With almost five months to go, a number of keynote speakers have already confirmed they are ready to engage in debates on the most sensitive issues in sports politics when Play the Game celebrates its 20th anniversary and 10th international conference from 26-30 November in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Play the Game is a unique forum for networking and professional exchange between 3-400 researchers, journalists, whistle-blowers, sports officials and people from the sports industry.
We invite you, too, to submit an abstract/storyline and give your contribution to a more informed sports debate on a number of vital issues for modern sport.
Deadline for sending your proposal is Monday 7 August. After that date, we will have a rolling review procedure, but cannot guarantee a relevant time slot.
One of the most burning issues is if and how the international anti-doping cooperation can continue after the recent doping scandals linked to mostly Russia and international athletics. Three of of the main investigators into the case will share their results and experience: investigative journalist Hajo Seppelt, CAS arbitrator and lawyer Richard H. McLaren, and former WADA President Richard W. Pound.
WADA itself sends its President, Sir Craig Reedie, who will speak on the opening day. He will be accompanied by Benjamin Cohen, WADA’s Director of the European Office and IF Relations. Thanks to an agreement with iNADO (Institute of National Anti-Doping Organisations), many international leading anti-doping experts are expected to Eindhoven.
But doping is not the only top issue. Other themes are the abuse of major sports events, the need to stop corruption in the sports organisations, the infiltration of crime in sport, prevention of sexual harassment and – a special expertise of the host city Eindhoven – how new technologies transform the sport we know today.
Former Brazilian national football captain and World Cup winner, Raí Oliveira, will speak on the impact the Rio Olympics and the FIFA World Cup had on his home country. Today he chairs Atletas pelo Brasil (Athletes for Brazil) which works for a more socially conscious sport community in Brazil.
Talking football, the question of FIFA reforms will be debated by the recently destituted chair of the adjucidatory body of FIFA’s ethics committee, the German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, and hopefully also FIFA representatives will join.
Overall, governance and the fight against corruption in crime will be a dominant theme, with experts like former WADA Director General David Howman, now chairing the integrity body of international athletics, IOC’s Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer Pâquerette Girard-Zappelli, investigative journalists Jens Weinreich, Grit Hartmann and many others.
Here are the thematic headlines under which you can take part:
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- Governance in sport: Change or be changed?
- The global fight against doping: Facing a breakthrough or a breakdown?
- Mega-events and public rights: An intensifying battle
- Disrupting sport: Winners and losers in the era of technology
- The sports market: A crime scene with impunity?
- Who will guard the guardians? Whistleblowers and media under pressure
- Sexual abuse: Is sport a special danger zone?
There is also an Open Forum in case you do not find a room for your preferred issue under the thematic umbrella.
You can find much more information on the themes, registration, prices at www.playthegame.org/2017.
