FIBA Europe puts integrity first with global SPOC meeting in Munich

MUNICH (Germany) -The first global meeting of the SPOC initiative, that follows the success of the SWISH program, has taken place at the FIBA Europe offices in Munich, marking an important milestone in the overall effort to deal with integrity within the sport.

The appointment of a SPOC - single points of contact - by all the national federations became a priority in FIBA's integrity plan.

The main aims include raising awareness of the integrity-related regulations in place as well as creating a platform for reporting any breach of integrity, whilst being the main point of contact with FIBA.

During the workshop, there were several presentations in which the SPOCs were invited to share the current landscape of their federation in relation to the program with 18 different national federations represented.

There were also high level speakers with Richard McLaren, FIBA Integrity Officer, and Friedrich Martens, Head of Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions at International Olympic Committee Ethics and Compliance Office.

"From the IOC's point of view, the importance of meetings like this workshop in Munich cannot be stressed enough. It is very good to see networks of SPOCs being created – specifically on the matter of competition manipulation and also generally various integrity topics," said Mr. Martens.

"The OM Unit PMC has been working with FIBA since years on the topic and very much applauds FIBA Europe's proactivity to engage with its National Federations. It's great to see the pieces of the puzzle falling into place as the networks are growing rapidly. The OM Unit PMC will always be ready to support the basketball family where appropriate and possible."

The implementation of the SPOC initiative and the entire SWISH program are in alignment with one of FIBA's key strategic pillars for the 2023-2027 cycle, the Empowerment of National Federations.

FIBA