FIFA and UNODC Announce Global Programme to Tackle Corruption in Football
The Global Integrity Programme was established for zero policy tolerance on corruption in football.
FIFA and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) concluded its first-ever international integrity education programme, designed to support all 211 member associations in their efforts to tackle match manipulation in football.
Launched last year by FIFA in collaboration with UNODC, the FIFA Global Integrity Programme aimed to educate and build integrity capacity within 211 member associations, and to share knowledge and resources with integrity officers in football.
Since its launch in March 2021, some 400-plus representatives from governments and football associations across the globe took part in 29 workshops which covered several key topics, including establishing an integrity initiative, reporting mechanisms, competition protection, cooperation between and among member associations and law enforcement.
“Corruption and cheating have no place in our societies, and certainly no place in the world’s most popular sport. Through the Global Integrity Programme, FIFA and UNODC have made a real impact in advancing integrity in football. We will continue working in partnership with FIFA to protect the beautiful game from match fixing and other crimes, and to leverage the global force that is football in our efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly.
Gianni Infantino, FIFA President said: “Integrity, good governance, ethics and fair play – these are values that lie at the very heart of football and are fundamental to ensuring trust and confidence in our sport. Bringing together over 400 participants from around the world, the FIFA Global Integrity Programme delivered together with the UNODC has provided an important platform to educate and strengthen ongoing efforts to combat match-manipulation and protect the integrity of football.
“I would like to thank the UNODC and Ms. Ghada Waly for the ongoing collaboration and look forward to continuing our future work and programmes together.”
As part of the FIFA Global Integrity Programme, workshops were held for all six confederations, including the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).
The FIFA Global Integrity Programme was developed in line with FIFA’s overall vision of making football truly global and the UNODC’s objective of supporting governments and sports organizations in their efforts to safeguard sport from corruption and crime.
The Global Integrity Programme was implemented within the context of a joint FIFA-UNODC partnership, established following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2020 committing to zero policy tolerance on corruption in football.
