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Webinar: "The National Platform for Sport Integrity (EPATHLA) and its implementation framework. Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct of Sports Federations"
During the webinar organized by the NTA in collaboration with the General Secretariat of Sports on the occasion of the National Platform for Sport Integrity (EPATHLA) launch, more than 150 members of sports federations and associations, regulatory authorities, as well as professionals from the public and private sector, had the opportunity to be informed about the platform’s operation, the necessity of recording or updating the Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct, as well as the role of Integrity Officer within the sports federations.
The NTA is one of the five founding members of the EPATHLA, established in the context of the Council of Europe's Macolin Convention’s implementation, and it provides an opportunity for ambitious reforms in the field of sports as well as a useful tool for enhancing transparency and preventing manipulation of sports events.
The Deputy Minister of Culture and Sport Mr. Lefteris Avgenakis stressed the need to "radically fight the manipulation of sports games, which is a team sport, and everyone should join forces to protect sport", referring in detail to the part of the sports reform concerning the ratification of the Macolin Convention and the establishment of the National Platform for Sport Integrity/ EPATHLA, noting among other things, that "we have created an integrated structure with clear responsibilities, roles and objectives. And most importantly, at the core of the platform, for the first time, there is productive cooperation between the General Secretariat of Sports and the institutional bodies”.
The NTA’s Governor Mr. Angelos Binis, referred to the special importance and priority that the Authority gives on the design and implementation of targeted and innovative actions that support the significant efforts made by the political leadership and the executives of the Deputy Ministry of Sports for the overall reorganisation of the sports ecosystem, with emphasis on strengthening good and responsible governance and accountability to the sports community’s members.
Under the motto "We join forces, we protect sports", Mr. George Mavrotas, the General Secretary of Sport, presented the EPATHLA’s structure and operation, which aims to develop cooperation in the field of prevention (information, awareness, education) and repression (analysis, investigation, prosecution) in order to deal with cases of sports’ manipulation, both nationally and internationally. He stated: "Despite the widespread belief that the sports’ manipulation is only associated with betting, in reality it is associated with anything that falsifies the sports result, whether it concerns the acquisition of a financial or competitive advantage".
Mrs. Panagiota Xylaki, Legal Expert and Coordinator of the Working Group for the Evaluation of EPATHLA reports, presented the evaluation process for reports, which are submitted through the EPATHLA website. A team, including members of the General Secretariat of Sports, the NTA, the Hellenic Gaming Commission and the Hellenic Police, evaluates the reports based on specific criteria. Depending on their severity, the findings are forwarded to the competent authorities (federations, sports prosecutor, Hellenic Policy) for further investigation.
The President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Mr. Spyros Capralos, said that "The Hellenic Olympic Committee, recognising the danger that the sports manipulation poses to the sport’s integrity, included in its New Statute, the monitoring of Code’s implementation in our country and the information/awareness of athletes and sports federations - members. In addition, as he noted, "there is an explicit reference to the jurisdiction of the Ethics, Integrity and Compliance Commission to deal with violation cases of International Olympic Committee Code for the prevention of sports manipulation, following an anonymous complaint or a decision of the Plenary Session or ex officio. With this provision, the International Olympic Committee ensures that, in the event that a violation of the Code is proven, the offender will not be able to avoid sanctions by simply switching to another match, sport or factional role. The Hellenic Olympic Committee has also already informed its Member Sports Federations of the mandatory application of the Code in their sport and has provided them with the relevant International Olympic Committee’s guidelines translated into Greek”.
Mr. Evangelos Alexandrakis, Head of Relations with National Olympic Committees and Prevention of Match – Fixing Unit, referred to the Olympic Movement's section on the prevention of manipulated games, which is based on three pillars: a) the adoption of relevant regulations by sports organisations (in line with the Olympic Movement's Code for the Prevention of Manipulated Games), b) the development of awareness raising actions, and c) case management. He also noted that the Olympic Movement Department works closely with the National Olympic Committees to support them in developing relevant actions.
Mrs. Maria Konstantinidou, Head of the NTA General Directorate for Integrity and Accountability, spoke about her experience in drafting Codes of Ethics & Conduct and the importance of their implementation in sports federations because, as she noted, "in the field of sport more than any other area, a huge social work is carried out, as sports helps youth to form a character with a deep sense of communication and cooperation”.
The audience that attended the event had the opportunity to participate in an online voting through the online via the platform "Mentimeter" with the results feeding an interesting exchange of views between the speakers, demonstrating the need for EPATHLA platform’s implementation.
The discussion was moderated by Argyro (Roula) Stefanaki, journalist, Head of the Press and Public Relations Department of the General Secretariat of Sports.
You can watch the event following the link: