The Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports (FINCIS), established today, will be responsible for advocating for ethical principles in Finnish sport, carrying out antidoping activities and preventing match-fixing and spectator violence, among other things. In an extraordinary general meeting held today, the members of the Finnish Antidoping Agency FINADA accepted amendments to the rules of the Agency. As a result of the amendments, the duties of the Agency were extended and the name of the organisation was changed.
The name “Finnish Antidoping Agency FINADA” will still be used as an auxiliary name of the new organisation.
FINCIS will be responsible for the practical implementation of the Council of Europe’s Anti-Doping Convention, the UNESCO International Convention Against Doping in Sport, the Council of Europe’s Convention on Spectator Violence, and the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions. The establishment of FINCIS is continuation to the activities of the advisory board on ethical issues in sports appointed by the Minister of Education and Culture, Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, on 18 November 2015.
According to FINCIS Chair, Pekka Ilmivalta, FINADA accepts its new duties and the organisational change with great expectations. As the new organisation will be dealing with all ethical issues and as cooperation with the authorities will be further developed, antidoping activities will also become more effective, with respect to investigation methods, for instance. The establishment of FINCIS will sharpen the focus on ethical issues in sport and emphasise the responsibility of all members of the Finnish sport family for ensuring fair play.
“We will concentrate on creating a strategy and getting the new functions up and running as quickly as possible. First, we will make our team stronger and hire a new secretary general for the organisation. Pirjo Ruutu, a long-time Secretary General for FINADA, has made a splendid national and international career in antidoping and has also received international acclaim for her active involvement. It is now time to pass the baton. Ruutu will familiarise the new secretary general with the job and will then continue in special duties, such as international positions of trust, and will retire in 2017,” Ilmivalta says.
FINCIS is a non-profit organisation that deals with ethics in sport in Finland and collaborates with international organisations. In the future, FINCIS’s agenda may include other ethics-related matters as well—in addition to the above-mentioned antidoping activities and prevention of match-fixing and spectator violence. The organisation receives its funding from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, as well as other partners. FINCIS has five member organisations: The Finnish Olympic Committee, the Finnish Paralympic Committee, the Finnish Society of Sports Medicine, the Finnish Sports Confederation (Valo) and the State of Finland, represented by the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Further information:
Pekka Ilmivalta
Chair, FINCIS
Tel. +358 50 596 7906