Canada Soccer partners with CONCACAF, FIFA and INTERPOL in fight against match-fixing

In its ongoing work to combat match-fixing in soccer in our country, Canada Soccer has joined forces with CONCACAF, FIFA and INTERPOL to safeguard the integrity of our sport through coordinated prevention and education programs for players, referees and officials.

“Working closely with CONCACAF, Canada Soccer will implement an integrity strategy to prevent match manipulation and protect the integrity of soccer in Canada,” said Canada Soccer President Victor Montagliani. “We will work with our Members and other stakeholders to initiate training with key targets of match-fixing and continue our work towards governing the beautiful game in Canada professionally in collaboration with our partners.”

“At CONCACAF we are determined to eradicate this scourge from football through education, surveillance and sanction of those involved in any unethical and unlawful behaviour that would undermine the legitimate nature of the game,” said CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb.

“Canada Soccer is pleased to announce that we have taken an important step in our efforts by appointing Earl Cochrane, Canada Soccer Deputy General Secretary as the Integrity Officer for the organization,” said Peter Montopoli, Canada Soccer General Secretary. “We are confident he will prove a proactive and trust-worthy protector of our sport.”

In this role, Cochrane attended the CONCACAF-INTERPOL “Train the trainers” course this May and obtained his INTERPOL Instructor of Footballers, Referees and Coaches in the Prevention of Match-Fixing Certification.

Hosted by CONCACAF and facilitated by FIFA and INTERPOL, the session offered the participants a specially tailored training on how to prevent match-fixing in football. Training of the trainers is among the first steps in a CONCACAF multi-faceted approach to combat match-fixers through education and prevention, with the aim of ultimately protecting the game’s participants from organized criminals determined to manipulate results.

As a certified INTERPOL trainer, Cochrane will now lead Canada Soccer’s efforts in delivering additional information to players, referees and team officials and provide these individuals with the tools and knowledge to recognize, resist and report match manipulation attempts.

Until further resources are available, Canada Soccer encourages participants of the game that witness or are made aware of suspicious activities that relate to match manipulation or threatens the integrity of soccer in Canada to submit the information to CONCACAF’s (integrity@CONCACAF.org) and Canada Soccer’s (integrity@canadasoccer.com) tip lines.