Partnership to improve integrity in sport

International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) and World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) announce global integrity partnership

The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has announced a new partnership with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the international governing body for professional snooker and English billiards.

Announced this week in New Delhi, the global integrity partnership will see the ICSS and WPBSA work together to protect and enhance the integrity of professional snooker. It will include specific areas of activity and collaboration, including integrity training and education, monitoring of international betting on Snooker, investigation advice and support, and intelligence gathering, that will take advantage of the ICSS global source network.

This initiative has been developed in order to enhance monitoring and detection mechanisms of international snooker and will safeguard the WPBSA's position as one of the worlds leading sports in anti-corruption strategies.

Announcing the partnership, ICSS President Mohammed Hanzab stated "on behalf of the ICSS, I would like to thank the WPBSA who have already shown their commitment to safeguarding the integrity of sport.

"Whilst many acknowledge the challenges the sports industry faces, the development of comprehensive integrity programs not only shows strong leadership, openness and transparency but the determination to eradicate behaviour that threatens the very foundation of sport and its core values."

ICSS Director of Sport Integrity Chris Eaton added "this landmark partnership clearly demonstrates to all stakeholders that the integrity of the sport is of the utmost priority for the WPBSA.

"It is crucial that sport governing bodies show proactive leadership in this area and I look forward to working with the WPBSA to develop new programs that build on the work already being carried out by Jason Ferguson and his team."

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson stated "we are proud to carry the global weight of the ICSS network within our sport. This new agreement with the ICSS demonstrates the WPBSA's commitment to integrity and our message to those who think about fixing matches is clear. We are watching, we will identify it, we will investigate, it has no place in our sport.

"At the WPBSA, we have already introduced a number of measures to safeguard the integrity of snooker, and we believe our global integrity partnership with the ICSS represents the next important step in the development of the WPBSA's integrity strategy.

"I look forward to working with the ICSS' Integrity team to implement the first ever programme of betting monitoring on international snooker, and also to capitalise on the unique expertise and capabilities the ICSS offers in the field of integrity."

For more information go to www.theicss.org/

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