March 13 – With Brazilian football plagued by accusations of match-fixing and corruption the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has agreed a co-operation with the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) who will work with the federation on “a comprehensive and in-depth process of reforms”.
The co-operation will focus immediately on addressing “the urgent challenges faced by Brazilian soccer”. The partnership will be a mix of tackling specific sport integrity issues as well as changing culture within the sport, “promoting the modernization of the sector, the qualification of its agents, and a culture of integrity at all levels”.
Ednaldo Rodrigues (pictured right), CBF president said: “We have established a very important partnership to fight against all types of criminality that can affect football, such as match-fixing, money laundering, racism, harassment. With expertise in all these topics, SIGA is the world’s largest institution in Sport Integrity. They operate independently, always ensuring that sport becomes cleaner and more transparent. We are doing the same here. SIGA will work with the Integrity Unit at CBF, which has been very engaged with all the major institutions in the world.”
CBF, SIGA, and its subsidiary for Latin America, SIGA Latin America, outlined co-operation in several key areas:
- Prevention and combat against all threats to the Integrity of football;
- Implementation of SIGA’s Universal Standards on Sport Integrity and SIGA’s Independent Rating and Verification System (SIRVS);
- Sharing of knowledge and implementation of best practices in terms of Good Governance in Sport, Financial Integrity and Transparency in Sport, Sports Betting Integrity, and Youth Development and Protection in Sport;
- Prevention and combat against racism, violence, and all forms of discrimination, as well as promotion of gender equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility;
- Organization of joint events, including conferences, workshops, and award ceremonies, such as the SIGA GRID Awards and the Brazilian Soccer Integrity Awards; and
- Active engagement in the institutional development of SIGA LATIN AMERICA and in SIGA’s global reform agenda in Brazil, promoting cordial relations and constructive cooperation with all relevant organizations, authorities, and partners in the sector.
“CBF’s tolerance for any type of crime in soccer is zero. Our work will be based on this partnership, and we will keep doing what we have always done also in conjunction with FIFA. As a FIFA member, we will continue to fly this flag in all countries. Today we took a very important step, and it will not be the only one,” said Rodrigues.
SIGA has worked for several years with various international and national sports organizations, including UEFA, the European Rugby League, the European Swimming League, the International Chess Federation, the São Paulo Football Federation, and the Portuguese Professional Football League.
Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros (pictured left), Global CEO of SIGA and president and CEO of SIGA Latin America, said: “Brazilian Football has a significance in the world that nobody can deny. This significance is not unrelated to its five World Cups and the genius with which Pelé, Garrincha, Zico, Sócrates, Ronaldo, and many others elevated soccer to the condition of art.
“Brazilian football, however, can and should be more than its past glories. It can and must look to the future and realize its potential. To be modern, competitive, and sustainable. With a reformist vision, future strategy, and long-term objectives…” he continued.
“The signing of this agreement is not an end in itself, nor a blank check. On the contrary, it is a set of duties, a set of responsibilities that we embrace. That binds us both – SIGA and CBF.”
Antônio Carlos Basto, member of the CBF’s Integrity Unit, highlighted match-fixing as the most clear and present danger to Brazilian football currently.
“When CBF created its Integrity Unit, it aimed and continues to aim to be at the forefront of the fight against match-fixing. The creation of the CBF Integrity Unit was conceived in collaboration with FIFA and Conmebol… The world’s great challenge today is the challenge posed by match-fixing, which is a negative externality resulting from the existence of sports betting,” said Basto.
“CBF wants to be at the forefront of this fight, in partnership with public authorities, such as the ones we have in place with the Public Ministry, the Federal Police, the Ministry of Justice, and various service providers who also assist us in combating match-fixing. We count on respected international entities, such as SIGA and ICSS, to promote the best practices in the area. We want CBF to be an example to the world.”
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