Integrity – Inside World Football

Romanian youth focus on player safeguarding and threat of match-fixing with Integriball 2.0 project

Paul Nicholson — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 08:10:32 +0000

March 31 – The Romanian Football Federation (FRF) has launched its Integriball 2.0 project, which aims to protect female and young footballers from threats related to safety and sports manipulation.

FRF, together with the CSCF Foundation for the Integrity of Sport, hosted two major training events at its headquarters. The initiative responds to the specific needs of female and young footballers, and is the first program of its kind in Romania.

The first event,

SIGA and Brazil’s Federal Anti-Corruption Authority (CGU) combine for integrity platform

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 00:19:00 +0000

March 28 – SIGA Latin America has signed what it says is a landmark Technical Cooperation Agreement with Brazil’s Office of the Comptroller General (Controladoria-Geral da União – CGU) the highest federal authority responsible for promoting transparency, auditing public accounts, enforcing internal control mechanisms, and combating corruption across Brazil.

Through this agreement, SIGA Latin America and the CGU will establish a platform for technical cooperation, focusing on the development and dissemination of policies,

SIGA take Female Leadership Summit to Brazil ahead of 2027 World Cup

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:12:40 +0000

March 26 – Sports integrity body SIGA is to host the inaugural Latin American edition of its Summit on Female Leadership in Sport in São Paulo on May 12 at the law firm Pinheiro Neto Advogados.

The summit reflects SIGA’s ongoing commitment to promoting female leadership and advancing gender equity in Sport.

As part of its global mentorship programme, SIGA now has 40 mentors in the region and applications have been received from a wide range of mentees throughout Latin America.

Op-Ed: From sidelines to boardrooms – women’s leadership in sport can’t wait

Paul Nicholson — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 11:37:07 +0000

By Katie Simmonds, Chair, SIGA Women Council

March 8 – Here we go… again! Today we are celebrating International Women’s Day 2025, and it is time to shine a spotlight on our journey to achieving gender equity in sport. Stifle a yawn.

In reality – what has changed in the last 12 months to tangibly make a difference? How can we contribute to shaping a future that is better for young women with more opportunities to thrive when the pace of change is slow,

SIGAWomen to take its female leadership in sport summit in Dubai

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:18:13 +0000

February 14 – The SIGA Summit on Female Leadership in Sport will make its debut in Dubai on April 8. It’s last three editions have been hosted at the Mastercard Tech Hub in Manhattan.

Mastercard will again host the one-day event that will facilitate the exchange of ideas, experiences, and best practices, with the objective of increasing female representation at the highest levels in sports organisations.

Topics will include good governance,

SIGAWomen Council to champion gender equality and female leadership

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 00:13:09 +0000

February 13 – Sports integrity group SIGA has launched its SIGAWomen Council, dedicated to promoting gender equity and female leadership in sport.

A key initiative within the SIGAWomen Programme, dedicated to promoting gender equity and female leadership in sport, the council will act as a high-level consultative internal organ designed to promote Good Governance in Sport.

Focus will be on advancing gender equity and promoting female leadership within the decision-making structures of sports governing bodies and other key stakeholders.

LAFC part-owner Ruben Gnanalingam apologies for anti-Israel posts

Paul Nicholson — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 00:17:15 +0000

February 11 – Major League Soccer (MLS) opens its 2025 season on February 22, however, LAFC have already hit the news in controversial fashion as part-owner, Ruben Gnanalingam, was forced to apologise for anti-Israel posts on social media.

Both MLS and LAFC were critical of Gnanalingam (pictured left), after the Jewish Chronicle reported that the Malaysian businessman reposted messages on his LinkedIn page, including comments urging “armies” to “dismantle” Israel and one that compared the war in Gaza with the Holocaust.

SIGA signs 11 Portuguese players to 6th edition of Women’s Global Mentorship programme

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 06:12:53 +0000

January 30 – SIGA is has admitted 11 Portuguese female footballers as mentees into the SIGAWomen Global Mentorship Programme.

This collaboration follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in September 2024 between SIGA and the Portuguese Players’ Union, with the aim of promoting and empowering female athletes through dedicated advocacy and collaboration.

