Match fixing remains a dark area for sports and football to be exact in the modern age. The growth of the game into a commercialized industry has come along with several vices, key among those is the predetermination of results which is slowly tarnishing the brand’s reputation.
Money is a necessary evil but if the ethics and integrity of players and officials who operate the football industry are put on the line in exchange for quick gains, the beauty about the game is slowly but steadily eroded.
Football today is dictated by money with clubs hugely depending on broadcast revenues for sustainability but the urge for quick returns has attracted players, club officials and other people into match fixing.
It is upon this background that Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) in conjunction with the United Nations on Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has today launched a Global Integrity Programme to enhance knowledge and tools to fight and prevent match manipulation.
The Programme is also designed to improve education and build integrity capacity within all 211 member associations by sharing advanced know-how and resources with integrity officers.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino while launching the Programme indicated that “Match-fixing is an issue that is very real and threatens the integrity and credibility of football in many countries around the world. Working in close collaboration with experts at the UNODC and alongside other ongoing efforts that FIFA is taking, the FIFA Global Integrity Programme is another important step by FIFA to protect the integrity of football and will play an important role in educating and building capacity within member associations to help fight match-fixing at a local level.”
UNODC’s was mandated to fight corruption and crime in sport by the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention through the adoption of two resolutions by over 180 States parties, namely:
Resolution 8/4 on Safeguarding Sport from Corruption, adopted by the Conference at its 8th Session, in Abu Dhabi, from 16 to 20 December 2019.
Resolution 7/8 on corruption in sport, adopted by the Conference at its 7th Session, in Vienna, from 6 to 10 November 2017.
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