Panathlon International

Rapallo, 19 May 2025

When the United Nations recognised the importance of Fair Play in Sport

By establishing the 19th May as International Fair Play Day, the United Nations unequivocally recognises the global importance and the profoundly humanistic nature of this attitude in sport (the world's largest organised 'community'), which should be the very essence of civilised relations, contributing to the creation of a fairer and more inclusive society.

Historically, the promotion of Fair Play has been supported by important international institutions such as the International Fair Play Committee (IFCP), Panathlon International (PI) and the European Fair Play Movement (EFPM). However, the UN proclamation adds a strong global signal to consolidate this commitment and give new impulse to the tireless advocates of this mindset. World Fair Play Day, rooted in the work of these organisations, is now officially recognised as a worldwide day of celebration, inviting everyone to reflect and act on the meaning of a fair and respectful behaviour in sport and in everyday life.

press release

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An online meeting of the PI President's Committee was held last Oct. 18, to discuss various topics, including the new budgets for the 2025/2026 biennium and a new membership fees proposal, drafted in accordance with what emerged at the General Assembly in Agrigento. The budgets and new fees will be the subject of discussion and deliberation by the International Board to be held on October 30 to illustrate them to the Clubs, District Presidents and Governors. The meeting also considered how to organize the Extraordinary General Assembly to be held next December 14, for the first time held “online”.

It was also discussed the need to schedule a meeting with the IOC to present and develop projects and new synergies with the Olympic Committee. Furthermore, it was confirmed the presence of President Giorgio Chinellato in the Sportaccord IF Forum of Lausanne, an event of great importance in the international sports scene.

Alongside the discussions about the PI Clubs and Areas, the CdP learned favourably of an interesting collaboration with the University of Leuven aimed at promoting the ethical values of sport among young students. The meeting ended positively and with a strong sense of cooperation, optimism and determination for the future of the association.

On 12th and 13th September, the Headquarters of Villa Queirolo in Rapallo has been the background for the Institutional meetings of the P.I. International Board and of President's Committee.

The International President Giorgio Chinellato arrived in the Ligurian town on the morning of Thursday 12 to meet the Mayor of Rapallo Elisabetta Ricci and exchange a mutual wish of good work. The meeting has been the occasion to deepen Panathlon's activities, at national and international level and the consequent contribution that this brings to the city of Rapallo that since many years hosts the International Secretariat.

In the early afternoon the International Board started, in hybrid form. Among the works and novelties on the agenda was the appointment of the new Treasurer in the person of Marco Salvagno, from the Club of Mestre.          

Much space was devoted to the attribution of delegations, the appointment of the Presidents of PI Commissions, and the wish for productive work.

There was also much discussion about the PI's presence at the Paris 2024 Olympics.  On this occasion the International President and the Past President attended an event organized together with other bodies recognized by the IOC to find synergies for future collaborations; these are organizations such as the CIFP (International Fair Play Committee), the ISOH (International Society of Olympic Historians), and the CIPC (International Pierre de Coubertin Committee). The presence of PI in Casa Italia and the Congress organized by the District France at the headquarters of UNESCO were also very important.            

The Thursday afternoon ended with a greeting from the IB to Nicoletta Bena on the occasion of her retirement after 39 years of constant and dedicated work at the International Secretariat of Panathlon International.

This was followed by a dinner at the Rapallo Golf Club organised by the Chiavari, Rapallo and Recco Panathlon Clubs during which the theme of disability was also addressed through the projection of the documentary film ‘Sport: True Victory’, where four sportsmen and women shared their stories, leaving a message of positivity and passion for life to those present. A video was also screened aimed at young people to illustrate the panathletic mission through comic strips.  

The following day, the PC met with Giorgio Costa President of the Italian District to coordinate the management of some situations that had arisen within the District.

With the resumption of the IB in the afternoon, the granting of various patronages was approved, some documents were updated, and new strategies for the communications department were discussed.

Official documents are being drafted and as is customary, will soon be sent to the IB, PC, College Presidents and District Presidents. In order to ensure more direct contact, the IB decided to send the official documents to the Governors and Club Presidents. 

The first meeting of the International Board and the President's Committee, following the first one after the elections in Agrigento, will be held at the international headquarters in Rapallo on 12 and 13 September.

Among the topics on the agenda: the appointment of the new treasurer, the Commissions, and the distribution of the delegations. The budget and the possible convocation of an extraordinary assembly will also be discussed. Two days of intense work to face in the best way the objectives for the next four-year period.

We are excited to announce that today 2nd of August, during the Paris Olympics, a collaborative event will take place among four IOC-recognized organizations that have common programs and synergies .

