The Paris Games usher in a brand new era of anti-corruption, but carrying the torch may very well be an Olympic challenge for the United States

The world has turn into cynical about the integrity of major international sportsAnd not without reason. Of the Bribery scandal on the Olympic Games within the Nineteen Nineties – involving the hosts of Nagano 1998, Sydney 2000 and Salt Lake City 2002 – we now have witnessed other corruption scandals at major global sporting events in countries as diverse as Germany, France, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, China and Qatar.

But Paris 2024 could mark the start of a brand new era.

The Olympic Games in Paris were characterized by a relative absence of the scandals that always plague the Games. While controversies surrounding the Algerian and Taiwanese boxers and the opening ceremony made headlines, the general tone was positive. In the run-up to the event, there have been minor controversies surrounding the Awarding of some contracts and the way of Payment for the director of Paris 2024however the event itself was largely freed from the official corruption scandals which have overshadowed previous Olympic Games.

As a number one voice within the global efforts to combat corruptionI’m convinced that the hosts haven’t only prevented wrongdoing but have also left a positive legacy within the fight against corruption for the long run of world sport.

Nevertheless, because the USA is preparing to host 4 major international sporting events In the following decade – which also includes the Summer Olympics and the World Cup – the country faces a surprising identity crisis within the fight against corruption.

A “French Revolution” of sport

The Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympic Games 125 years ago within the hope that they might set an example of how different nations of excellent will could compete with one another on the premise of an agreed algorithm.

One of the foundations that the world most demands compliance with today is the Anti-corruption principle: that power must not be abused for personal gain and that athletes and firms alike must compete in response to common rules with transparency and accountability.

After 25 years repeated violations – and the dramatic decline of the Olympic brand – each France and the International Olympic Committee adopted a series of reforms in 2017. Together, these reforms quietly led to a “French Revolution” within the administration of the mega-sport.

The IOC modified its “Omnibus Host City Agreement For the primary time in history, a clause might be included within the tournament requiring the host city to take leading measures to combat corruption.

In the identical 12 months, France, fully independent, found itself within the midst of a Anti-corruption reform movementSpurred on by quite a few embarrassing scandals in the private and non-private sectors, France implemented a groundbreaking anti-corruption law, Chapter IIThe law has two highly modern features.

First, it requires that broad sections of private and non-private institutions introduce mandatory anti-corruption compliance systems.

Secondly, a special anti-corruption agency was established, which French anti-corruption agencywhose sole task is to help these corporations in implementing best anti-corruption practices.

As prudent as these measures sound, there aren’t any such measures within the United States or in a lot of the remainder of the world.

Later in 2017, these forces joined forces when the IOC Award for the 2024 Summer Olympics to Paris.

It was a completely satisfied coincidence: the primary country to be subject to the brand new IOC hosting rules was already within the midst of a historic and modern reform movement to combat corruption – and this within the birthplace of the fashionable Olympic Games.

“Most important decade” for sport within the USA

Seven years later, it is obvious that the brand new system has not only succeeded in curbing corruption, but has also had a long-lasting positive impact in the shape of improved anti-corruption standards and practices in the private and non-private sectors.

French anti-corruption agency conducted a comprehensive review of the Paris 2024 ecosystemThe concerns identified throughout the audit were referred to prosecutors, who launched thorough investigations to follow up on any evidence of corruption.

When the Paris Olympic Games come to an end on 11 August, they may leave France with a brand new Olympic legacy and a blueprint for future hosts: a set of strengthened laws, policies, practices and norms promoting anti-corruption principles that can last beyond the event and whose implementation might be accelerated by hosting the event.

In other words, in a number of years we’ll probably say that France shouldn’t be worse off within the fight against corruption, but higher off since it hosted the Olympic Games. That could be a dramatic paradigm shift.

With the top of the Olympic Games in Paris, the eyes of the sporting world will soon turn to the United States and what the U.S. State Department the nation’s “most important decade” in sports. Within 10 years, the United States will host the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup (with Canada and Mexico), the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the 2031 Rugby World Cup, and the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

One might expect the United States to construct on the French example and lift the bar even higher within the fight against corruption. But the situation for the United States on this regard is uncertain.

An Olympic challenge to fight corruption

The United States' fight against corruption has historically been based on two assumptions: first, that the United States is less tolerant of corruption than most other countries. And second, that when given the chance to guide, the United States is willing – some would say too willing – to take it.

Isolationist tendencies have gained traction in US politics over the past decade, and plenty of voters seem able to support candidates involved in credible corruption controversies. It stays to be seen whether Americans will remain as committed to setting a worldwide example of world-class anti-corruption efforts as they once did.

In addition, the United States lacks the 2 elements of the French anti-corruption framework that made the anti-corruption revolution possible. The United States only encourages corporations to adopt anti-corruption compliance programs, not requires them to achieve this. And it lacks an agency that gives the form of anti-corruption compliance support that the Agence Francaise Anticorruption Paris provided.

This signifies that the organizing committees of those US events find themselves in a form of blind spot within the fight against corruption.

So I imagine the US must innovate if it doesn't need to lose the baton within the fight against corruption that France is about handy over. Do Americans still need to be a worldwide leader within the fight against corruption, in sports, if not beyond? With the country set to be within the mega-sports highlight over the following decade, perhaps it needs to try itself.