EHF at EU meeting on integrity of sport

On 6 September 2011 the European Handball Federation was present at the High Level Consultations Meeting on the integrity of sport organised in Gdańsk under the Polish Presidency of the EU.

The meeting involved representatives of several EU Member States and representatives of the European Sports Movement.

Representing the EHF, President Tor Lian shared the common view and firm opinion that it was essential to take rapid and concrete steps to tackle the growing threat of match-fixing in sport.

In particular, the strong conviction of the meeting was that:

• There is political will to introduce a specific criminal offence in the legal systems of all EU Member States to tackle the problem of match-fixing.

• There should be a close cooperation and partnership between public authorities and sports authorities to deal with this problem.

• Education policy has a key role to play in preventing match-fixing and corruption in sport.

• Good governance is also an essential component in the fight against match-fixing.

• Support was expressed for the recognition of the Intellectual Property Rights of sports bodies in the context of betting.

"This initial meeting has illuminated an area of discussion, important to the future development of the sport of handball. It is of great importance for the European Handball Federation to be part of this from the outset in order to retain our sporting integrity," said EHF President Tor Lian.