Tired of ongoing reports of scandal and widespread match-fixing, FIFA has decided to add a little more muscle to its fight against illicit betting activity. FIFA said on Monday that it would fund an Interpol training programme to help address match fixing and illicit betting.
Interpol in the past has reported successful endeavours in preventing illicit betting activity. During last year’s World Cup, Interpol reported that 155 million US dollars in illegal bets were prevented in a joint police operation in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
After meeting Interpol Secretary General Ronald Nobel, FIFA President Sepp Blatter made it clear that FIFA was committed to combating this issue.
FIFA also announced today that it would add an investigation task force to its betting monitoring unit, which will tighten security and bring preventative measures up to par with UEFA.
The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Interpol Secretary General General Ronald Nobel as saying, “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 and they require a global response.”
FIFA is shelling out big bucks towards this initiative and will reportedly contribute 8.0 million euros to its Anti Corruption Training Wing at Interpol in Singapore over the first two years, followed by 12 million euros over the following eight years.
