Fifa Reveals Anti Match-fixing Plan
Football’s world governing body FIFA, has unveiled an anti-corruption programme in a bid to crack down on match fixing and illegal betting.
FIFA will work alongside Interpol for the ten-year plan.
The programme has been awarded nearly £17.5m to educate players, referees and officials.
The money will help create a FIFA anti-corruption training wing based at Interpol’s global offices in Singapore.
The governing body reportedly believes that match-fixers with Singapore connections have recently organised international matches purely with the intention of fixing them for profit.
Interpol estimates that illegal football gambling is worth hundreds of million in Asia alone.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said: ‘The threat of match-fixing is a major one and we are committed to doing everything to tackle it. In the fight against illegal betting and match-fixing, the preventive measures that can be taken and the protection of the players and the integrity of the game are of the utmost importance’.
‘Joint work with the authorities and with Interpol is crucial for success, and for this reason we are very pleased to announce this contribution’.
The current FIFA president is up for re-election for a fourth term on 1st June against Asian football president Mohammed Bin Hammam.
Blatter added: ‘Match-fixing shakes the very foundations of sport, namely fair play, respect and discipline. That’s why FIFA employs a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to any infringement of these values’.
