U-17 World Cup: Resist suspicious activity,FIFA warns Nigeria, others ahead of opening duel
World football governing body, FIFA, has warned all the participants in this year’s Under-17 World Cup in Brazil to resist suspicious activity during the competition.
FIFA on Friday organised interactive sessions for all participating member associations in order to brief them on match manipulation and betting prevention while strengthening their capacity to recognise, resist and report any dirty event through FIFA’s reporting mechanisms.
Since 2018, FIFA has been organising individual presentations at its competitions with the aim of providing a dedicated educational and awareness platform on integrity matters to all participating teams.
“Prevention is key and therefore it is fundamental for us to take a proactive stance and insist through an open dialogue on the paramount importance of integrity. Under-17 players are starting their careers and so it is absolutely crucial that we provide them with the necessary tools to safeguard the integrity of the game,” said Oliver Jaberg, FIFA’s Deputy Chief Legal & Compliance Officer and Director of Integrity & Institutional Legal.
Any approach or knowledge in connection with potential match manipulation and/or corruption-related activity can be reported anonymously, securely and confidentially through the FIFA Integrity App (available in the App Store and the Google Play Store) and the BKMS online reporting platform.
“It’s a wonderful initiative from FIFA being proactive about an issue that affects our game, and for the boys to be able to learn about it is crucial. They have read it in the news, I think they know it’s there, but to be aware how it can affect them is very important,” commented Canada’s coach Andrew Olivieri.
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“For nearly all of the players, it’s their first experience of international football and I think it’s really important to educate them as early as possible so that they take the information home,” said New Zealand’s coach José Figueira.