FIFA, Corruption and Sports Governance

blog, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management

The world’s most popular sport is facing a crisis of confidence, and not without good reason. What started as an investigation by the United States Department of Justice into bribery concerning broadcast rights, has become a full scale investigation of FIFA as a whole.
Swiss authorities began looking into bribery charges concerning the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process within hours of the broadcasting scandal, and at least 14 officials and marketers for FIFA have already been indicted for corruption.

Oversight and Audits are Necessary to Remedy Game-Fixing Plague

blog, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management

The recent FIFA scandals have put the spotlight on corruption in sport, and we have been pointing out that in this situation, as with any similar problems in business or other organisations, good governance and ensuring proper compliance are key in minimising the issues.
But while the scandal of the day concerns bribery, there is another issue in global sports that has much stronger roots: the problem of game-fixing. In other words, players purposefully losing a game, holding back on their play, or otherwise disregarding fair play in return for money.
In this article, we discuss how game-fixing facilitated by online betting can be curbed, using a three-pronged compliance approach.

Good Sports Governance Requires Established Standards and Standard Audits

blog, Regulatory Compliance

There seems to be no common international understanding of what comprises “sport governance”, and that’s a big problem.
An issue can’t be dealt with unless it’s defined and understood. This is painfully obvious in the current discussion about governance in sport, highlighted by the ASADA investigation into the Essendon Football Club debacle concerning sport doping. But the problem certainly isn’t confined to football, and it may be more complex than just blaming players for wanting to “juice up” their performance, as we will see.

Self Regulation and Compliance Aren’t Always Compatible

blog, Compliance Management, Self Regulation

Self-regulation, in most instances of business or government, is far from effective or consistent, let alone honest. Self-preservation is a powerful thing, and human nature dictates that we’re all going to make a mistake, at some point.
When that unfortunate incident happens, the best thing that can happen is to immediately address it and handle it. The longer it goes unaddressed, the more harm it will cause when it finally sees the light of day. Self-regulation, combined with a natural tendency towards self-preservation, is simply an invitation to corrupt practices or processes.