Zurich (AFP) – The FBI returned to FIFA this week to work with football’s governing body to protect the World Cup in Qatar from potential crimes, including match-fixing.
FIFA said Thursday that US federal investigators have joined a meeting of a panel in Zurich that included Interpol and monitoring experts to oversee the “timely handling of integrity issues” at the tournament, which begins on November 20.
Their collaboration comes more than seven years after the revelation of a US federal investigation and a related Swiss case that fired several international football officials and led to the ban of then-FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, for financial misconduct.
FIFA is also partnering with the FBI because the United States is co-hosting the upcoming World Cup alongside its neighbors Canada and Mexico.
As the leading law enforcement and investigative body in the United States, FIFA will join the group “to contribute its expertise and experience, and as part of relevant preparations for the 2026 World Cup”.
FIFA added that the Integrity Working Group will monitor for the first time “the betting markets and in-match procedures in real time” during 64 matches in Qatar.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
Amber Cross
"Music buff. Unapologetic problem solver. Organizer. Social media maven. Web nerd. Incurable reader."