May 19 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) has signed a co-operation agreement with the Benfica Foundation, the non-profit organisation that leads on the Portuguese club’s social programmes.
The agreement sets out core areas of cooperation and common objectives that both organisations will be working on over the next three years with the objective of promoting greater integrity, sustainability and social responsibility in sport and the wider industry.
The agreement was formalised in Lisbon yesterday by SIGA’s Global CEO, Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, and Benfica Foundation’s Executive President, Carlos Móia.
“Today, Sport acknowledges its responsibilities beyond the field of play. The Benfica Foundation and the memorandum of understanding we have just signed are prime examples of that…prioritising Sport Integrity and actively promoting human rights, sustainability and other pressing causes must become front and center of any club’s social responsibility agenda,” said de Medeiros (pictured left).
Founded in 2009, the Benfica Foundation has reached over 25.000 beneficiaries with projects ranging from tackling school dropout rates to addressing poverty and hunger.
“SIGA’s action is naturally integrated into all Benfica Foundation projects. When we talk about fair-play and gender equality, we can say that we fit into SIGA’s vision. We will collaborate on sustainability, training, transparency and other issues that have been at the heart of the Foundation’s action since its inception 13 years ago,” said Móia (pictured right).
De Medeiros encouraged other sports foundations, clubs, athletes, leagues and federations to join similarly with SIGA.
The focus areas of the MoU are:
- Promote Sport’s positive values its social, educational, cultural and economic role;
- Enhance integrity, transparency, accountability and sustainability in Sport, through the implementation of the highest standards on good governance, financial integrity, sports betting integrity and youth development and protection in and thorough Sport;
- Promote gender equity, diversity, social inclusion and accessibility in Sport, as well as prevent and fight against all forms of discrimination, intolerance and abuse;
- Promote Sport’s sound and sustainable development, as well as healthy lifestyles, youth empowerment and children’s safeguards in and through Sport;
- Support, contribute to and participate in the development of SIGA’s thought leadership initiatives and reform agenda, including but not limited to the implementation of the SIGA Universal Standards on Sport Integrity and the SIGA Independent Rating and Verification System (SIRVS).
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