PROJECT

Training on Protected Reporting System for Professional and Grassroots Sport (T-PREG), is a 30-month-international project funded by the European Commission through its Erasmus+ Sport Program. The key objective is to introduce, in a structured way, the use of protected reporting systems in the anti-match fixing policies and actions of sport bodies and institutions, not on only for reporting in itself, but also as vehicle for changing approaches to prevention, governance and information sharing.

The project aims to assess existing reporting systems, to collect evidences of sport actors about attitudes and perception on misbehaviours within the world of sports, while establish best practices and conduct training to create better protection for whistle-blowers.

The project is coordinated by the Center for International Studies (CEI-IUL) of the Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL) in partnership and developed in partnership with institutions of Italy (Catholic University of Milano, Italian Olympic Committee and Ministry of Sports), Spain (Autonomous University of Madrid), Belgium (KU Leuven University and ESSA - Sports Betting Integrity); Slovenia (Transparency International Slovenia); and Portugal (Olympic Committee of Portugal and Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth).

T-PREG is structured in two parts: a) fieldwork and collection of empirical evidence (qualitative and quantitative) and b) the creation of education and prevention tools to develop training programmes for professional and amateur sports managers and players.

WHY THIS PROJECT?

The match-fixing phenomenon is becoming more and more relevant and widespread at professional and youth level. It Is disrupting the spirit of sport itself and seriously jeopardizing its social role and economic dimension. Despite a growing awareness and commitment to the problem, sport organizations and institutions related to sport are relatively unable, so far, to build autonomously appropriate policies to prevent and fight match-fixing through the use of tailored and efficiently conceived/implemented protected reporting systems.

In the framework of the ongoing private and public policies and actions against match-fixing, the rationale of this proposal is to strengthen significantly their effectiveness through a strong focus on training/information sharing related to a proper “competent and tailored” implementation/use of the different possible models of protected reporting system.

• There is a growing awareness that protected reporting systems are very relevant in disrupting the omerta and the conspiracy of silence which is the main obstacle to contrast the phenomenon
• There is also growing evidence that the cost-benefit ratio of these tools is very convenient;
• The diffusion and use of these tools is still very limited in Europe, despite the growing recommendation to protect potential whistle-blowers (see for instance the Macolin Convention: Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions art. 7.2.c);
• There are some European practices which can start being reference models, both for their successes and their unsuccess;
• The Italian Government Office for Sport has conceived and designed an advanced platform for protected reporting, it will provide a solid experimentation base;
• This typology of instrument has proven to be very functional to facilitate strong private-public cooperation and an effective interaction/synergy among the different actors and stakeholders involved in the anti-match-fixing process.