The Council of Europe’s operational project of the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, CETS 215, Keep Crime Out of Sport Plus 2018-2020, (KCOOS+), organised a regional seminar focusing on the Pacific countries’ co-operation on 8-9 April in Nadi, Fiji, in collaboration with the Fijian Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. The seminar was opened with an official ceremony by Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations and Youth and Sports, Honourable Parveen Kumar Bala followed by a welcome to the seven participating countries by Permanent Secretary for Sport, Mr. Jone Maritimo Nemane. Mr. Peter Mazey, Executive Chairman Fiji National Sports Commission set the tone for the seminar, highlighting the importance of sports manipulations and crime through sport in the Pacific and the need for regional co-operation.
The seminar involved public and private stakeholders from ministries, law enforcement, the sport movement and betting stakeholders from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga. The seminar proposed and welcomed a common approach to defining manipulations of sports competitions, as per the Macolin Convention, including implementation of the Convention’s co-operation and coordination structures, notably the national platforms and relevant criminal legislation. This was achieved through identification of activities in the region and possibilities for optimizing regional co-operation through intense panel discussions, roundtables and working groups. The participants engaged in lively discussions and workshops, from the perspective of the publication of the Concept on the manipulation of sports competitions, published by the Council of Europe.
The event was timely, on the heels of a boxing manipulations scandal in Fiji, following the recent signature of the Macolin Convention by Australia and in preparation of the next Pacific Games in Samoa that will be preceded by a Ministers for Sports meeting in July 2019. It is also timely as the Convention will be entering into force by summer 2019 as the only legally binding, international instrument specific to the manipulation of sports competitions.
The seminar was facilitated by interventions and exchanges with FIFA integrity manager, François Braun, Global Lotteries Monitoring Systems (GLMS) integrity expert, Rupert Bolingbroke and Policy officer and lawyer at the Portuguese state secretariat for Sport, Pedro Carvalho. Both international organisations fully support the Convention and its activities, while Portugal has ratified the Convention. Regional experience and expertise was also shared by recent signatories, Australia, through their National Rugby league, Basketball Australia and the National platform.
Next steps are promising, with concrete interest in signing the Convention, bringing legislative measures in line and engaging in regional working groups over the crucial coming few months.
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