The Swiss Federal Office of Sport FOSPO and Swiss Olympic are increasing their financial payments to Swiss Sport Integrity. Over the coming years, the Reporting Service for Ethics Violations will receive an additional boost of one million Swiss francs.

Over the next few years, the Swiss Federal Office of Sport FOSPO has pledged additional funding totalling CHF 600,000 per year to the national independent Reporting Service for Swiss sport. Swiss Sport Integrity will also receive an additional CHF 400,000 annually from Swiss Olympic. This is due to the urgent situation which has resulted from the numerous reports received by the Reporting Service and the high workload involved. After receiving 264 reports in 2022, it is expected that around 400 reports of potential ethics violations or abuses will be received by the end of the year. The reported issues range from organizational abuses and discrimination to breaches of psychological, physical, and sexual boundaries. The additional million francs will be used to finance increasing demand for staff as well as external expertise. More funds are urgently needed, especially to cover legal proceedings.

Identification of urgency and need
The urgency and need for additional support were demonstrated and recognised during discussions with the DDPS and in the presence of the Head of department, Federal Councillor Viola Amherd, and the FOSPO. Likewise, the Executive Board of Swiss Olympic has advocated for increasing the contribution made to Swiss Sport Integrity. Ulrich Kurmann, President of Swiss Sport Integrity, welcomes this strong sign. “We sense a great deal of goodwill and are grateful to our donors for taking the necessary steps to secure the credibility and quality of the Reporting Service,” Kurmann says.

Optimisation thanks to funding increase
Markus Pfisterer, Director of the Ethics Violations department at Swiss Sport Integrity, is also pleased about this additional funding. “Over the past two years, our ethics team have put in an incredible effort. The additional funding will now make it possible to process reports on time and to the quality standard expected by the parties involved, even if the number of reports received remains high”.