Play the Game

Why are we sharing a photo of empty lunch plates and a messy kitchen?🍽 Because it’s a snapshot from earlier this week when we had the pleasure of welcoming our new colleague, Layne Vandenberg🙏 Layne works remotely from Italy but visited our Aarhus office to say hello and collaborate on the Clearing Sport project - more on that soon!💥 It was great to finally meet in person, and we look forward to seeing her again! Stay tuned by following us on social media and subscribing to our newsletter (link in comments)👇 Exciting updates are on the way!💡

Professional athletes are 4️⃣ times more likely to develop a gambling addiction than the general population! In a new comment, Corentin Segalen, coordinator of the French National platform against sports manipulation, explains that: 👉 athletes often operate in environments where isolation is frequent, where gambling can appear as a form of escape or entertainment. 👉  their competitive mindset, which is an essential trait for their career, can backfire. 👉 they are exposed to omnipresent advertising by sports betting operators, which normalises the practice and makes it highly accessible. But gambling addiction is not merely a personal issue; 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡-𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠, he argues. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ❓ The rise in gambling addiction amongst athletes needs to be countered by actions by authorities, betting companies, and sports organisations, argues Corentin Segalen. He therefore proposes a number of actions and solutions 👇 1️⃣ Public authorities should set up tailored prevention and support 2️⃣ Sports organisations should strengthen the prohibition for athletes to bet on their own sports 3️⃣ The betting industry should limit betting commercials Read the full comment (link in the comments) 👇

If you want to be president or vice-president of WADA, your application should be in by Friday 31 January 2025 📧 ⛔ But you might be in for a disappointment! Although the call for candidates is open in principle, the playbook for the election is written so it is difficult to run against the incumbent president Witold Bank and vice-president Yang Yang who are both seeking re-election despite widespread dissatisfaction with their management amongst European stakeholders and the US. Journalist Lars Jørgensen explains the election process in this article for Play the Game. 👉 To stand for election, you must document support from at least one WADA Foundation Board member among the public authorities and one from the Olympic side. However, the Olympic movement has already decided to cast their vote for Banka and Yang ✔ Richard Pound, the founding president of WADA, says: “I would be very surprised if other candidates were to apply.” Read the full article (link in the comments) 👇

"𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲❗" In a comment piece for Play the Game, Kim Shore, a safe sport advocate, takes a deep dive into the culture of sport to understand why so many athletes feel they have been broken physically, psychologically and spiritually by sport ⛔   Dehumanisation is a concept that describes many of the dynamics at play in sport, she argues and wonders why it is so difficult for governments and sports organisations to involve survivors of abuse in finding ways to address the problem.   ”𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 2025 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺?” Read the comment piece (link in comments) 👇

💥 Registration for Play the Game 2025 is now open 💥   On 5-8 October 2025, Play the Game will again open the doors for a conference that connects academics, journalists, and other stakeholders in sport to share research insights and debate key issues in international sport such as:   ❗ Geopolitics ❗ Corruption and crime ❗ Abuse and harassment ❗ Illegal gambling and match-fixing ❗ Climate change and sustainability ❗ Governance ❗ Journalism ❗ Inclusion and diversity ❗ Human rights   Registration for the conference is open, so sign up now at the special early bird rate and join us in Tampere, Finland, this autumn.   Read more about prices and how to register via the link in the comments 👇   SHARE YOUR IDEAS 💡   Work on the main conference themes is well underway, but we still need your help and expertise!   🙋♀️ Do you have a suggestion for an interesting speaker?   Tag the person in the comments below or send their name to Stanis Elsborg, head of Play the Game, at stanis@playthegame.org 📧

Help shape the programme for Play the Game 2025 🙌   Yesterday, members of the programme committee for Play the Game 2025 met for the first time to come up with ideas for the main themes for the programme of the conference 💡💥   “𝘐𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥,” says Stanis Elsborg, head of Play the Game.    SHARE YOUR IDEAS 🙌   Over the next week, Play the Game will take a closer look at all the ideas and suggestions and select the main themes for Play the Game 2025. But there is still time for you to contribute!   💡 Which themes do you think Play the Game 2025 should address?   💡 Do you have a suggestion for an interesting speaker?   💡 Do you know of an interesting case we should look into? Let us know in the comments or send them directly to Stanis Elsborg at stanis@playthegame.org 👇

