UEFA, the football governing body of Europe, has announced the renewal of its existing agreement with Sportradar to provide access and services to the confederation in its continuing battle against the threats of match fixing.
The extension lasts another four years until 2019, which allows UEFA to use Sportradar’s world-class fraud detection system. In addition, the extension also allows Sportradar’s Security Services to provide betting information from more than 30,000 matches all over Europe, including the top two professional leagues and domestic cup competitions from each of UEFA’s 54 member associations and all teams and players participating in the confederation’s Men’s and Women’s Under-19 and Under-17 final tournaments over the next four seasons.
“The fight against match-fixing is a top priority because an attempt to fix a football match strikes right at the soul of our sport,” UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “We are aware via the UEFA Betting Fraud Detection System that 0.7% of the 30,000+ matches monitored annually present some suspicion, but even one match is one too many.”
UeFA’s contemporaries, including the AFC in Asia and the CONCACAF in North America, also use Sportradar’s Betting Fraud Detection System. In fact, CONCACAF re-upped its own partnership with Sportradar for the 2014–2015 international football season on August.
UEFA were one of our first partners and in the last eight years, they have constantly helped us refine our system and increase its effectiveness,” Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl said. “By adding our e-learning tutorials to the services we provide to UEFA, we will be able to front some of UEFA’s key preventive measures, aimed in this case specifically at the most talented youngsters playing in Europe.”
Meanwhile, the threat of match fixing has compelled another European country to launch an investigation in its own backyard. Sweden’s Crime Prevention Council (BRA) announced last week that it was launching an investigation into match fixing in the country. The Swedish Sports Confederation, the Swedish Football Association, and state-owned gaming operator Svenska Spel immediately commissioned the investigation.
“Match fixing is very serious and is a matter of credibility for the sport; to be effective, we need to gain more knowledge and this investigation will serve as an important basis to build on,” Swedish Sports Confederation General Secretary Birgitta Ljung said.
The decision to launch an investigation follows similar moves made in Italy and Spain where the two countries’ top-flight leagues—Serie A and La Liga—have been embroiled in match fixing allegations.
The results of the investigation aren’t expected to be completed for at least a year.
