Experts seek stronger measures against corruption in sports
Experts have advised stakeholders working in the sport sector to put in place stronger mechanisms that will prevent crime in sports especially in the area of competition manipulation.
They gave the advise yesterday in Abuja during the multi-stakeholder workshop on integrity in sports organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Officer in charge of UNODC in Nigeria, Elisabeth Bayer, said that despite the recent reforms in the sports sector, there was need to put stronger measures in place to prevent competition manipulation and other forms of organised corruption in sports.
She said many recent and highly mediated scandals have spurred governments and sports organisations to be more proactive in their efforts targeted at addressing corruption in sports.
“Involvement of organised crime in sport which sees opportunities to make illicit profit through betting, fraud and competition manipulation, is also drawing increased attentions of law enforcement authorities all across the globe,” Bayer said.
She said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are currently implementing a global capacity building and training programme to assist counties to address the new criminal challenge posed by the competition manipulation and other threats to the integrity of sport.
Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris said that the phenomenon of match fixing in sport has reared its ugly head as a complex global problem and every efforts should be put in place to curtail continued existence and spread.
“Match fixing has been described as a situation whereby the outcome or result of sporting event has been manipulated. It has been explained as a situation where a player or players in a sports team collude with a betting organization or sport bookies to ensure that a particular result is achieved at the expiration of the event,” he said.