear phishing of email accounts; whereby, ADAMS passwords were obtained enabling access to ADAMS account information confined to the Rio 2016 Games. At present, we have no reason to believe that other ADAMS data has been compromised.

“WADA deeply regrets this situation and is very conscious of the threat that it represents to athletes whose confidential information has been divulged through this criminal act,” said Olivier Niggli, Director General, WADA. “We are reaching out to stakeholders, such as the IOC, IFs and NADOs, regarding the specific athletes impacted,” he continued.

“WADA condemns these ongoing cyber-attacks that are being carried out in an attempt to undermine WADA and the global anti-doping system,” said Niggli. “WADA has been informed by law enforcement authorities that these attacks are originating out of Russia,” he continued.

Let it be known that these criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to re-establish trust in Russia further to the outcomes of the Agency’s independent McLaren Investigation Report,” Niggli continued.

WADA is taking this attack very seriously. The Agency extended its investigation with the relevant law enforcement authorities; is conducting internal and external security vulnerability checks; and, is taking the necessary measures to ensure that stakeholders securely manage ADAMS passwords and its usage.

This attack comes on the heels of the early August incident,; whereby Yuliya Stepanova’s password for ADAMS was illegally obtained, which allowed a perpetrator to access her account on ADAMS. Ms. Stepanova was the key whistleblower for WADA’s Independent Pound Commission that exposed widespread doping in Russian athletics. 

[SOURCE: WADA]

Host City: How pleased are you with how transport plans were delivered during the 2016 UEFA European Championship?

‎Stefano Manelli: The UEFA EURO 2016 was a real public transport success. The use of public transport to get to stadiums was even higher than during previous editions, with more than 60 per cent of spectators using public transport, even when the stadium was in the outskirts.

Trains (both regional and high speed) were used by 1.5 million spectators, of which many were international. These are very good figures that are testament to the work conducted over the last three years.

I am satisfied with the working relationships with the local and national authorities, which took more than two years to be fully established.

At the national level, we had a tight cooperation with the railway company SNCF, national partner of the event, in order to define a specific Euro railway time schedule: the efforts made were crucial to provide the necessary ease to the spectators’ flows moving between the host cities. A total of 950 TGV trains were identified as “Euro trains”, including special night TGVs after matches.

We need to put the UEFA EURO 2016 in the very challenging security context, which required increasing the level of attention around the venues, fan zones and stadium in particular. In this context, I am satisfied of the overall transport and mobility planning and operations.

The only regret was the fact that we could not implement, contrary to the past two editions, free transport for ticket holders (combi-ticket): it was not part of the original engagements of the bid and we could not achieve a uniform solution among the 10 host cities. In the end, all cities proposed individual solutions to spectators with a limited impact on operations. 

Host City: Did any of the host cities pose particular challenges?

Stefano Manelli: UEFA EURO 2016 was the first 24-team European Tournament; this was the first considerable difference from the past. Ten instead of eight host cities were needed and 51 matches instead of 31, for 2.5 million spectators.

Even in a big European country like France, the level of equipment, size and experience in hosting events is not the same among all cities. Transport demand forecast was extremely challenging, for many reasons related to the size of the event. We observed less pressure on airports than in the past editions, probably as France is one of the most touristic countries in the world and offers multimodal transport opportunities.

The UEFA EURO is one event, even if it takes place in 10 different cities. The challenges were in the capability to deploy the necessary resources within each host city and to ensure a uniform approach to planning and delivering the “product”, the event. This required a very articulated coordination, which took some time to establish, but this worked very well along the whole preparation and tournament operations.

The amount of external stakeholders and private or public companies involved into the planning and operational phases was very important: in France, transport governance is decentralised and the organiser had to deal with each individually.

All activities aimed to provide a common working framework for each host city (tools, timelines etc.) and to oversee the development of transport plans and measures that were as uniform as possible, in respect of sustainability goals among others.

The support from the national authorities such as Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation Authority and DIGES (the department of the ministry of sport in charge of integrating and activating ministerial activities around major sports events) was very important for the exchange of information and the dissemination to local level. For instance, as each participating team has an obligation to remain in the host country for the whole duration of its participation, various smaller airports around the country were impacted, where a need for additional air traffic and air safety and security conditions had to be met, requiring additional work.

