INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL (IFAF) APPOINTS KEVIN CARPENTER TO LEAD MAJOR INTEGRITY REVIEW

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is pleased to announce that leading international sports lawyer Kevin Carpenter has been appointed to lead a review into the IFAF Discipline, Dispute and Appeals policies and processes, Conflict of Interest framework and the IFAF Ethics structures.

Mr. Carpenter has worked in the field of sports law for a decade, and during that time has achieved an international reputation in integrity, disciplinary and other regulatory issues having worked across a diverse range of sports around the world. He has advised and worked for prominent international, continental and national organizations on these issues including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIFA, the Council of Europe and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Most recently he has been appointed to lead the International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) Integrity Unit as their first-ever Head of Integrity. He also has academic interest in this field, with his research having been widely published, as well currently holding the post of Visiting Senior Lecturer for Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK (MMU).   

IFAF President Richard MacLean welcomed the appointment.

"Kevin comes with very high credentials in the global world of sports integrity," MacLean said. "As IFAF continues to progress with embedding good governance it is critical that these processes and structures are as robust as possible and that from that basis we can recruit independent people with expertise to populate our committees."

"I am delighted and honored to have been asked to undertake this review of IFAF's integrity work, principally as a professional matter, but also as a fan of the sport of American football," said Carpenter. "Under the leadership of Richard, a considerable amount of work has been undertaken to strengthen IFAF's governance from where it was a few years ago. As the federation seeks to build from these foundations, and recognizing the aspirations it has (in particular to become part of the Olympic Movement), it will come under increased scrutiny to ensure that it delivers for its members and other participants and stakeholders, and that the conduct of its officials is of the highest standard. This work will validate existing good practice and will provide recommendations on where strengthening can occur."

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