A/HRC/28/81 were very active, but, the potential for close cooperation was largely l untapped and remained to be utilized. 8. Mr. Burgheim and Mr. Gasser noted that in addition to football, other sport federations were becoming engaged in the fight against discrimination. With regard to the global coverage of football and racism issues, it was recalled that FIFA was invited to present to the Ad Hoc Committee, but was unable to participate on this occasion due to scheduling constraints. Mr. Klymenko noted that similar problems in other sports such as basketball, cricket and rugby had triggered some responses in other regions, like North America, Latin America and Asia. He told the Committee that Australian sport associations had, for example, developed frameworks for fighting discrimination, in particular homophobia, in team sports. Football associations in other regions were undertaking similar actions such as the independent monitoring used by the FARE network and that the network was open to assisting other regions, if requested. Nevertheless, he added, clearly not all stakeholders were engaged in the fight against racism. 9. The representative of Uruguay noted that racism and violence existed in football in Uruguay, mostly at the club level and noted a chain of responsibilities, which included the need to enhance the awareness of national federations. 10. The representative of the Republic of South Africa asked the experts to comment on the role of sport in healing, remembrance and reconciliation, with regard to racism. Mr. Burgheim recalled that dual aspects and values of sport were reflected in para. 86 and 218 of the DDPA, and noted that the symbolism and practice of sport could have a strong impact on reconciliation. Mr. Gasser noted that UEFA actively pursued reconciliation projects for example, in Eastern Europe or in the Middle East. In his view, the goal is to “wave a new social fabric for the next generation”. Mr. Gasser explained that UEFA jurisdiction and its rules and regulations applied to UEFA competitions, and not national leagues, which complicated addressing national instances of racism in football. He did however; note some good practice examples that could share with the organizers of national competitions and national associations. He stated that improved cooperation was required on this and that UEFA was pleased to share its good practices, if asked. He added that UEFA was also involved in sponsoring tobacco-free matches, and public health issues such as childhood obesity. 11. In response to the questions, Mr. Gasser also noted that while racism was a very key component, the UEFA respect diversity approach set a wider consideration than race, as the organization was against any form of discrimination. Both he and Mr. Burgheim also stressed the need to involve local actors and stakeholders in anti-discrimination initiatives, underlining the very important local partnerships with organizations like FARE Network. Mr. Klymenko agreed that it was essential to reach out to all stakeholders involved in sports in order to involve them in anti-discrimination initiatives. 12. A representative of the International Basketball Federation (IBF) stated that perhaps there was no racism per se in sport, as rather sport offered a platform for sentiments which already existed in different societies. While noting the important role to be played by sports federations, such as IBF, he underlined the fact that it was for Member Stares to have regulations in place to prohibit and punish racism. 13. The experts agreed that while sport indeed mirrored society, racism was also present in the sport itself. Large sporting events, unfortunately, could provide giant venues for discrimination, underlining the importance of using these very same venues to combat discrimination through anti-discrimination campaigns and messages. Mr. Gasser explained that the effect of sport as an “opinion maker” could be assessed by the fact that advertisement time during prominent sport events, such as the Champions League matches, sold for millions of Euros. 24