What can governments do to end corruption in

football?

The reason I chose Corruption in football is because, since I was a kid, I loved
football. I used to watch and play everyday, but specifically I chose it because I
hate when they don't play fair games and get money over football
matches.According to the UN(United Nations),”Illegal betting is the number one
factor fuelling corruption in sports”. An example is a Brentford player named Ivan
Toney bet on his own team losing for 13 games in a row.

Football is loved all over the world because it’s simple and anyone can play,
whether it's in a park or on the streets. But as football got bigger, it started to be
used for money and power. Big organizations like FIFA have been caught up in
corruption, like in 2015 when officials took bribes for World Cup votes. There are
also problems with clubs like Manchester City, Barcelona, and Juventus, who’ve
been accused of breaking rules or paying off referees. These scandals make
people question what makes a beautiful sport like football being used for illegal
issues.

Corruption in football is a big problem, especially with all the gambling companies
involved. A lot of Premier League clubs have gambling sponsors, which brings in
a lot of money. For example, in the 2023/2024 season, eight clubs had gambling
logos on their shirts. Even though the Premier League said they’ll stop this by
2025, there’s still a lot of ads on the side of the pitch, so fans still see all the
gambling stuff. This could make more people, especially younger fans, think
gambling is okay. It’s even worse because some gambling companies target
countries where gambling is illegal, which can trick people into thinking they’re
safe. Football really needs stronger rules to stop gambling from making the sport
worse.

However, To protect football and keep it clean, FIFA has created strict rules about
betting and gambling. They want to make sure that everyone involved in football,
such as players, coaches and referees, stays away from anything that could lead
to betting scandals. FIFA’s rules say that anyone involved in football can’t
participate in betting on football matches or events, even if they try to hide it or do
it through other people. They also can’t have any connections to companies
involved in betting or gambling related to football.

These rules are taken seriously. If anyone breaks them, they could face a
baniment from football for up to three years. For example, if a player, coach or
referee bet on a football match, that's considered direct involvement, and they
could be punished. But even if someone doesn’t bet directly, they can still get in
trouble. If a football person gets someone else to place a bet for them, using their
own money or the money of someone involved in football, and then shares the
winnings, that’s also a violation. Another example is when a person involved in
football shares secrets inside the team or information that someone outside will
not know with someone outside of the sport, and that person uses that info to bet
on a match.

FIFA is working hard to keep football fair and free from corruption by making sure
everyone follows these rules. Their goal is to keep the sport clean and enjoyable
for both players and fans.

Sportradar Integrity Services uncovered 1212 dubious matches across 92

countries in 12 sports during 2022 rather thoroughly it seems. There was a 34%
hike from 2021. Sporting events largely remained untainted by match-fixing with
a whopping 99.5% being free from such shady practices together still. Soccer
accounted for 775 suspicious matches while basketball saw a big jump with 220
flagged. Company utilized sophisticated artificial intelligence helping detect such
cases by virtue of the Universal Fraud Detection System identifying 438
suspicious matches rather quickly. AI scrutinizes over 500 data points per match
including betting odds game stats and various metrics spotting unusual patterns
rather effectively. Asia and South America trailed Europe which topped the list of
suspicious matches quite distantly and somewhat unsurprisingly so. Flagged
matches popped up mostly in relatively obscure tournaments featuring youth
teams and regional leagues across various geographical areas. Sportradar
helped bump up the number of legal sanctions and sporting penalties quite
significantly to 169 in 2022 from 72 previously.

UK Gambling Commission and New South Wales police launched a major probe
into alleged shenanigans tied against Macarthur FC, but you could see tell that
something was wrong in the game. Senior players purportedly colluded with
some shady South American fixer who facilitated receipt of yellow cards during
key matches for a fat $10,000 bribe. Three players including team captain Ulises
Dávila were nabbed on April 19 2024 along with Clayton Lewis and Kearyn
Baccus pending charges. Matches targeted occurred on November 24 and
December 9 2023 with further lackluster attempts happening sporadically
throughout much of 2024. Authorities reckon a nefarious international crime
syndicate was behind the sinister scheme. Club officials expressed utter
bewilderment and are cooperating fully with investigators. Serious concerns have
been raised about betting-related corruption's impact on sports integrity in
Australia quite alarmingly of late.

