Match fixing: threat to integrity of football in Africa
Lazarus Sauti
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If left unchecked, this treacherous disease
will ensure Africa will never become a global football powerhouse in the near
future.
Match fixing - the arranging in advance of the outcome of a match, or of
events within that match, usually for the purpose of making money is injuring
and soiling the image of the continent.
It is also threatening the integrity of football in Africa – the continent
known as the cradle of humanity.
In
organised sports,
match fixing occurs as a match
is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the
rules of the game and often the law.
In
short, games are deliberately lost or thrown
away.
To
intentionally lose a match, sometimes substitutions made by the coach are designed
to deliberately increase the team's chances of losing.
This
exercise of fixing the final result of the game is tarnishing the image of
soccer in Europe, Asia and Africa.
While those involved with match fixing face severe
consequences if they are caught, football supporters and sponsors suffer, too.
Ultimately, fans either see their team perform worse than
they should or are hurt if the team later faces sanctions. Also, innocent
football players fall victim to their teammates' dishonest actions.
While the matches are happening, the players who are giving
their all and trying to win are unaware that despite their best efforts their
teammates are working to ensure that they are not successful.
As well, any sanctions handed down on a team hurt the
innocent players as much as the cheaters.
Therefore, Africa needs to do a lot more to fight
match-fixing if it wants to restore the faith of fans in the sport.
Chris Eaton, a former Fifa official (security chief
for football's governing body), has called for a new body that is made up of
police across the African continent, sporting bodies as well as gambling
organisations to help combat match fixing.
He said, “It (the new body) would need appropriate
funding both from inside and outside Africa and should go beyond ‘writing
reports’ to produce credible investigations.”
Eaton also said Africa needs substantial continental
reform if it is to effectively curb match fixing.
He said: “There are an enormous amount of allegations
involving Africans in match-fixing.
"I think you will find most serious people in
sport in Africa today recognise that. There is a need for regulation and
oversight of the official and even unofficial bodies that are part of the
sporting milieu.''
The sad thing about the match fixing problems in
Africa is that political leaders on the continent did not seem serious about
combating the problem.
African leaders lack political will – the exercise of
political authorities to enforce certain acts for the benefit of the public. Eaton
commented: "It is a lack of political will. “African police are as
competent and capable as any police in the world. There is no doubt if they put
their will to it and have the funding to it, they can do it.''
To effectively eradicate match fixing problems in
Africa, the Confederation of African Football should acknowledge the problem
and take steps to combat it. CAF should increase the close watch of
competitions. Furthermore, players and referees in Africa need
face-to-face discussions about what is acceptable and to be warned about the
dangers of being involved in match fixing scandals.
FIFA
should also put into place a raft of measures to fight match fixing, in
particular by increasing surveillance of competitions, collaborating with
national and international policing bodies and also by focusing on prevention
and the education, most notably, of players, referees, coaches and their
entourage.
Again, education needs be reinforced with legislation. Tougher
rules to ensure clubs are financially sound and pay their players would help to
minimise match fixing. It is common knowledge that match-fixing
has become a global problem, and a report from the European Union police
agency, Europol,
found organised crime gangs have fixed or tried to fix hundreds of football
matches around the world in recent years.
Europol said an 18-month review found 380 suspicious
matches in Europe and another 300 questionable games outside the continent,
mainly in Africa, Asia and South and Central America. Thus, Africa and the rest
of the world should join hands to curb this problem.
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