Clean Games Inside and Outside the Stadium : Collective Action in Combatting Corruption in Sporting Events

Efforts to combat corruption have increased from the domestic level to a global level, an indication of increased global awareness that has incentivized nations to internationally cooperate to eliminate corruption. As countries sign and ratify various international conventions, various stakeholders seek mutually beneficial outcomes, from the creation of a level playing field to increasing ethical business performance, transparency and across-the-board accountability, including sporting events. Collective action efforts in sporting events are becoming wide-spread in both the public and private sectors. In the public sphere, governments are implementing anti-corruption frameworks, while in the private sector companies involved in bidding processes for sports projects such as Olympic Games are beginning to understand the positive effects of implementing effective compliance programs to address and prevent corrupt behavior. Today, coupled with the role of civil society organizations as “watchdogs”, all of the foregoing stakeholders collectively aim to eliminate corruption in large-scale infrastructure spending and initiatives in the sporting arena, and more specifically in the phases leading to hosting Olympic Games. Now in the aftermath of Tokyo’s win over the race for hosting the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, collective action efforts for ensuring transparency and eliminating corruption during the various phases leading up to this sporting event has become a topical issue. This article aims to address collective action with respect to major sporting events