FIFA has launched a new Global Integrity Programme, alongside the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to combat match manipulation with its 211 member associations.

Reaffirming its commitment to protecting and promoting the integrity of the game, the Global Integrity Programme has been established to improve education and build integrity by sharing advanced know-how and resources with integrity officers.

UNODC – which signed a memorandum of understanding with FIFA last year – has teamed with the governing body once more on supporting governments and sports organisations in their efforts to safeguard sport from corruption and crime.

“Integrity, good governance, ethics and fair play – these are values that lay at the very heart of football,” FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, explained in his announcement.

“In my vision as FIFA President, I have set out 11 goals to make football truly global. In order to achieve part of this, it is vital that we promote and protect the integrity of football and stay vigilant to the very real risk that match fixing and organised crime poses.”

The initiative is organised regionally per confederation and includes a series of three-module virtual workshops to be delivered to all FIFA member associations.

The first edition of the Global Integrity Programme, dedicated to the member associations from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), launched the first module on 4 March, with the second module scheduled for 16 March.

Infantino continued: “Match-fixing is an issue that is very real and threatens the integrity and credibility of football in many countries around the world.

“Working in close collaboration with experts at the UNODC and alongside other ongoing efforts that FIFA is taking, the FIFA Global Integrity Programme is another important step by FIFA to protect the integrity of football and will play an important role in educating and building capacity within member associations to help fight match-fixing at a local level.”

In addition to the Global Integrity Programme, the governing body has also launched the FIFA Integrity Officers Community Platform – the first-ever community-driven online platform dedicated exclusively to integrity officers across all member associations and confederations worldwide.

The platform will bring together a global network of integrity officers, who will be able to share the best practices used to combat match manipulation and promote integrity within the sport.