Saudi Arabia is passionate about football. However, the reputation of the sport has been tarnished due to match-fixing scandals. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) has made several efforts in the past to prevent match-fixing but, despite all efforts, have failed to control the problems. However, SAFF are persisting and determined to take action against those ruining the country’s prestigious sports’ reputation.
SAFF recently entered into a groundbreaking agreement with Sportradar Integrity Services to ensure international soccer integrity. The two well-known organizations have established a smartphone application to educate customers and players on the risks of match-fixing and tampering.
The application enables players, administrators, and the general public to report issues, such as alleged match-fixing or match manipulation, to the SAFF for further investigation. Let’s have a look at all the details of this agreement!
The SAFF Integrity Application
The name Sportradar is not new in the world of sports. It is one of the world’s foremost providers of sports technology. The global platform, located in Switzerland, was launched in 2001. The company employs technology innovations and data science to deliver the most precise and up-to-date information to sports federations, allowing them to take numerous legal steps and work to verify match results.
When the Saudi Federation launched the SAFF Integrity Application in collaboration with Sportradar, the General Secretary, Ibrahim Alkassim, welcomed it with open hands. He stated: “Preserving the integrity of football is one of our highest priorities, and we are overjoyed to be working with Sportradar Integrity Services.”
The application will primarily work by supervising many football tournaments conducted by SAFF. A bet monitoring service, Sportradar’s Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS), will be used for this purpose and will hopefully succeed in its efforts to prevent match-fixing.
“Monitoring services supplied by their professional team via the UFDS will reinforce our current integrity procedures, and the Education & Prevention seminars will guarantee that stakeholders are comprehensively trained on handling and working with any integrity concerns,” Alkassim added.
Andreas Krannich, director of Sportradar Integrity Services, also appreciated the collaboration, saying that the company was pleased to work with SAFF to address integrity-related problems. Krannich acknowledged his eagerness to work with SAFF and launch Sportradar’s integrity program.
The application is also pertinent in helping the public and officials to identify any integrity issues and report them to the authorities for quick action. SAFF guarantees that the signals will be assessed secretly and that people who notify will be able to submit their concerns confidently. The application is now completely free to download from the App Store and Google Play and is accessible in English and Arabic.
The Saudi Federation will also offer online training classes in English and Arabic to teach users the basics of the application. The courses will focus heavily on the value of integrity in football for the education of the Saudi club administrative staff, athletes, game officials, Saudi Football Association personnel, and stakeholders.
The SAFF Integrity Unit
The SAFF Integrity Unit includes qualified people from the Federation’s legal and administrative departments working day and night for the game’s safety concerns. It will review authentic reports and conduct any required disciplinary actions in accordance with the law.
The new platform is one of the most reliable tools acquired by SAFF as part of a collaboration arrangement made with Sportradar Integrity Services to prevent match-fixing. It will reinforce SAFF’s efforts to promote and maintain football’s integrity in the country.
Reporting is accomplished by registering within the app and receiving a unique code that confirms the user’s personal information. This code can be used to access the account using a smartphone. After that, a user can complain about a specific match’s result and provide any comments, justifications, or insights they want to submit to the association. After submission, the user will be given an ID to track the outcomes and conclusions of the Federation’s appropriate technical panel in this report.
Final Thoughts
With the rising popularity of sports among spectators and Federations in Saudi Arabia, the partnership between SAFF and Sportradar will be quite beneficial. It will be a great way to allow supporters to contact the SAFF directly if they identify suspicious activity.
Information in Arabic from Casinoelarabs.com: Saudi Federation launched the SAFF Integrity ApplicationMore on Saudi Arabia: Saudi Company signs contract to buy ESL and FACEIT
