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Play the Game 2009, the sixth world communications conference on sport and society, is presenting its most extensive conference programme so far. Compared to the two former Play the Game conferences, held in Iceland and Denmark, both with a total of 85 presentations, this year’s edition in Coventry boasts around 120 speakers hailing from 27 countries.

“Thanks to the speakers, we think we can present not only the broadest programme, but also the one of the highest quality in the 12 years we have been arranging Play the Game,” says director Jens Sejer Andersen.

“Having 120 media people, academics and sports practitioners on board leads us to believe that Play the Game will again serve as an excellent forum for multi-disciplinary networking, which is one of the most important functions of our conference.”

One of the latest international top names to confirm their presence is the three-time Tour de France winner Greg Lemond, who will speak about current challenges to anti-doping policies, drawing from his life experience as a world class elite athlete and a fitness industry entrepeneur of today. Greg Lemond was one of the first professional cyclists who openly debated doping.

A small selection of other prominent speakers can be found below.

In the updated programme a number of new sessions have been added: abuse of animals in sport, discrimination of female athletes, new methods in investigative sports journalism, fan violence among others.

Match fixing, corruption and good governance, paralympic athletes, teenagers, the impact of Beijing 2008, sport in development… vital issues for sport that will be debated across professional and geographical borders at Play the Game in Coventry.

Now, more than ever, academic research in the mechanisms and culture of sport is needed to help raise awareness and further understanding.

You can still get speaking time at Play the Game if you use our online abstract submission as soon as possible. You can find the link, and take a look at the updated programme on our website at www.playthegame.org/2009