Sports Issues No Longer Taboo at Play the Game Conference -- ATRadio

(ATR) The 20th anniversary of the Play the Game conference will tackle the myriad of issues and challenges facing the Olympic Movement.

Founder and International director of Play the Game Jens Sejer Andersen tells Around the Rings that when the conference started in 1997, these overarching issues were considered taboo.

"In some ways, you could argue the challenge has really changed because the first years of our existence were really taboo," Andersen says on the latest edition of ATRadio. "People that attended our conference risked their reputation at the heart of the Olympic Movement.

"Today – especially after the FIFA corruption became widely known and match fixing became generally accepted – over that time, all these issues that were taboo are all over the international agenda."

Play the Game 2017 in Eindhoven, Netherlands will seek to find answers to the numerous challenges in the world of sport over its four-day schedule of keynote speeches and discussion panels.

From the doping crisis in Russia to vote-buying and protecting athletes from sexual harassment, leaders from anti-doping agencies and International Federations will debate with journalists and scholars on the best path forward in fighting these growing challenges.

"Play the Game’s challenge has changed so we can be more focused on how we find qualified solutions," Andersen tells ATR.

More than 400 delegates will attend the four-day conference beginning on Nov. 26 and hosted by the Van der Valk Hotel. Around the Rings will be on the scene for the conference.

Andersen reflects on the 20 year history of the event and provides a preview of what to expect next week on the latest edition of ATRadio. Listen below:

Written by Kevin Nutley

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