Anti-Corruption in Sports

France will support the International Sport Integrity Partnership: France is an active member of the International Partnership Against Corruption in Sports (IPACS) and participated in the launch of this multi-party initiative. It currently sits on two of the three IPACS task forces[1] and will pursue its efforts to support this initiative. France is also strengthening its anti-corruption frameworks in this field.

[1] A fourth task force was launched in 2021: https://www.ipacs.sport/news/launch-of-task-force-4

Completion Status:
⚠ Unqualified*

*commitment is not specific or/and not measurable

Commitment filtering:

Specific:yes

This commitment is specific because it identifies “corruption in sports” as a defined policy area.

Measurable: ❌ no
This commitment cannot be considered as measurable because it lacks clarity on how France aims to support the International Sport Integrity Partnership, beyond its current involvement. The commitment merely lists activities France was involved in before the IACC in 2018. It is also unclear what is meant by “strengthening its anti-corruption frameworks in this field” or how France aims to strengthen the framework.

The French 2020-2022 national anti-corruption plan included priority 3.3 – “Promoting the consideration of integrity in sports organisations and events”,[1] which calls for:

 

1. “systematic mainstreaming of corruption prevention and detection systems”:

–          “in legislation governing the organisation of major sport events”: Through the law relating to the organisation of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) was entrusted with a role, alongside the Court of Auditors and General Economic and Financial Control, in the supervision of systems for controlling the risk of breaches of probity established within the legal entities involved in the preparation, organisation, running and management of the games (Article 30).[2]

–          “in the bodies overseeing or taking part in event organisation: the model based on an ethics committee for each body implemented for the Paris Olympics in 2024 and the Rugby World Cup in 2023 will need to be evaluated” The AFA has set up a specific control plan. It carries out two types of check: 1) checks intended to assess the existence, quality and deployment of measures and procedures 2) ongoing checks, intended not only to audit anti-corruption systems, but also to support audited entities in the design, validation and deployment of measures and procedures.[3]

 

2. AFA audits of these bodies and all stakeholders”: “As of 31 December 2020, the AFA had initiated two in itinere audits, three audits of local governments that are managing projects related to the games and 12 audits of the leading companies in the construction sector. AFA will continue to audit the anti-corruption programmes of the entities involved in the Paris Olympic Games until 2024.”[4]

 

3. “Guidelines on integrity in sport, involving all public and private stakeholders, in order to provide guidance for the sports movement in the implementation of anti-corruption systems”. The AFA participated in the drafting of the AFNOR SPEC S50-020 standard, published in June 2021, relating to ethics and integrity in sport.[5]

However, these activities were not part of the IACC 2018 commitment and can therefore not be considered in the monitoring. In future commitments, the government should ensure it includes clear, measurable activities that will advance its anti-corruption work in relation to sport, via an approach similar to that for developing the 2020-2022 national anti-corruption plan.[6]

 

[1] AFA, National Multi-Year Plan to Fight Corruption 2020-2022, https://www.agence-francaise-anticorruption.gouv.fr/files/files/PlanVAnglais.pdf

[2] French Republic, LAW No. 2018-202 of 26 March 2018 relating to the organisation of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (1), https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000036742943/

[3] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Major sports events and corruption, https://www.unodc.org/res/safeguardingsport/grcs/section-10_html/SPORTS_CORRUPTION_2021_S10.pdf

[4] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Major sports events and corruption, https://www.unodc.org/res/safeguardingsport/grcs/section-10_html/SPORTS_CORRUPTION_2021_S10.pdf

[5] French Ministry in Charge of Sports, AFNOR SPEC S50-020, https://www.sports.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/afnorethiqueintegritesport_vf.pdf

[6] AFA, National Multi-Year Plan to Fight Corruption 2020-2022, https://www.agence-francaise-anticorruption.gouv.fr/files/files/PlanVAnglais.pdf



Last updated: 22 October 2022
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