Namibian Players have been offered the equivalent of $30,000 per player if they lose their game against Guinea on purpose. The players informed the President of the Namibia Football Association John Muinjo about the bribe and that they refused the money. Mr. Munjo immediately informed the Confederation of African Nations Football Association. Mr. Munjo also called an extraordinary session of the Nambian Squad in the Cup of Nations 2008 to warn them of this corrupt practice and to thank them for bringing it to his attention. Namibia was not the only country to have received offers.

The Coach of the Benin National Team Reinhard Fabisch declared that he received information from a man who supposedly represented a company in Singapore and was an “expert” in “fixing matches in Africa”. Mr. Fabisch also presented an information about the incident to the Confederation of African Nations Football Association. The Confederation of African Nations Football Association will address the issue immediately.

Match Fixing is another cancer that has affected football and must be eradicated in the same way that hooliganism and racism must be eradicated. Match Fixing damages the integrity of the game, the teams, and ultimately the players. Match Fixing is for losers who are not secure of their talent. Match Fixing is not limited to football but is endemic in other sports. All we have to do is look at the people who participated in Match Fixing and see how they have fared. It can be said that those who have participated in Match Fixing may win in the short run but lose in the long run.

Namibia and Benin deserves praise for having identified the problem and reporting it to their superiors and to the Confederation of African Nations Football Associations. In spite of the negative publicity that has surrounded football at times, they deserve an award for their decision to come forward. It is a pity that there is no such an award for Integrity and Honesty in Football. I have decided to award Namibia and Benin my award for personal integrity.

REFERENCE:

BBC Sports: “Namibia approached to ‘fix match’“

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7210993.stm