It really has come down to this for the cancer that is match-fixing, yet in some way, it could be the match that lights the proverbial fire.
In the latest attempt to address the growing problem of match-fixing, sports leaders from the entire United Kingdom have been invited to a government meeting to discuss what steps are needed to be taken to effectively put an end to what has turned football into a glorified carnival sport.
It’s a lot easier said than done because if it was, it wouldn’t have come to this point where seemingly every week there’s a new case of allegations involving spot-fixing from football players. But hey, props for at least trying to talk about it, yeah?
Maria Miller, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, sent out the invitations to senior officials from a number of associations running the gamut of sports that includes football, tennis, cricket, rugby union and rugby league. As always, the objective is to find ways to combat the issue without compromising the integrity of the sports.
A government source has told the Press Association Sport that representatives from the Premier League, the Football League, the Gambling Commission and the British Horse Racing Authority have all agreed to attend the hearing, ensuring that “no stone is left unturned in the fight against match-fixing in sport.”
The meeting will be held in London today with the hope that something tangible will be agreed upon that will at least get the ball rolling on how to curb match-fixing. According to the Guardian, the Football Association is even open to forming part of a cross-sport anti-corruption body that will address the issue through improved intelligence sharing between sports associations and law enforcement agencies all over the world.
Coordinating action between European agencies and their Asian equivalents could go some ways in at least alleviating the match-fixing bug. But as far as long term solutions are concerned, that’s going to be easier said than done.
Still, when you’re dealing with something as serious an issue as match-fixing in sports, you need to have a concerted effort by multiple parties to ensure that there’s a systematic way of dealing with the problem.
Hopefully, today’s meeting will be the first step in doing that.
