A Match Fixing Perfect Storm?

2014-06-23

World Cup 2014 Brazil vs Cameroon 2014/06/24

Allegations of match fixing are commonly aimed at smaller footballing nations, where poorly paid team management figures and players can easily be lured to manipulate matches by the substantial payments offered by match fixers.

A dangerous situation now exists for FIFA in Brazil, where Cameroon have no incentive to win their upcoming match against the host nation Brazil other than national pride on the biggest stage of all. Unfortunately for Cameroon national pride in this case, may not be enough.

The below key factors for the Brazil vs Cameroon fixture now exist, creating A Match Fixing Perfect Storm -

High liquidity in global betting markets.

Poorly paid players and officials

Team Motivation (Cameroon cannot progress from the group round)

Due to the fact this match is a Word Cup fixture, the liquidity in betting markets globally will be vast, meaning the detection of irregular betting patterns across most Brazil vs Cameroon markets will be especially difficult.

Concerns have already been raised by global bookmakers regarding Cameroon and more specifically Cameroon’s most recent match against Croatia which Cameroon lost 4-0. It has been suggested Cameroon may have intentionally lost this game and “allowed” goals at certain points.

I hope that the points outlined in this article are not exercised however global bookmakers are not taking any chances; many are maintaining extremely low limits on the popular Asian handicap and goals markets. At the first sign of foul play bookmakers will remove the Brazil vs Cameroon fixture entirely from their offering.

References-

• FIFA Director of Security Ralf Mutschke was quoted by a number of dailies as hinting that the upcoming World Cup match between Brazil and Cameroon, being played early tomorrow morning HK time, might be at risk of rigging. He observed that the last round of group matches, which might involve teams with no hope of advancing to the next round, carried a greater risk. Media in Brazil suspected that a bookmaker in Asia might be trying to tamper with tomorrow's match result.
• ODN and The Sun noted that the gaming industry had estimated the tournament could rake in wagers of €140 billion worldwide, prompting illegal bookmakers to resort to illicit means to maximise profits. In a sidebar story, they highlighted the low wages of African players, of which illegal bookmakers might take advantage. There were rumours that the Cameroon players had refused to board the plane to Brazil until their national football authority agreed to raise the prize money, and similar incidents had happened in previous events.
• The reports also quoted a report by The Sun in the UK yesterday that a Nigerian agent had boasted to their undercover reporter that he could arrange for players of his national team to be shown red and yellow cards at the tournament in return for bribes of €100,000 and €50,000 respectively.