Katie Simmonds, chair of SIGA Women, said: “The 6th cycle of the programme will be our best and biggest yet,

Former head of US agency that broke the FIFA corruption case in 2015 says it isn’t over yet

Paul Nicholson — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 06:39:01 +0000

January 28 – Speaking at SIGA’s financial integrity forum (FITS) in Lisbon, Portugal, Richard Weber, the former director of the US’s IRSCI (Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation) agency that broke the case that led to the US indictments in 2015 of eventually more than 40 FIFA officials and associates, said that the investigation “is continuing today”.

Outlining the scale of the investigation that began in 2010 around the time that the US lost their bid for the 2022 World Cup to Qatar,

Kick It Out tackles Infantino over Argentine players’ racist chanting towards French African players

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 10:40:58 +0000

January 17 – Anti-discrimination group Kick It Out has written a powerful letter to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino asking what action, if any, was being taken over a video posted on social media by Chelsea’s Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez last year featuring an alleged “racist and transphobic” chant against French players.

The group says if no inquiry has taken place “it points to a deeply concerning lack of transparency and accountability”.

After Argentina beat Colombia in the Copa America final,

SIGA ramps up agenda for financial integrity forum FITS, January 27

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 04:00:04 +0000

January 16 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) and SIGA Europe will hold its host its Financial Integrity and Transparency within Sport (FITS) Forum January 27 in Lisbon, Portugal.

It is the second time that SIGA has held its FITS Forum, following on from the first event in New Year last June.

The Lisbon event is being organised in conjunction with and hosted by PwC Portugal. Topics covered will include the regulation of multi-club ownership,

IFA7 themes its 2025 UAE World Championship to sport integrity agenda

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 04:09:01 +0000

December 11 – The game of football continues to evolve with different platforms of the sport becoming more prominent. The latest iteration of the ‘beautiful game’ that is gaining traction is 7-a-side football.

Founded in 2015 by Daniel Balcorta, the IFA 7 (International Football Association) recently announced an alignment with the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) as the official integrity partner.

Formalised in Dubai, IFA7 will join SIGA as a Member in the New Year and will implement SIGA’s Universal Standards on Good Governance in Sport and be SIGA certified through its independent rating system,

Saudi web of sponsorships has ‘reshaped the sports world’, says report

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 15:35:29 +0000

December 5 – Saudi Arabia’s network and influence in global sports and football keeps growing. With the Arab kingdom’s coronation as host of the 2034 World Cup just days away, a new report details a web of Saudi sponsorship deals, but cautions that good governance could suffer as a result.

The report by Play the Game, a sports ethics institute from Denmark, identified 910 Saudi Arabian sponsorship deals in numerous sports. The report argues that “backed by billions of dollars and a rapidly expanding network of sponsorships,

SIGA adds Gilberto Silva, Sol Campbell and Nicola Innocentin to integrity champions roster

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:45:47 +0000

November 15 – With SIGA’s Sport Integrity Week coming near to its closing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the side lines of the Cityscape Global 2024 event, SIGA has unveiled three legends of football as the latest editions to their SIGA Champions roster.

Former Brazil and Arsenal star Gilberto Silva, Arsenal and England legend Sol Campbell and international football executive and founder of Global Football Service Nicola Innocentin (Italy), join former Fulham, Manchester United and France star Louis Saha as the football players in SIGA’s ambassador programme.

Dutch arrest total reaches 68 after Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv ‘free Palestine’ protests

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 12:22:13 +0000

November 13 – Dutch police say they have arrested five more people for their suspected involvement in the attacks on Israeli fans last week which authorities have condemned as antisemitic.

The suspects are men aged 18 to 37 and living in the Netherlands. Previously, 63 suspects had been arrested.

The assaults took place before and after the Ajax-Maccabi Tel Aviv Europe league game and made global headlines.

Unrest flared up again in the city on Monday evening when an empty tram and a police car were set alight.

Peruvian FA boss Agustín Lozano arrested for blackmailing local clubs

Paul Nicholson — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 09:47:35 +0000

November 11 – Peruvian police have arrested the head of the country’s FA, Agustín Lozano, as part of an investigation into allegations that he abused his position to extort local clubs into surrendering their television rights.

Lozano was detained last week outside his home Lima promising to clear up any misunderstanding and saying that “everything will be clarified to ensure peace of mind”. Six other people connected to the suspected conspiracy were also arrested.