ICSS Chairman Stresses Importance of the Results of Research Report on Club Ownership

Doha, December 01 (QNA) - Chairman of the International Centre for Sports Security (ICSS) Mohammed bin Hanzab has stressed the importance of the results of the research report conducted by the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) in cooperation with the ICSS and the International Association of Lawyers (IAL), "Legal, Financial and Integrity Aspects of Club Ownership in Football". Mohammed bin Hanzab said in remarks that there was no serious and in-depth research on the issue of ownership of the clubs, which was tackled jointly with the SIGA and the IAL. He said that the report comes in line with the latest developments in international issues in order to develop references and professional frameworks and put forward realistic solutions to this issue. He went on saying that the research came to fill the legal void of the ownership of sports clubs in general and football in particular in the absence of the appropriate international regulatory framework and mechanisms to implement the rules of auditing and financial transparency. This legal void is a serious threat to the integrity of the game that may make it a target of organized crime, as we all know the devastating effects of club ownership on the wrong hands, he added. Mohammed bin Hanzab, who is also SIGA's vice-president, added that the preliminary results of this report prove the importance of starting reforms in this aspect as an urgent necessity, "This is what we have recognized at the Sport Integrity Global Alliance. We have initiated the SIGA Universal Standards on Financial Integrity, which reflects our ongoing efforts to enhance transparency and protect integrity in international sports to better preserve its reputation". The report reveal that only three countries have a dedicated body that has specific oversight of investment and ownership in its football clubs and only two nations are able to fully track and monitor the money behind club investments and ownership. Meanwhile, the vast majority of countries do not have any mechanism in which to understand the source of a club's investment and rely on generic laws with most assuming' that any financial scrutiny falls under the country's existing club licensing system. The preliminary results show a considerable lack of transparency across all levels of clubs with details of exact ownership and investment virtually invisible at the lower leagues and club levels. Clearly, reform in this area is overdue to prevent unscrupulous individuals and criminal networks from purchasing clubs for non-sporting reasons, such as transforming them into vehicles for money laundering, third party investment funds and sports betting fraud. The second phase of the three-part study involves an analysis of the financial aspects followed by integrity and will be announced soon. Key findings from the first independent report of the Financial Integrity and Transparency in Sport (FITS) Global Project showed that only an estimated 25 percent of professional football clubs in top leagues around the world produce publically-available financial reports, while only about 40 percent of national associations are financially viable without the help of FIFA. The study is part of the Financial Integrity and Transparency in Sport (FITS) Global Project an initiative launched by ICSS in November 2014 to identify and address the emerging threats facing the financial integrity and transparency of sport and brings together stakeholders from all areas of the sports industry to drive long overdue reforms. (QNA)