FIFA and member associations should fight match-fixing together: Gianni Infantino

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New Delhi. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has told the first FIFA Integrity Summit that the threat of match manipulation has not gone away and can only be tackled if the world governing body and its Member Associations (MAs) come together to fight it.

The two-day event, which is being held in Singapore in collaboration with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), is aimed at integrity officers from the 211 MAs and six associations.

Its main focus is to update them on global integrity trends, share best practices, present the new FIFA Integrity Handbook and Education Roadmap, and explore relevant rulings from FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding match manipulation. In a video address played during the opening of the summit, Infantino said that, as a multi-billion dollar industry, football will always be an attractive target for criminal activity.

He said, “We must ensure that the playing field remains level and the game remains free from external influences, because if it does not happen, the existence of our beloved game will be in danger. We have to remain vigilant.”

Infantino further said that FIFA had signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria in 2020 and it was renewed in New York last September. This collaboration led to the launch of the Global Integrity Programme, which aims to provide MAs with the knowledge and tools to prevent and combat match fixing. A key part of this commitment includes providing education and training to players, referees and integrity officers.

“FIFA is committed to preventing and punishing all forms of match manipulation, corruption and other unethical or illegal activities, but we can only do this with your help,” Infantino stressed. “FIFA member associations are responsible for tackling match manipulation in their regions and no one is immune from this threat.”

–IANS

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