Play the Game 2019 announces program schedule, more speakers confirmed

A tentative schedule for Play the Game 2019 has been released after nearly 100 abstracts were approved for the October conference. The program overview outlines the sessions and topics to be covered during the four-day event October 13-16 at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Within the past few weeks, a number of high profile speakers have been added to an already distinguished list, to include:

• Steven Berryman, former special agent for the U.S. tax authorities who played a significant role in opening the FIFA case. Berryman will be joined by former head of FBI action against FIFA, Evan Norris, and the author of “Red Card,” a book narrating the US’s role in the FIFA scandal, Ken Bensinger of Buzzfeed.
• The famed undercover investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas will join the list of Play the Game luminaries to discuss his exposé into the corruption of football administrators in Ghana. The award-winning journalist is known for his anonymity in uncovering corruption and human rights issues in Ghana.
• Han Xiao, chair of the Athletes’ Advisory Council under the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, will join the speaker list. Xiao is a USA Table Tennis athlete who was voted to chair in January 2017.
• Doug Beal, former CEO of USA Volleyball also joins the list. USA Volleyball received scrutiny in 2018 for a class-action lawsuit against an influential youth volleyball coach, Rick Butler, who was accused of sexually abusing young players.
• David Howman, chairman of the Athletics Integrity Unit and former director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency; Alex Phillips, Head of Governance and Compliance at UEFA, Switzerland, and the recently elected president of the International Association of National Anti-Doping agencies (iNADO); Michael Ask, CEO of Anti-Doping Denmark, are also confirmed to speak.

See the complete list of speakers.

“The programme is building up very well, and our challenge will now mainly be to make the conference known across the Americas. To that end, we will welcome every helping hand from our friends and colleagues,” says Jens Sejer Andersen, Play the Game’s international director.

Anderson emphasized that while the abstract deadline has passed, there is still time to submit an abstract/storyline to accommodate changes or vacancies in the program. Abstracts will be reviewed in a rolling procedure.

The early bird deadline has been extended to July 31. All early bird registrants receive full conference participation, lunches, dinners and activities for $650. To register, go to www.playthegame.org.

Play the Game is an initiative run by the Danish Institute for Sport Studies, aiming at raising the ethical standards of sport and promoting democracy, transparency and freedom of expression in world sport. Each year, Play the Game hosts an international, conference to address challenges and issues in modern sport. A new partnership between Play the Game and UCCS will bring the 2019 conference to the United States for the first time in its decade-long history. For more information on Play the Game, go to www.playthegame.org.

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is one of the fastest growing universities in Colorado. The university offers 48 bachelor’s degrees, 24 master’s and seven doctoral degrees. UCCS enrolls about 12,500 students annually. For more information, visit www.uccs.edu.