Recently, in Helsinki, Finland, an app called RedButton was showcased as part of the PROtect Integrit Plus Red Button meeting, the result of a project co-financed by the European Union in the form of the Erasmus+ Programme. The aim was to develop a secure and trusted mobile app by which sportspeople could report anonymously any concerns about match fixing in professional sport, specifically within football.
This app was first developed by an organization called FIFPro, The Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels, which acts as the worldwide representative for 65,000 professional footballers. The Helsinki meeting was designed to prepare seven partner organisations (AJFS, GIBA, HPVPA, HSF, RPA, RPI and PROVALE) to prepare themselves for the use of the app across seven countries and five sports. One of the project’s principal goals is to create Europe’s first reporting system across multiple sports, the use of which is led and encouraged by players’ unions.
The app itself is not finished yet; a full release is expected by this summer. The goal is to keep whistleblowers safe, as the world of match fixing resides dangerously close to organized crime, and many young players who might otherwise report their suspicions are known to stay quiet for fear of potential retribution. According to research done by FIFPro in 2014, many players would not report match fixing due to a fear of either lack of confidentiality, intimidation or fear for their careers These numbers ran as high as 34% in Scotland, 44% in Norway and 71% in Greece.
The system included within the app has, however, already been approved by Interpol, and the seven partner organizations have been briefed on how to give training in the use of the app to professional sportspeople, to whom they will be introducing the new technology after the latest versions are released this summer.
What the unions need to achieve now is to educate the players that a method now exists which can protect their identity, while letting them report safely and securely to the right authorities on experiences to do with match fixing.