This meeting will be an important opportunity to strengthen the profile of the Olympic Community addressing different aspects of the Games and its various stakeholders. It is a unique opportunity that brings together four long-standing organizations: the Panathlon International, the International Pierre de Coubertin Committee (CIPC),  the International Fair Play Committee (CIFP), and the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) with the aim of deepening mutual understanding .

For PI, our International President Giorgio Chinellato will be present who, together with Past-President Pierre Zappelli and other panathletes/executives, will have the task of dialoguing and analyzing how we can be stronger, “together”!

The final event of the Erasmus Sport Against Match Fixing (SAMF) project, in which Panathlon International was Partner, was held in Lisbon on 23 and 24 April at the Cidade do Futebol (headquarters of FPF, coordinator of the project).

The International President Pierre Zappelli, the Secretary General Simona Callo and the Secretary of the Expansion Commission Fabio Figueiras were present.

This final conference was very well organized by the Consortium Partner and Coordinator, Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) and can be seen at the following link.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/WxZ5711w5aYbXCM8/?mibextid=WC7FNe 

SAMF is an EU-funded Erasmus+ project that has as its main objective the prevention and education of young athletes about the risks that match fixing activities can bring to their career.

Panathlon International, among the various tasks for the realisation of the activities, has participated in the final research, in the Focus Group discussions, in the elaboration of the toolkit, in the dissemination of the project also through its Ambassadors and clubs in Europe and Americas. It was an important opportunity to meet several personalities from the world of sport, not only from Europe.

As part of the implementation of Recommendation 14 of the Olympic Agenda 2020+5, the IOC Executive Board approved the updated version of the Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance in the Olympic Movement (BUPG). These principles are an implementing provision of the IOC Code of Ethics.

In this context, and with a view to strengthening the Olympic Movement through good governance, in 2024 the IOC is organising webinars focusing on various topics to which Panathlon International has been invited to participate

The meetings, which will take place quarterly, will deal with different thematic areas. In the first session on 20th March the Secretary General Simona Callo and the Administrative Secretary Rossi Monica participated and the theme was "Transparency and control mechanisms". The session provided some useful tools and practices that we can use to strengthen transparency and control mechanisms within our organisation.

The objective of these webinars is to explain and define the steps to be taken to achieve basic levels of good governance in sports organisations.

These meetings allow participants to exchange good practices, share their common challenges and benefit from the support provided by the IOC's Ethics and Compliance team through practical examples developed by the International Partnership Against Corruption in Sport (IPACS).

Next webinar planned for 19 June!!!

The on-line Meetings of the Working Group for the Ethics Commission and of the President's Committee were held on 28th and 29th of August.

The Ethics Commission Working Group, appointed by the International Board and composed of: Pierre Zappelli International President, Giorgio Costa President of District Italy, Peter Wütrich President of District Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Mavi Tizón Member of Panathlon Club Lima and Simona Callo Secretary General, met for the second time in on-line meeting to discuss about one of the requirements provided by the IOC also for the Recognised Associations like PI, to have an Ethics Commission and to adopt a Code of Ethics in order to fall within the parameters of good Governance. 

The participants at the meeting then discussed the role, composition, and purpose of this new Commission to be established by the International Board. 

At the end of the meeting, the participants then undertook to produce a document summarising what had emerged, to be presented to the International Board, also highlighting the next steps to be taken in order to arrive at the adoption of a Code of Ethics for PI by the supreme body of our Movement, namely the General Assembly which, we recall, will meet in Agrigento on 14-15 June 2024.  

The following day, the meeting of the PI President's Committee was held, on-line again. 

Among the various items on the agenda, the participants dwelt on the commitments that have involved the Presidency and the General Secretariat since the last meeting on 6 June. 

They focused on the activities related to the Erasmus project "Sport Against Match Fixing", which will see three PI ambassadors/panathletes, together with the project coordinators (Fabio Figueiras and Patrick Van Camphenout), take part in the next meeting scheduled to take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the end of September.

From this last meeting, before the final event in May 2024, the materials (brochures, comics, videos, etc.) and the results of the project will be finalised.

Other points under discussion, alongside the usual financial audits, were:  the constitution of the Argentine District, the realisation of a recognition for Godfather Clubs and for Members with panathletic seniority, the organisation of the next institutional meetings to be held on the occasion of the Pan-American Congress of Guayquil in Equador, the fulfilments related to the organisation of the General Assembly and the Congress of Agrigento, the arrangements for the presence of PI at the next Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the verification of Statutes received from Clubs, requests for patronage, the contacts made with new Nations and International Federations and other topics to be followed up and developed, as well as the participation in upcoming international and Club events by the President or his delegates.

Please note that all IB and PC resolutions will be sent to District Presidents and Governors, and visible to Clubs in the reserved section of our institutional website following their translation into French and English.