The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA), in collaboration with Sportradar, has hosted a week long integrity programme for players and officials across the territory.
An official partner of HKFA, the programme has been developed and run by Sportradar, with a particular focus being placed on educating and protecting players from potential match fixing approaches.
HKFA CEO Mark Sutcliffe said: “As guardians of the game of football in Hong Kong, it’s vital that we remain proactive in doing what we can to ensure our players and match officials are provided with the knowledge to be able to avoid match fixing situations.
“This is where Sportradar’s training and expertise is crucial as the recognised leaders in sports integrity worldwide. We are particularly grateful to our clubs, especially those from the Premier League for a 100 per cent turnout.”
In total 16 bespoke workshops were delivered, in both English and Cantonese, to Premier League and Division One clubs, while a separate referee workshop was also presented to around 100 match officials.
Unique and tailored educational and training workshops were featured, using interactive and real life situations to highlight the potential risks and circumstances of match fixing.
Danny Sears , Sportradar’s Head of Education and Integrity Services, added: “We are really pleased to be able to deliver our integrity workshops to football representatives across Hong Kong.
“The programme is a positive and reassuring initiative designed to educate and protect those involved in the territory’s football whilst deterring future manipulations.
“Unfortunately, match fixing is already a reality in Hong Kong, as it is in the rest of the world, with one first division player sentenced to 10 months imprisonment back in 2010 as well as more contemporary examples.”
Integrity education programmes are part of Sportradar’s Fraud Prevention Service (FPS), comprising a suite of tools that can be tailored to meet the specific education and prevention needs of any federation, league or club.
Source: SBC News
