FINCIS, the Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports, is involved in an international research project of the Council of Europe Network of National Platforms against manipulation of sports competitions. The aim of the project is to find out how well manipulation of sports competitions is recognised as a phenomenon in sports and what kinds of observations sports stakeholders have made of activities suggesting manipulation.
The results of the survey will provide extensive international information on, among other things, the awareness of various sports stakeholders regarding manipulation of sports competitions, the amount and content of education and the effectiveness of current prevention measures. The survey is also used to clarify the wishes and needs for future education and guidance to prevent manipulation of sports competitions.
“Recent news show that the manipulation of sports competitions is not sufficiently identified, for example, in the case of betting violations. The study offers an opportunity to increase understanding of the phenomenon, identify development needs and strengthen the prevention of competition manipulation. We hope that the survey will be widely distributed by networks and stakeholders so that comprehensive information on the current situation of the phenomenon can be obtained and it can be addressed more effectively,” says Marko Kananen, Research Manager at FINCIS.
The target groups for the survey are:
- active athletes
- former athletes
- coaches
- athlete’s support persons
- employees of a club, sports federation or sports organisation
- referees
The survey will take approximately 5–10 minutes to complete and will be open for responses until 15 March 2026. The English-language survey is intended for non-Finnish-speaking sports stakeholders operating in Finland. Finnish-speaking sports stakeholders can respond to the survey in Finnish. The responses will be processed confidentially.
Link to the survey: Competition Manipulation Survey
Manipulation of sport competitions means an intentional arrangement, act or omission aimed at an improper alteration of the result or the course of a sport competition in order to remove the unpredictable nature of the aforementioned sport competition with a view to obtaining an undue advantage for oneself or for others. The Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions entered into force on 1 September 2019. The Convention has been signed and ratified by 15 countries. The Convention has been signed but not ratified by 28 countries and Finland belongs to this group. Established in 2016, the Council of Europe Network of National Platforms (the Group of Copenhagen) brings together 33 countries and promotes international co-operation to combat manipulation of sports competitions.
Additional information:
Susanna Sokka
FINCIS Communication Manager
tel. +358 40 740 7477