Brazil, a nation where football is more of a culture than a sport, is confronting the challenge of match manipulation head-on. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is at the forefront of this battle, using data and proactive measures to keep the country’s beloved sports out of the mud.
Globally, Brazil boasts the highest number of football matches. This volume brings an inherent risk of problems like match manipulation. The CBF reported 109 matches with suspected manipulations, surpassing the Czech Republic and the Philippines, which had 67 and 65 respectively.
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Since 2017, the CBF has partnered with Sportradar, a Swiss company specializing in sports data analysis, to monitor matches for signs of manipulation. Even though there are many matches flagged for concerns, the CBF believes they are handling the problem well.
CBF’s stance : key points
- The CBF notes that the proportion of suspicious matches it organizes is in line with global averages, with only 15 national tournament matches under suspicion.
- There was a 30% reduction in suspicious matches in 2023 compared to the previous year.
- The partnership expansion with Sportradar led to a nearly 400% increase in the monitoring of Brazilian matches in 2023.
- Brazil now has the most matches monitored by Sportradar, with 9,000 games across 118 competitions analyzed.
- Only 0.72% of the flagged matches were under the CBF’s organization, a lower rate than any other country with a footballing culture.
The CBF’s efforts to prevent match manipulation extend beyond monitoring and analysis. Last November, it established an Integrity Unit led by Eduardo Gussem, the former Attorney General of Rio de Janeiro, dedicated to examining potential manipulation cases.
Additionally, the CBF has partnered with the Federal Police and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, sharing data and reports on suspicious matches to fight manipulation.