Host City: What has the planning for the UEFA European Championships taught that will inform the work on Paris’ bid for the Olympic Games in 2024?

Stefano Manelli: It is certain that the UEFA EURO 2016 was a highly valuable experience and a great test both in terms of planning and operations. The good practices will be capitalised on, while the less good have already been analysed in order to improve in the future as a part of the debrief process.

France is a country with a very solid transport (and public transport) knowledge. Paris in particular has one of the first, most dense and developed public transport networks in the world. These are an excellent base already and the involvement of all relevant bodies into the process, is a very important element for the development of a robust transport plan.

Having said that, the two events are rather different and the solutions which can be implemented for a one-month multisport event in one big city are not comparable to those which could be afforded for a four to seven non-continuous days event in ten various sized cities.

There are multiple differences between UEFA EURO and a summer Olympic Games, which have a series of impacts on the transport. The overall size of UEFA EURO is more comparable to the Winter Olympic Games; the summer Olympic Games are potentially two to four times bigger.

The 2016 IPC Academy Campus is now officially underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Over the next two weeks it will welcome over 500 representatives from the Organising Committees of the forthcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in PyeongChang, Tokyo and Beijing alongside observers from Candidate Cities, other major events, International Federations, government entities and leading commercial partners.

Delivered by the IPC Academy - the educational division created in 2009 as a partnership between the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the World Academy of Sport (WAoS) – the 2016 IPC Academy Campus (4-17 September) is a unique event-based learning initiative that gives stakeholders of major sports events the chance to learn from their peers during the Paralympic Games. The IPC Academy Campus features an Observers’ Programme, Games Experience Programme, Inclusion Summit and a Closing Cocktail Reception.

The Observers’ Programme is now underway with observers already experiencing what goes on behind the scenes during a run through of the Opening Ceremony for the Paralympic Games. Over the next two weeks, representatives from the IPC and Rio 2016 will be sharing their knowledge and experience through a series of venue visits, roundtable discussions and operational observation visits facilitated by programme leads from the IPC Academy, utilising WAoS Event Learning Methodologies. From Logistics, Marketing, Technology, Media Experience & Operations though to Transport, Medical & Anti-Doping and Arrivals & Departures among other areas, delegates will be able to experience first-hand how the Paralympics Games works in operations mode and garner invaluable learnings for their own major events and organisations.

“I am looking forward to seeing all participants with all their different backgrounds come together to share their sports experiences but also to learn from each other and create a unique atmosphere in Rio de Janeiro,” says Xavier Gonzalez, Chief Executive Officer of the IPC.

“Different types of programme activities will ensure that diverse individual needs will be met and that the benefits of observation will be maximised. The variety of themes have also been significantly increased throughout the years. This is the third edition of Campus and it now includes 15 days of action and a total of 80 different activities for Event Organisers.”

The aim of the Observers’ Programme is for observers’ to:

•           Provide the opportunity to meet experienced OCOG Functional Managers, ‘client owners’ and venue general managers and to benefit from their expertise.

•           Allow the observation of Games functions, processes and staff in Games mode.

•           Understand the physical Games environment.

•           Benefit from commentary and analysis by Paralympic Games’ functional specialists (IPC Staff & Advisors).

•           Highlight Paralympic distinctive elements in the presentation and operations of the Paralympic Games.

The Observers Programme is tailored to the needs of Organising Committees of Olympic and Paralympic Games and other major event organisers. The Games Experience Programme meanwhile features event learnings for governments and those within the supply chain of major event delivery and the Inclusion Summit showcases the remarkable work that the Paralympics can create towards a more inclusive and harmonious society.

“Each of these programmes provides unique learning opportunities and it is within this context that we have created the IPC Academy Campus 2016 for us all to learn and share experiences throughout these Paralympic Games,” says Gonzalez.

Looking ahead to the Games themselves, he adds: “Rio will provide a perfect backdrop for the Games with its stunning landmarks, from Sugar Loaf Mountain to Christ the Redeemer, the Lago and much more. I also hope that the Brazilians will create a special atmosphere, cheering on their athletes in the city and in the venues.”

