FIFA confirms zero match-fixing concerns during World Cup

No cause for concern about suspicious betting has been identified by FIFA during the entirety of the 2026 World Cup tournament run.

FIFA, which as an organisation represents the governing body for international association football, has its own sports integrity monitoring taskforce that was put into fifth gear throughout all 104 games to identify potential betting-related match manipulation, conclusively finding none.

This would naturally not only reassure the billion-plus people who followed the tournament that Spain truly is the undisputed football champion of the world, but also bring praise for FIFA and all its taskforce members as football is generally considered one of the most at-risk sports for match-fixing.

Large-scale monitoring was conducted through the collection of betting reports and relevant data submitted by taskforce members, the process of which was centralised by FIFA. Collected information was then cross-referenced among all involved parties to identify any possible betting-related discrepancies.

Given the scope and expertise of all organisations involved in the process, it would be difficult to imagine that something has been overlooked and that the final results could be contested. 

Besides the football federations of the three host nations, Mexico, the US, and Canada, the other taskforce members include:

• Asian Football Confederation (AFC);
• Confederation of African Football (CAF);
• Concacaf;
• CONMEBOL;
• UEFA;
• FBI;
• INTERPOL;
• UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC);
• Council of Europe;
• Sportradar;
• among others.

Liam Rich, FIFA’s Senior Integrity Manager, congratulated the coordinated efforts of all organisations involved that produced the grade A results, adding: “The FIFA Integrity Task Force provided a strong framework during the FIFA World Cup 2026 for sharing intelligence, assessing potential concerns and coordinating a timely response.

“We thank all Task Force members for their expertise and commitment during the competition and we look forward to building on this collaboration at future FIFA tournaments.”

It is expected that these efforts will only strengthen when it comes to monitoring future FIFA-sanctioned tournaments, including the upcoming 2027 Women’s World Cup.