FIFA finally got its internal probe back in June 2015 after Swiss authorities and
US officials started snooping around bribery allegations globally. FIFA spent
twenty-two months reviewing over 2.5 million documents and interviewed some
pretty key witnesses afterwards. Findings were compiled into sprawling reports
exceeding 1300 pages and backed by a whopping 20000+ pages of ancillary
documentation. Swiss authorities and U. S. officials acknowledged FIFA's
cooperation after being privy to sensitive info quietly shared with them recently.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that the investigation aimed quite
deliberately at holding perpetrators accountable and bolstering law enforcement
agencies worldwide effectively overnight. FIFA confirmed the investigation led to
sweeping changes in governance and finance amidst ongoing legal proceedings
that stymied full public disclosure. These reforms will be fully summarized and
published by the end of April thoroughly online. FIFA says rebuilding trust and
refocusing on game and global fans with stronger safeguards in place is now its
top priority.

I've always enjoyed football since I was a child. But after learning about
corruption in football, my belief has completely altered. I got to know about such
things as Ivan Toney's betting problems, FIFA taking bribes, and Australia's
match-fixing. Everything taught me that cheating and money problems are not
small mistakes, they're happening all around, even with top football managers
and smaller clubs. That makes me angry because now I can't think of football as
an untainted and fair sport anymore.

Worst of all is that money seems to take precedence over love of the game in
some. Some players, coaches, and even fans don't even realize that they are
part of an apparatus where cheating is a part of. It is a stealthy phenomenon that
cannot be seen without looking extremely hard at it.
Much of the reason why this still happens is because of gambling companies.
They make gambling look like fun and normal, but in fact, they cause a lot of
problems with football. The companies sponsor top clubs, and their signs are
everywhere,even in places where gambling is illegal. They are also targeting
young fans. It's not just about some players disregarding rules. It's the whole
environment which fosters cheating on a grander scale, and gambling is a big
part towards it.

Even though FIFA and the Premier League have put in place some new
sanctions and rules, it is still not enough. The worst of it all is that this problem
exists in lower divisions and among youths, where less oversight is available. I
have heard that even figures from a company named Sportradar show that much
match-fixing takes place in lower divisions.

So how do we prevent it? I think governments need to step in and do a lot more.
Let them prevent football clubs from being sponsored by gambling companies.
No more gambling ads on shirts, billboards, or TV. This will mean that clubs will
not depend on gambling money, and fans will not be tempted to gamble.

Second, there are dedicated anti-corruption squads,not run by football

individuals, but entirely independent. They can use smart tricks like AI to track
suspicious activity, like figuring out when players or referees are probably
cheating.

Third, all referees, coaches, and players are to be taught how dangerous betting
and match-fixing are to the game. If people know the danger, maybe they will
hesitate before doing something wrong.

And finally, this is a world problem. Governments everywhere have to come

together and stop huge crime syndicates who make money from match-fixing.

If all these are achieved, I believe we can revive the integrity and enjoyment of
football. Because football has to be about talent, collaboration, and passion,not
cash, cheating, and rigged outcomes.

So, what must the governments do to stop all the cheating in football? First, they
must stop gambling companies from being involved in football. No more
sponsorship on shirts, boards, or TV. That way, children and fans won't think
gambling is cool or acceptable.
Second, the governments should create special units,like football police,that use
smart tools like AI to catch people who try to cheat. The units should not be run
by football people so that they are not biased.

Third, all of the players, coaches, and referees should be educated about why
match-fixing and betting are bad. If they understand how it hurts football, then
maybe they will not do it.

And finally, all countries must work together to avoid massive crime networks that
make money through match-fixing in football.

If governments do all these, we can bring back the original spirit of football,where
it's all just fun, friendship, and love for the game, not money and cheating.

Sources:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144857

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14660970.2024.2336396#inline_frontnotes

https://directorsbox.app/4-football-corruption-controversies-in-modern-football/

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/may/26/ivan-toney-bet-on-own-club-tried-to-conceal-
gambling-fa-addiction-ban-brentford

https://inside.fifa.com/legal/integrity/betting-in-football

https://investors.sportradar.com/news-releases/news-release-details/sportradar-finds-number-su
spicious-matches-2022-increased-34

https://time.com/6979222/australia-league-football-arrests-yellow-card-fixing/

https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/fifa-completes-internal-investigation-shares-findings-with-
authorities-2878303