Corruption in sport: understanding the complexity of corruption

[Extract] Sport corruption (in all of its forms and degrees) is a global phenomenon that has, and continues to, threaten the integrity of the sport industry, posing a major challenge for sport managers. Over the past decade, the sport industry has experienced multiple forms of corruption (e.g. fraud, bribery, and institutional) that have ranged in extent (e.g. individual to systematic), occurred in varying contexts (non-profit, for profit, sports, sport events, governance, and international and online betting), and resulted in a multitude of consequences (sanctions, financial costs, diminished reputations, employee turnover, and increased oversight). International agencies (e.g. Transparency International & International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS)), inter-governmental agencies (Council of Europe and Interpol Integrity in Sport Unit), and sport governing bodies (IOC, FIFA, and ICC) have assembled to discuss, carry out research, and implement initiatives to better understand the nature of sport corruption, its causes, consequences, and develop reform initiatives. Examples include ICSS 2014 Sport Integrity Conference, IOC's 2014 Integrity Betting Intelligence System, and 2012 Institute of International and Strategy's study Sports betting and corruption: How to preserve the integrity of sport. These efforts and many more speak to the multidimensional nature of corruption and its respective issues possessing significant challenges for sport management scholars and practitioners in upholding the integrity of sport worldwide