By UNODC

The FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games are landmark events on the sporting calendar – historic competitions that are embraced around the world and that showcase the power of sport as an inspiring, unifying force. It is important that they are celebrated, and that they are protected from corruption. Corruption poses a serious threat to sport, putting at risk its capacity to positively contribute to society and lives. Since the Italian football team of Rossi and Zoff triumphed in Madrid and American sprinter Carl Lewis ran into the history books in Los Angeles, sport has undergone far reaching changes. Globalization, a huge influx of money at the top level of professional sport, the rapid growth of legal and illegal betting and marked technological advances have transformed the way sport is played and consumed. These factors have also had a major impact on corruption in sport, both in terms of its scale and its forms. These evolutions have made sports more vulnerable to corruption. Governments, organizations and other stakeholders are taking steps to better protect sport, but in many ways this journey is only in its early stages. This is why, since 2017, the UNODC Programme on Safeguarding Sport from Corruption and Economic Crime has been supporting governments, sports organizations and other stakeholders in their efforts to protect sports against corruption in its many forms. At the forefront of this work is the use of the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument – the United Nations Convention against Corruption. One of the areas in which this work is focused is major sports events. The exposure of corruption surrounding these types of events in recent times needs little reiteration, but it is a reminder of the work to be done and of the importance of strengthening the fight against corruption in sport. This is why detecting and preventing corruption in relation to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, preparation for which is getting under way in Canada, Mexico and the United States of America, is critical. First and foremost, these competitions are blue-ribbon events, the integrity of which must be fully protected, but they also represent a timely opportunity to showcase how this anti corruption action can be delivered. They are a chance to demonstrate how UNODC and its partners, and how greater international, regional, national and local cooperation between government authorities, sports organizations, anti corruption agencies and other key stakeholders, can help combat corruption linked to major sports events, and in sport in general. This is the focus of the present report – an examination of the corruption-related risks faced by the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the presentation of a clear road map of how these threats can be met, so that these events, and future ones, are better safeguarded against corruption and that their capacity to bring people together, to forge new relationships and create lasting legacies remains undiminished.

Tenth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.. 2024. 28p.