FIFA gives INTERPOL €20m grant to fight match-fixing

The world’s football governing body, FIFA has given the International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) a €20 million grant to fight against match-fixing over the next ten years.

The grant, which is the largest INTERPOL has ever received from a private institution is to create a FIFA Anti-Corruption Training Wing within the INTERPOL Global Complex (IGC) in Singapore to chase out all match-fixing crime bosses, FIFA says.

The announcement was made by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble at a press conference held at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on May 9, 2011.

“Under the agreement, INTERPOL will receive €4 million in each of the first two years, followed by €1.5 million in each of the following eight years”, Sepp Blatter said.

According to FIFA, the initiative will provide cutting-edge training, education and prevention to protect the sport, the players and the fans from fraud and corruption.

“In the fight against illegal betting and match-fixing, the preventive measures that can be taken and the protection of the players and the integrity of the game are of the utmost importance. Joint work with the authorities and with INTERPOL is crucial for success, and for this reason we are very pleased to announce this contribution today, which will further enhance our cooperation,” said President Blatter.

FIFA has also announced the creation of an internal Betting Integrity Investigation Task Force, which will comprise members of FIFA’s Legal Division and Security Department, as well as the Early Warning System GmbH.

By Ekow Quandzie