Integrity & sport events (2016)

Sport events are appreciated as important sources of inspiration and positive energy. Yet, for a growing number of people, the negative aspects of sport events have come to cast a shadow over sport events as a positive experience. Questions and doubts have been raised about the transparency and good governance of the different processes surrounding sport events as well as the integrity of the actors involved. During The Netherlands presidency of the European Union, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports put integrity in sport at the centre of their agenda. The aim of this report, commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, is to shed light on integrity developments; to show how issues of integrity have altered people’s attitudes towards sport events; and to address how governments and the EU can use their resources to restore faith in the integrity of major and mega sport events. In order to do so, the authors reviewed the scientific literature on integrity and sport events and analysed a number of recent cases.