A Memorandum of Cooperation between the National Platform for Sports Integrity (E.P.ATHL.A) and the Hellenic Federation of Sports Coaches and Trainers (POPA) was signed this week, regarding the manipulation of sports matches. Giorgos Mavrotas (General Secretary of Sports and President of the E.P.ATHL.A) and Thanasis Villiotis (President of POPA) signed the agreement.
Referring to the signing of the cooperation memorandum, Mr. Mavrotas emphasized:
“The role of coaches is pivotal in tackling match-fixing for two reasons: the first is about prevention and education, especially for coaches dealing with young children to pass on the correct values of sport to them and the second it is about dealing with such phenomena, because coaches need to know to be able to guide their athletes in cases of suspicious approaches. Inform them about the steps they need to follow and give them the right directions. I believe that together we will be able to have a very fruitful collaboration through educational programs and in everything else.”
Mr. Villiotis, for his part, said:
“We are very happy to have signed the memorandum of cooperation with E.P.ATHL.A today. This particularly honors our Federation as the representative of Greek coaches in all sports, Olympic and non-Olympic and team and individual. As Mr. Mavrotas also said, the role of the Coach is primarily that of an educator and shaper of characters and personalities, so in this context and in combination with what the E.P.ATHL.A stands for, the Coaches can play an important role in guiding their athletes, teaching them what to do and what not to do, not to fall prey to sirens that exist in the field of sports and that promise things that are beyond and far from the philosophy of sports. The Coaches therefore will act within this context and always support such initiatives. Many say that coaching is not a profession, it is a function, and to a very large extent they are right. So this is the function we serve and promote and within the framework of the E.P.ATHLA we will seek to protect the integrity of sports. We will always be partners of GGA in any positive initiative and activity to take our sport further and always in calm waters and with integrity of character”.
POPA are ICCE members and assisted with outputs of the MotivAction project.
