The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has launched its strategy to safeguard the next FIFA World Cup and the 2028 US Olympics from match-fixing.

Based on the G20’s High-Level Principles on tackling corruption in sport, the recommendations offer clear instructions on how to protect the integrity of the two global sports events.

Illegal betting is becoming an area of growing concern for the UN, which has estimated the total value of illegal gambling operations to be in the same ballpark as drug, weapons and human trafficking.

Laying down the first principle, the UNODC recommends all relevant authorities and sports bodies across the US, Canada, Mexico (World Cup) and Los Angeles (Olympics), review regulatory frameworks prior to the events, and introduce updates where necessary.

Suggesting follow-up actions to secure the above, the UNODC is proposing that criminal justice authorities and legislative bodies deliver workshops on a local and national level.

The second recommendation is strong inter-agency cooperation between national and international anti-corruption bodies for the exchange of information and coordination when it comes to countering crime in sports.

“A global trend is the development of mechanisms (such as task forces, platforms, specialized units and entities) to enhance collaboration and cooperation between criminal justice authorities and/or anti-corruption bodies and sports organisations to help tackle corruption and other forms of crime and related wrongdoing in sport,” the organisation outlined.

Key to this coordination will be the creation of a unified approach linked to the organisation of both events, where crimefighting takes a central role.

Perhaps the most important element to be considered in the leadup to the event is ensuring that enough powers are given to investigators, prosecutors, and relevant officials to effectively investigate and prosecute corruption and other forms of crime related to the Olympics and the World Cup.

According to previous data shared by the UN, some of the most prolific criminals that threaten the integrity of not only these two events, but also global sports in general, are located in Asia.

The responsibilities have not just been laid on governments and law enforcement, however. The UN has a few words of advice for the private sector, which may be important given how significant World Cup revenue in particular can be for betting firms, especially those in Europe, Latin America and Africa.

The UN’s report recommends that private sector stakeholders get involved by providing prevention and detection services, such as monitoring betting markets. This is something that the sector does already via organisations like the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), while sports data firms like Sportradar also play a key role.

With the industry’s connection with sports facing scrutiny in many markets and some high profile instances of betting activity by footballers and allegations of corruption, the industry might want to make sure it keeps sports integrity high on its agenda during next year’s and 2028’s tournaments.

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