Directive No. 15/2002/CT-TTg on combating corruption in physical education and sports activities

DIRECTIVE

On Combating Corruption in Physical Culture and Sports Activities

In recent years, under the leadership of the Party and State, with the enthusiastic response of the broad masses of people, the physical culture and sports cause has achieved many notable accomplishments, enhancing the level of sports and stature of Vietnamese people, fostering healthy lifestyles, reducing social evils; raising the status of Vietnamese sports on the international stage.

Alongside positive developments, negative phenomena in sports activities have been increasing in both nature and form. Negative behaviors manifest not only during sports competitions such as age fraud, athletes conceding points, gambling, buying and selling match results, and incorrect officiating during competitions, particularly in football and combat sports, but also exist in athlete selection and training.

The persistence of these negative conditions has eroded the integrity and nobility of sports, corrupted and changed the character of many cadres, coaches, athletes, referees; it is not just a problem within the physical culture and sports sector, but has become one of the social evils.

There are many reasons for the negative phenomena in sports activities, but mainly due to insufficient emphasis on political education, ideological guidance, moral development, and lifestyle formation in physical culture and sports activities; some sectors, localities, units, management personnel, athletes... still hold parochial and achievement-seeking attitudes, failing to fully understand the severity and harmful effects of negative phenomena in sports; state management work in the physical culture and sports sector has been slow to reform and still has many inadequacies in the system of regulatory legal documents; inspection, audit, and supervision work has not been strengthened; violations have not been dealt with strictly and thoroughly.

To ensure that physical culture and sports activities continue to develop healthily, the Prime Minister issues the following directive:

1. The Committee for Physical Culture and Sports:

a) Shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to amend, promulgate, or submit to competent authorities for amendment and promulgation of legal regulatory documents to prevent and combat corruption in physical culture and sports activities.

b) Shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and relevant ministries and sectors to strengthen inspection and auditing work, detect, handle, or propose competent authorities to handle severely according to the law groups and individuals engaging in negative behaviors in physical culture and sports activities.

2. The Ministry of Public Security shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to strengthen security and public order assurance work in physical culture and sports activities; proactively detect and promptly take preventive measures, block, and resolutely handle according to current regulations organizations and individuals engaging in negative behaviors in physical culture and sports activities.

3. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall direct mass media agencies to promptly commend groups and individuals with outstanding achievements, while criticizing negative behaviors in physical culture and sports activities.

4. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial/municipal people's committees directly under the central government:

a) Shall direct the strengthening of political education, ideological guidance, moral development, and cultural lifestyle formation for cadres, coaches, athletes, referees, students... to enhance awareness and firmly combat negative phenomena in physical culture and sports activities.

Heads of sports agencies and leaders of sectors and localities must be responsible for any negative occurrences in physical culture and sports activities under their management.

b) Under the leadership of party committees at all levels, coordinating with mass organizations, agencies, and the physical culture and sports sector to effectively implement this Directive to gradually prevent and reduce negative phenomena, building an honest, healthy, and culturally sound ethics and style in physical culture and sports activities.

5. The Committee for Physical Culture and Sports shall be responsible for guiding, monitoring, urging, and inspecting the implementation of this Directive and regularly reporting the results to the Prime Minister.