That was the demand from 300 journalists, academics and sport leaders from around 45 countries who participated in the fourth edition of the world communication conference on sport and society, Play the Game, in Copenhagen from 6-10 November 2005. Concluding five days of discussion on governance in sport, participants adopted the Play the Game Statement on Integrity and Anti-Corruption in Sport which contains a set of general principles for countering corruption in sport and sport management.

Fighting corruption in sport has become increasingly urgent and it is important that academics join too. Sport and sport management have become perfect breeding grounds for corruption - so much so that according to a Special Eurobarometer published by the European Commission in November 2004, 41 per cent of the citizens in EU worry about the level of corruption in sport and its negative impact on the social role of sport.

Such stories formed the backdrop for participants in the Play the Game conference who worked on developing the Play the Game Statement on Integrity and Anti-Corruption in Sport with assistance from Transparency International, the global anti-corruption coalition.

The statement calls on national sports associations to adopt a strict zero tolerance policy against all forms of corruption and break the silence that often surrounds the issue of corruption. The associations should speak out publicly against corruption and and adopt codes of conduct which hold those to account who abuse their positions of power for private gain. National associations should also assert their rights in their respective international organisations to insist on good governance and question dubious practices by international sports leaders.

The statements also calls on national governments to be more effective in the fight against corruption in sport. The perception in sport is that while many governments have signed international anti-corruption conventions and may have introduced anti-corruption laws, few are taking genuine action to prevent corrruption.

Effective action by governments include holding to account those government officials who directly or indirectly are involved in sport corruption. Governments should also co-operate with the sport sector to effectively i mplement national anti-corruption initiatives.

A third actor called on in the statement is the media. Traditionally, the word corruption is closely linked to our understanding of the role of journalism in society. As Andrew Jennings – the British reporter who has exposed corruption in the Olympic Committee and FIFA – polemically asked at Play the Game: “Can you imagine FIFA investigating FIFA? No. That’s our job. Let’s get on with it.”

Journalists should get on with it. And the statement recommends that national and international media organisations adopt policies that ensure coverage of social issues in sport. Media organisations should also educate journalists in sport corruption and encourage them to investigate allegations of corruption in national and international sports organisations.

As a regime against corruption, journalism is, however, very vulnerable. There are many stakeholders in the world of sport and not all of them take kindly to journalistic whistleblowers. Just ask the Greek sports editor Filippos Syrigos who was brutally attacked in Athens in October 2004 and narrowly escaped death. He believes that the attack is related to his critical journalism on sports issues but so far the police has come up empty handed.

Or ask the former Burmese sports editor, Zaw Thet Htwe. His magazine First Eleven raised questions about what had happened to a FIFA development grant, and he was subsequently arrested, tried for high treason and sentenced to death. He was later pardoned but no longer works as a sports journalist.

Not addressed directly in the statement is the role of academics. It is nevertheless a very important one as it is the academic world that can deliver the research and the training necessary to build a sustainable culture of counter-corruption for society in general and sport in particular.

Play the Game is interested in learning about all academic projects in the area of sport corruption to help build networks between researchers, offer expertise and contacts to researchers, and help disseminate research findings. Please contact director Jens Sejer Andersen at jens@playthegame.org

The Play the Game Statement on Integrity and Anti-Corruption in Sport is available at Play the Game's website: www.playthegame.org