Alerts regarding potential manipulations in the realm of sports have been steadily increasing globally, spanning all sports and continents. However, the rate of disciplinary and criminal sanctions continues to lag behind, largely due to the complexities of such illicit operations, and the ensuing necessary investigations and prosecutions.

The Council of Europe through a comprehensive and innovative programme developed with the support of UEFA aims at reinforcing the competencies and expertise of all those who have a key role to play in implementing the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions. The "Tackling Competitions Manipulation in Sport (TCMS)” education programme held its second and last session in Strasbourg on 25 to 28 March 2024. 

Attendees included representatives of the National Platforms and members of the Group of Copenhagen, civil servants from State Parties to the Macolin Convention, members of the MARS network (Magistrates/Prosecutors Responsible for Sports) thus bringing together participants from a broad variety of backgrounds, such as law enforcement agencies, judicial bodies, ministries, and gambling regulation authorities.

The programme aims at ensuring a deep understanding of the sports competitions manipulation phenomenon by examining the broader context, the stakeholders, current trends, methods of detection and techniques for analysing alerts. It emphasised the necessary skills to investigate and, where applicable, initiate the prosecution of instances of competitions manipulation in any sport by fostering national and international collaboration.