Jens Sejer Andersen

The Power of the Word in a Culture of Silence

Corruption in sports organizations, match-fixing, doping and unsustainable mega-events: all issues that might seem more topical than ever. But the international conference Play the Game is monitoring these topics already since 1997. The conference founded by Danish journalist Jens Sejer Andersen aims at raising the ethical standards of sport and promoting democracy, transparency and freedom of expression in world sport.

Through its nine international conferences since 1997, its website, news production and research initiatives, Play the Game has become a unique platform for raising awareness on a number of challenges to modern sport. By gathering investigative journalists, whistleblowers and sports leaders yearning for more honesty and fair play, Play the Game has been first movers in highlighting the issues mentioned above.

Andersen also was a coordinator of the EU-supported ‘Action for Good Governance in International Sports Organizations’ (2012-2013) in cooperation with universities in Loughborough, Leuven, Utrecht, Cologne, Lausanne and Ljubljana, as well as the European Journalism Centre. The main outcome was a new benchmarking tool for sports governance, the Sports Governance Observer, which has recently been used for the most comprehensive analysis so far on the governance of the 35 international Olympic federations.

Andersen is serving as an editorial Board Adviser in the International Council for Sports Science and Physical Education since 2006, and he is a member of consultative committees under the EU, the Council of Europe and UNESCO.