By Will Shand from Maputo, Mozambique; July 21, 2015: After endorsing the Sorbonne-ICSS Guiding Principles for Protecting the Integrity of Sports Competitions last year, Ministers of Youth and Sport from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) have signed a ground-breaking agreement with the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) this week to strengthen and enhance the integrity of sport across CPLP Member States.
Signed at the VIII Official Conference of Ministers of Sport and Youth of the CPLP, the agreement will see the ICSS and CPLP work across several projects to safeguard the integrity, safety and transparency of sport, as well as protect young players and promote the highest ethical standards in sport across all nine Member States in the CPLP region.
Underlining the ICSS’s work placing the issue of sport integrity high on the agenda of governments and senior policy-makers, the CPLP agreement provides a platform to continue working with one the world’s largest linguistic blocks and builds on the outcomes from this year’s Inter-Regional Sports Policy Summit, as well the work being currently being conducted with the governments of Portugal and Cape Verde in the area of sport integrity and youth protection.
As one of the first non-governmental institutions to sign with the CPLP, the ICSS will work closely with Ministries of Youth and Sport across CPLP Member States, including Portugal and Brazil, to outline a common agenda across a range of areas, including the fight against the manipulation of sport competitions, financial corruption and the protection of young players.
Additionally, the ICSS and its team of international experts will also exchange information, knowledge and best practices to protect the integrity of sport within the CPLP, as well as developing joint programmes to promote sport values within youth and protect children from possible illicit activities and misbehaviours in sport.
As part of the collaboration, the ICSS and CPLP will also create working groups in the areas of good governance and financial integrity, anti-match-fixing and protection of minors.
Speaking on the agreement, Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, CEO of ICSS Europe and Latin America said:
“I would like to thank the CPLP Sports Ministers for engaging the ICSS and I applaud them for the leadership and vision that they have shown in the fight to protect the integrity of sport.
“Home to more than 250 million people across the globe and hosting some of the largest major sporting events over the next few years, CPLP Member States collectively have a powerful voice on the international stage which will provide an important platform to develop a more coordinated international effort to safeguard the integrity of sport and its future.
“Whilst reinforcing the ICSS’s commitment to engaging with governments and senior policy-makers and placing the issue of sport integrity high on their agenda, this agreement with the CPLP will also ensure that athletes and young people participating in sport will be properly protected, as well as enhance best practice in the governance, financial integrity and ethics of sport throughout the CPLP.”
About the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP)
The CPLP was established in 1996. It is currently comprised of 9 Member States (Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, East-Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Equatorial, Mozambique, Portugal, St. Tomé e Princípe) covering 4 continents (Europe, Africa, America and Asia) and 4 Associate Observer countries (Japan, Turkey, Georgia and Namibia). Portuguese is the sixth language most spoken in the world.
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