CONFERENCE: Play the Game

Today, Play the Game 2009 is presenting its most extensive conference programme to date. Compared to the two latest Play the Game conferences, held in Iceland and Denmark, both with a total of 85 presentations, this year’s edition in Coventry boasts around 120 speakers hailing from 27 countries.

“Thanks to the speakers, we think we can present not only the broadest programme, but also the one of the highest quality in the 12 years we have been arranging Play the Game,” says director Jens Sejer Andersen.

“Having 120 media people, academics and sports practitioners on board leads us to believe that Play the Game will again serve as an excellent forum for multi-disciplinary networking, which is one of the most important functions of our conference.”

One of the latest international top names to confirm their presence is the three-time Tour de France winner Greg Lemond, who will speak about current challenges to anti-doping policies, drawing from his life experience as a world class elite athlete and a fitness industry entrepeneur of today. Greg Lemond was one of the first professional cyclists who openly debated doping.

A small selection of other prominent speakers can be found below.

In the updated programme a number of new sessions have been added: abuse of animals in sport, discrimination of female athletes, new methods in investigative sports journalism, fan violence among others.

Match fixing, corruption and good governance, paralympic athletes, teenagers, the impact of Beijing 2008, sport in development… vital issues for sport that will be debated across professional and geographical borders at Play the Game in Coventry.

Now, more than ever, academic research in the mechanisms and culture of sport is needed to help raise awareness and further understanding.

You can still get speaking time at Play the Game if you use our online abstract submission as soon as possible. You can find the submission link and take a look at the updated programme on our website at www.playthegame.org/2009



Play the Game 2009 in brief

Play the Game 2009, co-hosted by the Centre for the International Business of Sport at Coventry University, will run from 8 – 12 June 2009 in Coventry, UK, the first city outside the Nordic countries to host the event.

For academics, Play the Game 2009 offers unique opportunity to launch research projects and share the results of your work while the international press and some of the most interesting colleagues are watching.


Why attend?

Academics can benefit from Play the Game 2009 in the following ways:

· It is a unique opportunity to build a network of colleagues and expert sources from 40-50 different countries worldwide.

· Play the Game 2009 succeeds in making multi-disciplinary debate and the theory-practise dialogue work at the same time.

· The conference is a relevant place for launching your research in an international setting and to network with journalists from all over the world.

· Play the Game is the only international forum that currently exists for free and unrestricted sports debate.

· The invited speakers are all among the best experts in their field.

· The conference is planned by academics who have taken care in selecting speakers and information which opens up new angles and approaches to research on sport.

· Participants in earlier conferences found Play the Game to be extremely useful – you can see their reactions on our website.

· The conference is extremely good value for money with five days packed with useful information and knowledge exchange which can be used in research projects right away.

· The conference provide researchers, political leaders and journalists with both the inspiration and tools to explore the cultural, social, political, and economic aspects of sport.


The list of conference speakers include:

· Richard W. Pound , IOC member, former President of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and newly-selected President of the Play the Game Advisory Board.

· William Gaillard , Director of Communications and Public Affairs for UEFA, and Senior Adviser to UEFA President Michel Platini

· Greg Lemond, three-time Tour de France winner, fitness entrepeneur

· David Howman , Director-General of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

· Michael Franzese, Former mob-boss and motivational speaker, USA

· Declan Hill , investigative journalist, academic and author of 'The Fix'

· Mark Davies , Managing Director of Betfair, the world's largest betting exchange.

· Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, CEO, European Professional Football Leagues

· Hai Ren, Professor, Director, Olympic Studies Center, University of Beijing, China

· Fan Hong, Director and professor, University of Cork, Ireland

· Brigid Simmonds, chair of the Central Council for Physical Recreation, United Kingdom

· Alessandro Donati, anti-doping expert, former head of research at CONI, Italy

· Andrew Jennings, Journalist, United Kingdom

· David Goldblatt, Author, ”The Ball is Round”, United Kingdom

· Lars Haue-Pedersen, Managing Director, TSE Consulting

· Stefan Szymanski, Professor, CASS Business School, London


Sponsors of Play the Game 2009

Play the Game 2009 is organised in co-operation with Coventry University and sponsored by:

* Advantage West Midlands

* CV One

* Sensport


Play the Game is financed by The Danish Ministry of Culture, Danish Gymnastics and Sports Associations, Danish Association for Company Sport and the national elite sports institution Team Danmark. The conference also receives support from the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF)

Best regards/bedste hilsner
Jens Sejer Andersen
Don't miss
Play the Game 2009
Visions for sport in times of crisis
8-12 June in Coventry, UK
www.playthegame.org/2009