Is Ferwafa ready to fight match-fixing in Rwanda?

Football or soccer to our friends in North America is known throughout much of the world as the beautiful game but the sport has its ugliest side, which is match-fixing. In Rwanda we are in the process of developing our game by producing our own talent from the grass roots.And it’s on that background the local football governing body (FERWAFA) must be on alert and willing to fight the vice by imposing tough sanctions on anyone trying to compromise our players, referees or any club official.Because match fixing is driven by gambling, it should be seen as the biggest problem in today’s game and its development process in the developing world.For that reason I tried to do some research around the world to see how match fixing is affecting the beautiful game, we love so much, and trying to explain what match fixing means!A European police intelligence agency said Monday that its 19-month investigation, code-named Operation Veto, revealed widespread occurrences of match-fixing in recent years, with 680 games globally deemed suspicious. The extent was staggering, some 150 international matches, mostly in Africa, Asia and Latin America; roughly 380 games in Europe, covering World Cup and European championship qualifiers as well as two Champions League games.Match fixing is the arranging in advance of the outcome of a match, or of events within that match, usually for the purpose of making money, often from betting. You are not allowed to accept from or offer to anyone any bribes, gifts, rewards of any nature in relation to seeking to influence the outcome, result or conduct of a match or competition.You must immediately report to The FA any approach or any offer of a bribe, gift, reward made to you or any other participant related to seeking to influence the outcome, result or conduct of a match or competition.The following are all examples of events which breach the Rules on Match-Fixing, they are a guide only. If you are in any doubt whatsoever about your responsibilities in this area you should speak to your club secretary, Ferwafa or any other relevant authorities like the police. For instance in our case, if a player is offered Rwf500,000 to put the ball out for a corner in the 17th minute of a game and the player ignores the offer but does not report the approach, he is in breach of the rules.If a player is offered and accepts a week’s holiday from a local travel agent if his team loses, that player is in breach of the rules as he has accepted a gift from someone seeking to influence the conduct of a match.Is FERWAFA capable of investigating and fighting match-fixing in case of a raised suspension? FERWAFA and the Ministry of Sports must be on high alert and be ready to tackle this issue before its takes a whole new dimension in Rwanda. We love our local league as it’s developing day by day and the talent is there to keep us entertained but it will be sad to find out that some people in APR FC, Rayon Sport or any other local club are involved in match-fixing like was the case with Jean Marie Ntagwabira.The former APR, Atraco, Rayon and Kiyovu coach became the first high profile person in Rwanda to admit to being involved in match-fixing and is currently serving a five-year ban outside of any football related activities handed out by Ferwafa.