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 Language matters, argues Kim Shore, a leading safe sport advocate in Canada who co-founded the first survivor-led advocacy organisation for Canadian gymnasts. In a personal quest to understand the toxic culture of sports, she uncovers how dehumanisation is an apt word to describe what happens to many athletes: ”𝘞𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴,” she points out. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵. 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘨𝘺𝘯𝘺, 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥.” Read the full comment by Kim Shore (link in the comments 👇)

💥 A new group of academics, journalists and other experts in sport are ready to advise on themes and speakers for Play the Game 2025 💥   The programme committee for Play the Game 2025 is now set! 🤝   "We are excited to announce this year’s programme committee and look forward to collaborating with them in the months ahead,” says Stanis Elsborg, head of Play the Game.   The members represent a broad spectrum of experience and knowledge within the field of sport, and their contributions will be essential in shaping the topics that will be addressed at the conference and in ensuring a diversity of voices and perspectives 📣   “Their insights help us identify key themes, design innovative session formats, recommend engaging speakers, and ensure that Play the Game continues to be a leading platform for dialogue and debate on some of the most pressing issues in the world of sport," says Stanis Elsborg.   👉 Read more about the members of the programme committee (link in the comments)   SHARE YOUR IDEAS 💡   Which themes do you think Play the Game 2025 should address❓ Do you have a suggestion for an interesting speaker❓ Or do you know of an interesting case we should look into❓   Let us know in the comments or send them directly to Stanis Elsborg at stanis@playthegame.org 👇

💊 The pill that contaminated anti-doping worldwide Trust in global anti-doping efforts is under threat❗ Last week, the U.S. government withheld $3.6M from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), citing dissatisfaction with its handling of a high-profile doping case involving Chinese swimmers. In Norway, former WADA vice president and current MP Linda Hofstad Helleland echoed this call, urging her government to suspend funding until significant reforms are made🚨   𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟: In April 2024, The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD revealed that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in January 2021. Despite the violations, no sanctions were imposed and the case kept secret. Some of these swimmers went on to compete - and win medals - at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. WADA accepted CHINADA’s explanation of “food contamination” without launching an independent appeal, sparking widespread criticism and accusations of a cover-up🚨   At Play the Game, we’ve been following this case closely. 💬 Lars Jørgensen explores the broader implications in “𝘞𝘈𝘋𝘈 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘜𝘚𝘈𝘋𝘈 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪-𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨”. 🔗 In his comment piece in July, Play the Game’s senior advisor Jens Sejer Andersen highlighted that the Chinese swimming case revealed a dangerous shift in WADA’s culture: from 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 to 𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. He called on democratic governments to step up and renew their commitment to anti-doping governance📣   𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞? 🛡️ Trust in the global anti-doping system 🤝 Fair treatment for athletes worldwide 🏛️ The future of WADA as a credible, transparent institution   (Links in comments 👇)

Saudi Arabia has grandiose plans for the stadiums that will host matches during the 2034 World Cup in football, but FIFA appears unconcerned about the climate impact of the massive construction projects underway ♻   A new article by Andy Brown, Philippe Auclair, Jack Kerr, samindra kunti, and Steve Menary shows how ⬇ FIFA lowered the requirements for bidding from 7 to only 4 existing stadiums before Saudi Arabia’s bid 🏗 the Saudi bid proposes 15 stadiums out of which 11 are not yet built 👷♂️ 3 of the 4 existing stadiums in the Saudi bid require extensive refurbishment ⛔ one existing stadium will be demolished and rebuilt   There are concerns that the many stadiums with 45,000+ seats will end up empty and unused after the World Cup even if some will be homes for Saudi Pro League teams.   FIFA’s evaluation of the Saudi bid does not examine whether the stadiums will be fully utilised beyond the 2034 World Cup but currently only four Saudi Pro League football teams average above 10,000 spectators per game.   In the 2023/4 season, the average attendance for the Saudi Pro League was just over 8,000 per game. Read the full article (link in the comments) 👇