Thai League hosts Sportradar integrity workshop

The integrity workshop was held at the Thai League 2020 Team Managers’ Meeting on 16 January at Alexander Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. In attendance were team managers at all clubs from Thai League 1 through to Thai League 4. This integrity workshop featured interactive learning and real-life situations to highlight the common threats to sports integrity, such as match-fixing and misuse of inside information, and the risks of being involved in such schemes.

Underpinned by a focus on prevention, team managers were informed of relevant rules and regulations, and best practices to help adhere to them, and are now ready to transmit this information to their players and staff members ahead of the 2020 season. This will ensure that all Thai football clubs are equipped and ready to uphold their responsibilities to integrity during the year ahead. As outlined in the workshop, any integrity concerns can be reported in confidence to the following email address: integrity@thaileague.co.th

After the integrity workshop, a separate meeting was also held with the Thai League’s integrity team, with positive discussions on industry best practices and how integrity measures in the Thai League can be enhanced. This was not the first time the two have worked together, as Sportradar Integrity Services, the AFC, and the Thai League previously collaborated on a 2017 match-fixing investigation which led to 12 arrests including of referees and players for match-fixing in the Thai leagues.

Speaking about the workshop, Andrew Whittingham, Head of Education, Integrity Services, said: “The Thai League are a valued and proactive partner of ours, and have showcased their commitment to integrity through preventative measures such as this integrity workshop. Team managers throughout Thai football are now armed with the knowledge to transmit to their teams about the integrity risks they face, and how to overcome them in today’s football environment. We look forward to continuing to support the Thai League on integrity matters throughout the rest of this season and into the future.”

Benjamin Tan, Thai League Deputy CEO added: “Sportradar have demonstrated their commitment to keeping Asian sport clean throughout the past decade, and it was this track record which made them the clear and obvious choice to help deliver integrity education to our teams. Team managers are the loudest voice in the dressing room, and by equipping them with the most up-to-date knowledge of integrity risks and how to respond to them, players throughout the country will now be ready to uphold their responsibilities to the Thai game ahead of the new season.”