Indian football gets an integrity officer

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) Keeping in mind world body FIFA and Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) mandate to crack down on corruption, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Friday appointed Javed Shiraz as integrity officer.

"The AIFF is focused on upholding the core values of football such as fair play, achievement by merit and the uncertainty of the outcome of matches and competitions," AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said.

"Match fixing is a dangerous threat to the game, therefore, the AIFF is committed to protecting the integrity of all its competitions and enhance good governance across football in the country," he added.

The integrity officer will be the single point contact on all matters of integrity in AIFF. He will have to develop an integrity plan and strategy along with developing the required educational material on integrity matters. He will also report the progress of this initiative to the executive committee of the AIFF from time to time.

"With the commercialisation of sports, it has become imperative to have integrity in all areas and prevent any sort of wrong doing," said Javed Shiraz, a former Central Bureau of Investigation officer.

"I will be ensuring that integrity in football is maintained at all levels in the country by coordinating with clubs and their team security officers on all matters pertaining to integrity and security during competitions," he added.

Shiraz will also carry out risk assessment of competition and matches regarding the threat of match manipulation and betting as and when required. He will take charge Aug 1.

The AIFF is also in the process of signing an agreement with security firm Early Warning System (EWS) for monitoring betting on domestic competitions.