SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
FIFA, world football’s governing body, has announced the launch of an enhanced integrity toolkit that builds on the integrity programme developed and implemented during the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The new toolkit, which features updated integrity programme resources, aims to not only protect the sport, but also looks to provide help to member associations and confederations in regards to the strengthening and further enhancement of existing measures that protect national and regional-level football matches and competitions from match manipulation.
Oliver Jaberg, FIFA’s Deputy Chief Legal & Compliance Officer and Director of Integrity and Institutional Legal, stated: “In line with FIFA’s continued commitment to safeguard the integrity of football around the world, it is crucial that we continue to develop new and innovative resources that our stakeholders can use to further strengthen football across all areas – both on and off the pitch.”
As well as this, FIFA has also developed a ‘practical handbook’ for its members which is set to serve as a guide on how to build and/or strengthen their own integrity initiatives.
This handbook outlines both the standard steps and best-practice measures needed to implement successful integrity initiatives on a day-to-day basis.
The new Integrity e-Learning tool is aimed at educating individuals involved in the sport about the threat of match manipulation. It describes the applicable regulations that have been put in place by FIFA, explains various forms of integrity-related misconduct and outlines how to correctly report match-manipulation approaches or incidents.
Jaberg concluded: “As an important step in helping to protect the integrity of football competitions at national and regional level as well as to prevent match manipulation, FIFA is excited to have developed several new integrity resources and materials that provide member associations and confederations with specific assistance on best practice in football.
“The ultimate aim is to support and develop stronger integrity structures – as well as long-term, sustainable education and prevention programmes and promotional initiatives – that safeguard the integrity of football.”
