Training to Protected Reporting from Professional and Grassroots Sports

The implementation of Training on Protected Reporting System for Professional and GrassrootsSport (T-PREG) was based in two recent political milestones a) the entry into force of the Council of Europe Convention against Manipulation of Sport Competition and b) the recent EU Whistleblower Protection Directive. Regarding the Macolin Convention’s recommendations, all around Europe, education, and awareness campaigns to fight against wrongdoing in sport have followed the 3Rs schemes. The 3Rs trains sport actors to: (a) Recognize the characteristics of the problem, (b) Resist any proposal and, more importantly, (c) Report it. In practice, this model united the preventive pillars of education and sanction, helping to create the ethical, disciplinary, and, in some countries, legal frameworks that delimit the desired behaviours of the sports players. In consequence, integrity trainings, codes of conduct and ethics, and disciplinary norms have included the obligation to report any suspicion, approach, or tentative suggestion to get engaged in manipulations. In some countries, such as Portugal, the obligation to denounce is incorporated into criminal law.Regarding the EU Directive, promoting reporting is considered one of the most effective measures to fight against any type of corruption. Thus, it is mandatory to promote effective and efficient channels to do so and to strengthen protection for those who blow the whistle. The EU Whistleblower Protection Directive has been created following this premise.In this framework, T-PREG built a practical and effective eLearning tool to introduce, in a structured way, the use of protected reporting systems in the integrity policies and actions of sport bodies and institutions, not on only for reporting in itself, but also as vehicle for changing approaches to prevention, governance and information sharing. The importance and topicality of the subject generated an important frame of interest in all the stakeholders, both from the world of professional and grassroots sports. The educational tool was created based on a robust qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis of the particularities of each partner country. The evidence collected provided two main conclusions. Despite the fact that various complaint systems have been created in recent years, sports actors are unaware of their existence or do not trust them. Its use, therefore, is extremely limited.On the other hand, despite the disciplinary and legal obligation to report any knowledge about manipulation of results, in all countries reporting is perceived as a dangerous practice. Reporting manipulation of sport competitions can seriously damage the career of those who blow the whistle and, through retaliation, put him or her out of the business.The project results in a training model tailored to different national contexts, institutional frameworks and diverse stakeholders' needs and expectations, following pilot training activities in six EU countries: Spain, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Belgium, and Austria. The course is available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, Slovenian and German.In addition to the eLearning, two guidelines were published with recommendations for a) creating more and better protected reporting systems and b) implementing the whistleblower’s protection directive in the world of sport. Likewise, through T-PREG Multi-level eLearning Tool, those with interest in these topics can access top a range of materials that can be used in various learning and training setups: conferences, seminars, workshops, coaching. The collaborative partnership aims to foster knowledge sharing, peer learning and, especially, the most needed change of actions and attitudes from Integrity Top Influencers.