The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has created a tennis integrity task force with the Egyptian Tennis Federation to run bespoke anti-corruption education and prevention programmes in the country.
The co-operation was agreed between the two parties at a tournament in Cairo recently, attended by an ITIA delegation, which saw education sessions for players, coaches, parents, and officials – both Egyptian and international - at the tournaments, as well as tournament officials and staff. The sessions provided information about the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) and Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP) rules. In addition, the ITIA team met with ETF officials to discuss future education efforts for their players and tournaments.
The programme is the first of its kind, where the ITIA partners with a national federation and focuses on a country or region.
ITIA CEO Jonny Gray commented, “Some time ago, several players from Egyptian tennis were sanctioned within a short time of each other and we saw a spate of international players match fixing at events hosted in Egypt. Following positive discussions with the Egyptian Tennis Federation, we have developed this programme. They are as keen as we are to ensure that all players are given clear information about the rules that are in place to protect the sport. This is just one approach that we are taking to our prevention efforts and are grateful to the Egyptian Tennis Federation for their enthusiasm in taking up this opportunity.”
Egypt Tennis Federation Vice-President, Hassan El Aroussy said, “It is hugely important for the whole country and the rest of the world to know that Egyptian tennis takes integrity issues seriously. The issues of the past can be used as lessons for the future, and we look forward to working closely with our colleagues from the ITIA.”
It is hoped that the programme will be developed and grown in the future to include other sporting and regulatory bodies in the country.
The ITIA is an independent body established by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis to promote, encourage, enhance and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide.
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Published 09 June 2022 12:00
