BRATISLAVA (Slovakia) - The third meeting of FIBA's Single Point of Contact (SPOC) initiative took place in Bratislava, Slovakia across two days at the start of October.
The SPOC program was first introduced in 2022 with the aim of raising awareness of integrity-related regulations and establishing a platform for reporting any breaches - with national federations appointing a single point of contact with FIBA.
Europe is the first region that is practically fully compliant with the obligation to have SPOC appointed by each national federation, with 34 representatives in attendance for the two-day workshop.
"Integrity within sport is a very important topic, and this is something that we take extremely seriously," commented FIBA Europe Executive Director, Kamil Novak.
"Through the implementation of the SPOC network, there is a strong focus on prevention of game manipulation, whilst continuing to raise awareness because this is an issue that is growing dangerously fast."
The newly appointed SPOCs were introduced to their colleagues at the workshop, while there was also Australia's representative in attendance.
The first day focused on the topic of Safeguarding with a session led by FIBA, and included a powerful testimony from former match-fixer Moses Swaibu, who has since worked with organizations to help tackle the issue.
There were also case studies from Serbia and Romania, as well as a practical exercise on investigative techniques, led by Harod Associates.
FIBA Europe hosted the previous global gathering of SPOCs in Athens, as it continues to encorporate the Empowerment of National Federations - one of FIBA's key strategic pillars.
FIBA