World football’s governing body has earmarked the largest grant Europol has ever received from a private institution to create “an unprecedented ten-year programme” worth millions of Euros each year that will underpin a dedicated FIFA Anti-Corruption Training Wing within the Interpol Global Complex (IGC) in Singapore.
The announcement was made by FIFA president Joseph Blatter and Interpol’s secretary general Ronald Noble at an official press conference in Zurich.
Under the terms of the agreement, INTERPOL will receive euro 4 million in each of the first two years of the programme, swiftly followed by euro 1.5 million in each of the following eight years.
What stands as Interpol’s longest-ever funded initiative will target illegal and irregular betting and match-fixing, the scale of which has been highlighted by recent fixing allegations and the involvement of Asian gambling syndicates in global match-fixing.
Current estimates from Interpol’s global law enforcement network suggest that, in Asia alone, illegal football gambling is worth up to hundreds of millions of US dollars every year.
The new anti-corruption initiative is designed to provide cutting-edge training, education and prevention techniques to protect the sport, the players and fans from fraud and corruption.
Integrity of the game “of the utmost importance”
“The threat of match-fixing in sport is a major one, and we’re committed to doing everything in our power to tackle it,” said President Blatter.
“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’re very pleased to announce this development which will further enhance our co-operation with Interpol.”
During the press conference, FIFA also announced the creation of an internal Betting Integrity Investigation Task Force comprising members of FIFA’s Legal Division and Security Department, as well as the Early Warning System GmbH.
“Match-fixing shakes the very foundations of sport, namely fair play, respect and discipline,” concluded the FIFA supremo. “That’s why FIFA employs a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to any infringement of these values.”
Keeping the sport clean
Ronald Noble hailed the commitment of FIFA and Blatter to keeping the world’s most popular and influential sport clean.
“By funding a long-term corruption prevention training programme to be designed and implemented by Interpol and counter transnational organised crime’s attempts to corrupt the sport and its players, officials and administrators, FIFA has taken a significant step towards ensuring the integrity of football worldwide.”
He added: “As Interpol and FIFA look to the future, the decision to base this anti-corruption initiative at our upcoming Global Complex in Singapore while delivering training programmes from Regional Bureaus and offices all over the world will help us both achieve the common goal of keeping the world’s most popular sport free of the corrupt influences of transnational organised crime syndicates.”
Noble explained: “Illicit betting and match-fixing rings have demonstrated their global reach to fundamentally undermine football from one continent to another by corrupting administrators, officials and players. They demand a global response.”
Endorsing the new initiative, the World Bank’s vice-president of Integrity, Leonard McCarthy, commented: “Corruption should always be offside. Cleaning-up initiatives are a much-needed ‘golden goal’ against corruption, and an important step toward keeping football worthy of its nickname: ‘the beautiful game’.”
Secretary General Noble also outlined how links had been established between match-fixing, illegal betting and organised crime at an international level, and discussed how organised criminals frequently engage in loan-sharking and use intimidation and violence to collect debts (in turn forcing their desperate, indebted victims into drug smuggling and their family members into activities such as prostitution).
“The agreement between ourselves and FIFA provides a unique opportunity to challenge corruption both on and off the pitch,” he concluded.
Illegal gambling in Asia
Interpol has co-ordinated several successful operations targeting illegal gambling in Asia, with SOGA III – conducted throughout the 2010 FIFA World Cup – involving police services across China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
This initiative resulted in the arrest of more than 5,000 individuals. Raids were conducted on nearly 800 illegal gambling dens which had handled more than US$155 million worth of bets.
The new programme will create a continuous learning and operational platform for all officials involved directly or indirectly in international and national football. It will also deliver regional training and advice at international football events such as the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, as well as at youth competitions ranging from U-17 to U-20 events.
For further information on the work of FIFA and Interpol in the fight against corruption access the websites (dedicated links are provided at the bottom of this page)
