Integrity in Football

Football NSW CEO Eddie Moore discusses his views on the integrity issues that have arisen in football over the past week. 
Dear Members,
I am writing to all Clubs and Associations in relation to the integrity issues that have arisen in football over in the past week.
Football NSW takes this matter very seriously and wishes to advise that the National Integrity of Sport Unit’s Anti-Match-Fixing Education Program is available online.
This program allows sports to meet their obligations to educate players, support personnel, officials and staff under the obligations of their match-fixing policies.
It is accessible from the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport website, through the following link: http://elearning.sport.gov.au
The program is modelled on SportAccord’s Global Programme to Stop Match-Fixing in Sport and was developed with the assistance of Netball Australia, with the key objectives of:            

• raising awareness in Australian sporting organisations about responsible behaviour in relation to sports integrity issues including sports betting;
• assisting athletes and officials to appreciate the harm that engaging in match-fixing and other corrupt activities can impose on their careers and reputation of their sport; and
• empowering sporting organisations to develop and implement their own specific match-fixing education programs in line with their policies and code of conduct.

To access the program:

1. click on the link above
2. select  the ‘Get Started’ option on the front page
3. create an account
4. you can now start the course!

(Please note that initially you will only be able to see the first module. You will need to successfully complete the first module to move on to the next.)
In addition to this the FFA has commenced a Code of Conduct process regarding the issue in Victoria and are working closely with Football Federation Victoria concerning the implications for its competition.
These episodes have put the spotlight on FFA’s integrity measures. You need to know that the integrity of football is paramount to Football NSW and FFA.
Attached is the link to the FFA Betting and Match Fixing Guidelines, which are on our website.  They include guidance on reporting matters; see section 3.4 including the email address for our Integrity Unit for any referrals. 
http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/site/_content/document/00001270-source.pdf
FFA’s integrity measures include;
Relevant regulations prohibiting betting and match-fixing.  Signing up to these has been expressly incorporated into the national registration process.

• Educational guidelines available on the website.  We encouraged all Member Federations to distribute these throughout their state. 
• Integrity agreements in place with the key Australian based betting agencies.
• A contract with Sportradar, international monitoring agencies, which produced information that was referred to Victoria and led to the VPL matter coming to light.

The other important message to come out of the VPL issue is that it demonstrated the FFA’s integrity measures work. The case in Victoria shows that FFA took the steps that a best practice sports Integrity Unit should follow;
Engage international experts to monitor betting.

• A prompt referral to appropriate law enforcement agency once information came to hand.
• Collaboration with that agency throughout the investigation.
• Instigation of game-related Code of Conduct process.

FFA has taken these steps and has been commended by Victoria Police, FIFA and the AFC for its actions.
FFA’s focus is on a whole range of integrity measures under the administration of an Integrity Unit. This unit is headed by Jo Setright, a member of FFA’s Senior Management Committee and a member of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, the AFC Disciplinary Committee and FFA’s delegate to integrity committees established by COMPPS and the Federal Government’s Office of Sport.
The Integrity Unit is chaired by Jo and includes the Head of Hyundai A-League Damien de Bohun, Head of Community Football Emma Highwood and our two in-house legal counsels, Sam Chadwick and Tim Holden. While we are always looking for improvements, FFA believes it has the right systems, resources and senior executive leadership in the management of integrity issues.
The FFA media release on the VPL matter can be viewed here:
http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Victoria-Police-make-arrests-into-alleged-matchfixing/74932
If you have any questions on FFA integrity measures, please refer them to Jo Setright, Head of Legal, Business Affairs and Integrity, FFA.
Regards,
Eddie Moore