Working Group Drives Efforts to Combat Corruption in Sports and Hospitality

(10 November 2012, Brasilia) – While almost no topic captures the attention of millions of people around the world like sports does, measures must be put in place to ensure that high-profile sporting events and related business opportunities are not tainted by corruption. This was the message delivered by a division of the Global Compact’s Working Group on the 10th Principle Against Corruption which seeks to enhance transparency and accountability in the sponsorship and hospitality of major athletic events and organizations.

The efforts of the multi-stakeholder Sub-Working Group on Sport Sponsoring and Sport-Related Hospitality were presented as part of the 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference 2012 in Brasilia, during which more than 1,900 people from 140 countries gathered to discuss the effects of and solutions to corruption across political, financial, athletic, educational and corporate spheres.

As a premium is often placed on access to sporting events, they have become a popular platform to gain public visibility and attract a large amount of resources. The opportunity for business to benefit from involvement in sporting events means that there is also the potential for corruption. Often there is a lack of awareness of the risks faced by business, even if the sponsoring process is conducted transparently but the sponsored entity behaves corruptly.

Because there is not yet clear guidance in this area, the sub-working group is currently developing comprehensive and internationally-acknowledged guidelines that will provide a comprehensive approach for businesses to mitigate these risks by treating athletic teams, professional athletes and sports federations in the same manner as other entities within the supply chain.

“Due to the prestige linked to high-profile sporting events, teams and athletes, sports sponsorship is sometimes treated as ‘outside the rules’,” said Olajobi Makinwa, Head of Transparency and Anti-Corruption for the UN Global Compact. “A global framework to guide companies on the associated risks will go a long way in deterring corruption within companies as well as the sports and sport-related hospitality industries.”

The draft guidance will be tested through a global public consultation process. It is expected that the final guidance will be delivered in the second half of 2013.

Learn more about the Global Compact’s10th Principle Against Corruption and the Working Group on the 10th Principle Against Corruption.

Contact

Ms. Olajobi Makinwa
Head, Transparency & Anti-Corruption
UN Global Compact
makinwa@un.org