About IPC Academy Campus

The IPC Academy Campus is taking place in Rio de Janeiro between 4-17 September 2016.

Its Event Partners include the Adecco Group and the UK’s Department for International Trade. Its Media Partners are Sportcal (Intelligence Partner), Major Events International (Digest Partner), Around the Rings (Online Partner), Host City (Magazine Partner) and AXS Chat (Social Media Partner).

For further information about the the IPC Academy Campus, please visit www.ipcacademycampus.com or contact Claire Bennett, Project Coordinator, World Academy of Sport cbennett@worldacademysport.com. Tweets can be shared using: #CampusRio2016  and/or #inclusionsummit

Russia’s suitability to host major international sports events has been called into question by recent events, with the IOC having withdrawn its support for events in the country over evidence of organised doping. But the CEO of FIFA sponsor Adidas has given a positive appraisal of the benefits of staging the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

“Russia is a very sport enthusiastic population. A lot of sport activities happen here in Russia: we had the winter Olympics, we have the upcoming World Cup and Adidas is the brand which has been in longest connection with the Russian population, therefore there is a big opportunity for us which we want to grab,” Adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer told state broadcaster RT on a recent visit to Moscow.

Adidas has Official Partner, Supplier and Licensee rights for the FIFA World Cup and all FIFA events until 2030. As well as partnering with FIFA, Adidas sponsors Russia’s national football team and Moscow teams CSKA and Lokomotiv.

“Football is the biggest sport in the world and the World Cup will enhance this. But I think there is a huge opportunity for all the different sports, Russia is great in track and field, ice hockey, gymnastics, and I definitely think that this will further continue," said Hainer.

Russia’s economy has been hit by the collapse in oil price, with GDP contracting -3.7 per cent in 2015, according to World Bank figures. The budget for staging the World Cup has correspondingly been reduced by 4.4 per cent to US$9.5 billion, of which private investment accounts for 32 per cent.

But Hainer, who was in Moscow for the opening of a new Russia and CIS Adidas headquarters, said the World Cup will give the country a lift.

“A World Cup always leaves a huge legacy in a country, and I’m absolutely convinced this will happen here in Russia. I mean, just look at the newly built stadia, they will be much more modern, have much more comfort and they will also shift the demographics in the stadium, because we saw it in Germany after 2006, much more women coming into the stadium, much more kids, much more families, and this will definitely give a huge boost to football and to sport here in Russia.

“Of course there are some challenges at the moment in the economic development but this will be overcome and I think sport really will drive the whole mood in the country and the whole optimism of the people – therefore I am quite happy that the World Cup in 2018 is here in Russia.”

The 2018 FIFA World Cup takes place from 14 June to 15 July in the cities of Ekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Volgograd and Sochi. Adidas will be supplying the match balls, as it has done since 1970.

Simpleview, the US-based provider of digital strategy and technological sales and marketing solutions for destination marketing organisations (DMOs), has added a European office to address the needs of the company’s expanding international clientele. 

“We are excited about our business prospects in Europe and we also recognise the importance of establishing an office to serve our current clients in the region” said Rich Reasons, President of Simpleview. 

The new office in Oslo, Norway is the first to open outside the US for Simpleview, which has offices in Arizona, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and California.

The move will support the company’s growing customer base in Europe, which includes existing clients Prague Convention Bureau, The Hague Convention Bureau, Edinburgh Convention Bureau and Innovation Norway.

The new office will be led by Rolf Senstad as Simpleview’s General Manager in Europe. His first task will be to collaborate with European DMOs, Regional Tourist Boards (RTBs), National Tourist Boards (NTBs) and Convention Bureaus (CBs) to determine what technology, training, support and marketing tools they need to succeed.

“With Rolf leading the way, we will be able to identify the unique needs and requirements of European Convention Bureaus and Destination Marketing Organizations so we can continue to innovate and evolve our business models and industry best practices in the areas of sales, marketing, research, bidding, reporting and other mission critical disciplines,”  said Seasons.

Senstad previously worked with Innovation Norway as project leader when Simpleview was awarded a contract to deploy a Content Management System, Customer Relationship Management platform and supporting technologies for VisitNorway.com, a website that reaches more than 20 million visitors annually.

