PLAY FAIR CODE – ASSOCiation FOR PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY IN SPORT
Criminality in competition in general, and match-fixing in particular, are threatening to infiltrate the fundamental character of sport, as well as its credibility, fairness, and integrity. This negative trend represents a grave threat to sport as a whole.
Partner and expert in the fight against match-fixing and for integrity in sport
The Play Fair Code (Association for Integrity in Sport) is an initiative of the Austrian Ministry of Sport (BMKÖS), the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) and the Austrian Football League (ÖFBL) that was founded and institutionalized in 2012.
It is aimed at guaranteeing clean and manipulation-free competitions in coordination with Austria’s premier sports associations, athletes, coaches, supervisors, and club managers through prevention measures, awareness-raising, and training and education.
Three main pillars are covered by the Play Fair Code initiative:
Prevention
In specially developed training programs, the target group in question receives one-on-one instruction in relation to match-fixing and betting fraud as well as the proper conduct in such situations.Work is also done to create broad, general awareness of the problem of match-fixing.
Monitoring
The Play Fair Code understands monitoring to be analyzing and observing the course of play and results of matches. Monitoring, in combination with investigations by the police and the associations themselves, provides very efficient protection for athletes with the stated goal of keeping sport clean and free from manipulation by means of intervention or sanctions where necessary.
REPORTING OFFICE
The Play Fair Code and the independent ombudsman’s office set up specifically for this purpose have established themselves as the first point of contact and central reporting office for parties affected by match-fixing and advise them on how best to handle a risk situation and any suspicions. All information will be always treated confidentially and sensitively.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPERTISE
By the activities of the past 10 years, an Austrian national action plan against match-fixing could be implemented together with all partners.
Internationally, the Play Fair Code is a renowned expert partner for various organizations and sports programs (UEFA, IOC, INTERPOL, IIHF, EHF, Erasmus+ programs etc.
On the European stage, the Play Fair Code was/is involved in the following EU-funded Erasmus+ projects: European Rookie Cup (ERC), Fix the Fixing (FtF), Anti Match-Fixing Top Training (AMATT), Against Match Fixing (AMF), South Eastern European Countries for the Integrity of Football Clubs (SEE-I), Evidence-Based Prevention of Sporting-Related Match-Fixing (EPOSM) and Integrisport 3.
AWARDS
The Play Fair Code was awarded the European Fair Play Diploma 2014 for its efforts in the fight against match-fixing. The #NoManipulation campaign, supported by win2day and the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation, received a “Diploma of Recognition” from the European Fair Play Movement in November 2022.
