IFMA representatives were in attendance at the third edition of the International Forum for Sports Integrity (IFSI) held recently at the Olympic House in Lausanne SUI which brought together key leaders from sports and international organisations.

More than 100 stakeholders representing the Olympic Movement, intergovernmental agencies such as the Council of Europe, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), INTERPOL* and EUROPOL**, as well as sports betting operators, national regulating authorities, academics and other experts met at the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s new headquarters, Olympic House. All of the participants reaffirmed their determination to protect clean athletes and fair competition. IFMA was represented by the Director Charissa Tynan and Chair of Athletes Commission Janice Lyn.

During the opening speech, IOC President Thomas Bach said: “This gathering today reflects the very nature of the IFSI, which is cooperation and partnership. We are a community which shares a common goal to protect competitions from manipulation and from related corruption.”

At the Forum, a new publication, “IOC-UNODC Reporting Mechanisms in Sport: A Practical Guide for Development and Implementation”, was launched. The guide provides information on good practice for sports organisations with regard to receiving and handling reports of wrongdoing, including competition manipulation, harassment, doping and corruption.

The Forum later heard first-hand testimonials from four-time Olympian hammer thrower Jennifer Dahlgren. Dahlgren acts as an ambassador for the “Believe in Sport” campaign, led by the Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions (OM Unit PMC).

Launched last year, the “Believe in Sport” campaign aims to raise awareness about the threat of competition manipulation among athletes, coaches and officials. It will again be activated at the Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020 in January and, in collaboration with the various Olympic International Federations (IFs), in the run-up to and during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.