Using rugby's global reach to tackle betting corruption and doping in sport

With the Rugby World Cup kicking off last weekend, rugby fans here in the UK and across the world are already enjoying the feast of pulsating, high class sporting action that the tournament is providing, having already had their appetite whetted by an Ashes win, further success in athletics, a gold medal win in hockey and the return of the Premier League.

But, given the recent, high profile corruption and doping allegations surrounding a number of sports, notably track and field, how much work goes on behind the scenes to prevent further scandals breaking out that might tarnish the reputation of big sporting competitions as being fair and free of any malign influences?

In response to this important question, the Sport and Recreation Alliance, alongside CIPROS International, a security and risk management company, hosted an event in Parliament last week on the importance of athlete welfare in protecting the integrity of sport against the threat of corruption.

We heard from a number of speakers from a variety of sports bodies on the work they are doing to combat corruption through education and prevention, including Ben Rutherford from World Rugby, Ian Braid from the British Athletes Commission and Adam Brickell from the British Horseracing Authority.

Some of the key themes that emerged from these presentations included an emphasis on educating players on the dangers that exist in relation to betting and doping, the need for rigorous testing of players both in and out of competition and the importance of close monitoring of the betting markets.

Nicola Newman of UK Anti-Doping also spoke about the work her organisation does to build links with national governing bodies to educate athletes, particularly from a young age, and to instil the right values in young athletes. These values help to ensure that, if athletes ever do get into a difficult situation, such as getting into debt or being injured just before a big game or tournament, they are able to resist the temptation of cheating to win.

Also present at the event were representatives from the parliaments of other countries who are competing in the Parliamentary Rugby World Cup. Our international guests gave us an overview of the work their countries are doing to root out corruption in their big sporting competitions. This was very interesting and gave a good overview of not only the good practice that countries across the world are sharing to combat doping and betting corruption, such as constantly educating young players and rigorous testing of athletes, but also what they do differently, such as banning betting adverts during sporting events that are televised in Australia.

We then finished off with a Q&A panel discussion with all the speakers plus Professor David Gerrard, Anti-Doping Commissioner at the Rugby World Cup and Chris Watts from the England and Wales Cricket Board anti-corruption team to discuss various countries’ efforts to prevent corruption.

Overall, the event was a great success and was very informative, not only about what sporting governing bodies here in the UK are doing to fight corruption in sport but also what other countries are doing, what we could learn from them, and what they can learn from us. It is obvious that there is further work to do – especially with the ever-multiplying threats from people trying to ensnare players into taking performance enhancing drugs or becoming involved in betting corruption – but it is reassuring to see that the commitment is there to fight and, hopefully, defeat these problems.

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