Simpleview provides client relationship management (CRM) and content management systems (CMS), website design, search marketing, revenue generation, and mobile technologies for destination marketing organisations.

Opening the European office will support the company’s growth worldwide. Of the more than 400 DMOs that Simpleview works with, more than 50 are outside the US, including Melbourne, Australia, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Macau, China, South Africa Tourism, Sarawak, Malaysia, Guadalajara, Mexico and Meet in Reykjavik.

For more information visit www.simpleviewinc.com

Ten international sports federations (IFs) have agreed to broadcast their events on the IOC’s new Olympic Channel. 35 events hosted in all regions of the world will be broadcast in 2016, ranging from Olympic qualifiers, world championships, world cups, grand prix and more.

Racket sports feature prominently on the schedule, which includes 18 badminton and six table tennis events. The other eight sports represented are basketball, fencing, canoe, ice hockey, shooting, triathlon, wrestling and archery.

“We have received excellent feedback from broadcasters on archery’s coverage at Rio 2016,” said Tom Dielen, Secretary General of World Archery.

“The Olympic Channel gives an opportunity to build on the wide exposure Rio offered, even though the Olympics are over.”

According to the International Sports Press Association, such collaborations aim to complement the IFs’ current broadcast and distribution arrangements.

The Odense 2016 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, for example, will also be broadcast on World Archery’s YouTube Channel and via selected broadcasters worldwide.

The Olympic Channel is working with the IFs to create innovative partnerships including event coverage, highlights, magazine shows, news coverage and original programming, with further announcements expected in the autumn.

“We look forward to working with our IF partners to help distribute their events and extend their reach to fans around the world. Placing a spotlight on Olympic sports and athletes outside of the Games themselves is one of the key priorities of the Olympic Channel,” said Mark Parkman, General Manager of the Olympic Channel.

“Launching the Olympic Channel with this event programming already in place ensures that fans will be able to continue their excitement of Rio and the Olympic Games all year long.”

The Olympic Channel is a new digital platform where fans can engage with Olympic sports all year round via mobile apps for Android and iOS devices and at olympicchannel.com. The channel launched on 21 August following the Closing Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (ONODC) and the International Centre for Sports Security (ICSS) have launched a new resource guide to help law enforcement and sports organisations better detect and investigate match-fixing and cases of sports-results manipulation.

“The joy that sports bring to billions of fans around the world can so easily be marred by crooked practices such as match-fixing,” writes Yuri Fedotov, Executive Director of the UNODC in the foreword to the guide. “The best way to tackle these threats is through a multi stakeholder approach.”

The Resource Guide on Good Practices in the Investigation of Match-Fixing was launched on Tuesday alongside a meeting of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on the Prevention of Corruption, attended by representatives of the 178 States parties to the United Nations Convention against corruption.

“The problem of match-fixing is such that it undermines integrity in sport with the significant illicit profits it generates allowing organized crime and corruption to thrive,” John Brandolino, UNODC Director for Treaty Affairs said at the launch of the resource guide.

“In addition, the investigative skills of both law enforcement agencies and sports organizations around the world which are needed to identify and apprehend those responsible, are relatively underdeveloped.

“The Resource Guide represents UNODC’s and ICSS’s efforts to address this shortage in skill among investigators in both law enforcement and sports organizations and to raise awareness among policy makers about the threat of match-fixing. It serves as an important tool for those seeking to understand the problem and to learn how to effectively investigate it.”

More than 40 experts contributed to the development of the resource guide, including officials from FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, INTERPOL, the European Commission, Hong Kong Jockey Club, World Snooker, Council of Europe, Ministries of Justice from France and the Republic of Korea, and EUROPOL.

“This handbook provides a comprehensive range of case studies, investigation techniques and approaches to combat match-fixing as well as providing valuable guidance on how to disrupt the international organized crime syndicates that now operate in sport,” said Mohammed Hanzab, President of ICSS.

“As the ICSS looks to build on this launch and work alongside the UNODC to develop a series of workshops and training courses in this area, this handbook will hopefully provide sport federations and law enforcement agencies with an important go-to-guide to detecting, investigating and prosecuting match-fixers and organized crime.”

The full Resource Guide can be read and downloaded on the UNODC website.