By Paul Nicholson
May 13 – CONCACAF has taken another step forward in the battle against match-fixing, signing a memorandum of Understanding with International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL). The co-operation agreement will enable joint efforts in what CONCACAF calls “sports integrity initiatives”, particularly in the sharing of resources and experiences. The aim is to intensify on-going work to combat match-fixing.
Dr. Laila Mintas, CONCACAF’s Director of Sports Integrity, leads the confederation’s war on match-fixing. She was previously Head of Legal and International Development for FIFA’s Early Warning System (EWS) in Zurich.
“A key task of CONCACAF’s Integrity approach is prevention. Together with Interpol we will work on prevention and education programs. It is important to start with these programs on an early stage, so we are planning to create tools for grassroots but also for professional players, referees, coaches and manager which will be available for the entire CONCACAF family,” said Mintas.
The MoU covers co-ordinated training programmes and workshops against match-fixing and corruption in sports for players, referees and officials focused on prevention and education.
“At CONCACAF we are determined to eradicate this scourge from football through education, surveillance and sanction of those involved in any unethical and unlawful behavior that would undermine the legitimate nature of the game,” said CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb (pictured).
“Working together with Interpol will allow us to tap into their vast expertise in this area. The football family must continue to play an intrinsic part on the battle against match fixing. However, we mustn’t forget to work in partnership with all other stakeholders, such as other sports, governments, media, fans and society as a whole,” added Webb.
CONCACAF has not been a slow mover in the area and recently launched a blanket prevention initiative ‘Protect Yourself and Keep Your Sport Clean’ for players, coaches and officials participating in CONCACAF championships at all age levels.
CONCACAF also took part in a joint Interpol-FIFA Integrity in Sport workshop in New York, and participated in a similar workshop in Guatemala in 2012.
“This agreement formalizes the extremely constructive and fruitful relationship between Interpol and CONCACAF, as seen by the joint initiatives we have already delivered to our member countries,” said Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.
“We are united in our determination to protect the ‘beautiful game’ and in our collective commitment to educate and support all those involved in this fight including law enforcement, players and officials to ensure the public can maintain confidence in the integrity of all sports.”
Generally there has been a culture of local football betting within the CONCACAF region, but the issue has been confronted in the region with match-fixers working on games played by CONCACAF member associations. The highest profile case has been the sanctioning of 21 El Salvador players for match manipulation that occurred in international matches, including friendlies and CONCACAF Gold Cup matches, of the El Salvador national “A” team in 2010.
Most of the players concerned were given life bans by CONCACAF that were extended to global bans by FIFA.
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