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Preamble

The member States of the Council of Europe and the other signatories to this Convention,

Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its members;

Considering the Action Plan of the Third Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe

(Warsaw, 16-17 May 2005), which recommends the continuation of Council of Europe activities which serve as

references in the field of sport;

Considering that it is necessary to further develop a common European and global framework for the

development of sport, based on the notions of pluralist democracy, rule of law, human rights and sports ethics;

Aware that every country and every type of sport in the world may potentially be affected by the manipulation of

sports competitions and emphasising that this phenomenon, as a global threat to the integrity of sport, needs a

global response which must also be supported by States which are not members of the Council of Europe;

Expressing concern about the involvement of criminal activities, and in particular organised crime in the

manipulation of sports competitions and about its transnational nature;

Recalling the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950, ETS No. 5)

and its Protocols, the European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in

particular at Football Matches (1985, ETS No. 120), the Anti-Doping Convention (1989, ETS No. 135), the Criminal

Law Convention on Corruption (1999, ETS No. 173) and the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search,

Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (2005, CETS No. 198);

Recalling the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000) and the Protocols

thereto;

Also recalling the United Nations Convention against Corruption (2003);

Recalling the importance of effectively investigating without undue delay the offences within their jurisdiction;

Recalling the key role that the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) plays in facilitating effective

co-operation between the law enforcement authorities in addition to judicial co-operation;

Emphasising that sports organisations bear the responsibility to detect and sanction the manipulation of sports

competitions committed by persons under their authority;

Acknowledging the results already achieved in the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions;

Convinced that an effective fight against the manipulation of sports competitions requires increased, rapid,

sustainable and properly functioning national and international co-operation;

Having regard to Committee of Ministers’ Recommendations to member States Rec(92)13rev on the revised

European Sports Charter; CM/Rec(2010)9 on the revised Code of Sports Ethics; Rec(2005)8 on the principles of

good governance in sport and CM/Rec(2011)10 on promotion of the integrity of sport to fight the manipulation of

results, notably match-fixing;

In the light of the work and conclusions of the following conferences:

– the 11th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport, held in Athens on 11 and 12

December 2008;

– the 18th Council of Europe Informal Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport (Baku, 22 September

2010) on promotion of the integrity of sport against the manipulation of results (match-fixing);

– the 12th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport (Belgrade, 15 March 2012)

particularly in respect of the drafting of a new international legal instrument against the manipulation of sports

results;

– the UNESCO 5th International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education

and Sport (MINEPS V);

Convinced that dialogue and co-operation among public authorities, sports organisations, competition organisers

and sports betting operators at national and international levels on the basis of mutual respect and trust are essential

in the search for effective common responses to the challenges posed by the problem of the manipulation of sports

competitions;

Recognising that sport, based on fair and equal competition, is unpredictable in nature and requires unethical

practices and behaviour in sport to be forcefully and effectively countered;