Explained: How to End Match-Fixing in Kenyan Football

Football depends on one basic principle: the result of a match should be decided by the players’ performance on the pitch, not by secret agreements, money or outside influence.

Match-fixing threatens that principle because it allows individuals to deliberately influence the course or outcome of a game.

Players, referees, coaches, club officials, or other individuals can manipulate a match and influence what happens on the field.

In Kenya, concerns about match-fixing have also brought attention to the difficult conditions facing some footballers.

Low pay, delayed salaries, financial pressure and limited education about match manipulation can create opportunities for people looking to influence players.

Betting has also increased the financial incentive for people who want to manipulate matches.

The problem can affect more than the outcome of a single game. When supporters begin to doubt the integrity of matches, football risks losing public trust. This can affect clubs, players, sponsors, broadcasters, and the sport’s future development.

Ending match-fixing will therefore require more than punishing people after a manipulated match has taken place.

Kenya needs a stronger prevention system that protects players, educates football stakeholders, makes reporting easier, monitors suspicious activity and ensures that credible allegations are investigated.

What FIFA Considers Match-Fixing

FIFA defines match manipulation as the unlawful influencing or alteration, directly or through an action or failure to act, of the course, result or another aspect of a football match or competition.

FIFA identifies financial gain and sporting advantage among the main reasons for match manipulation.

Financially motivated manipulation can involve people conspiring to influence a match so they can make illegal profits through betting. Sporting manipulation can be used to help a team progress in a competition, gain promotion or avoid relegation.

Match Manipulation Can Take Several Forms

FIFA lists deliberately losing a match or part of a match, deliberately performing badly, intentionally conceding goals or penalties, deliberately receiving yellow or red cards, and deliberately failing to take an action required by the Laws of the Game.

It can also involve referees or other match officials deliberately misapplying the Laws of the Game, such as wrongly awarding or failing to award penalties or cards.

This means match-fixing is not simply about a player deliberately missing an easy scoring opportunity. It can involve different people and different actions designed to influence a match.

Improve Players’ Welfare

One of the most important steps Kenya can take is to address the financial difficulties that can make some players vulnerable.

Low salaries, delayed payments and inadequate allowances can create financial pressure. When a player is struggling to meet basic needs, an offer of money from someone trying to influence a match can become difficult to ignore.

Clubs should therefore prioritise timely payment of salaries and allowances.

They should also provide clear contracts, payment schedules and proper financial records so that players know when they will receive their money.

Better player welfare will not eliminate match-fixing on its own. However, reducing financial vulnerability can make it harder for fixers to exploit players.

Take Integrity Education to Grassroots Football

Education should form a central part of Kenya’s fight against match-fixing.

Players need to understand what match manipulation is, how fixers may approach them, what the FIFA rules say and what they should do if someone attempts to influence a match.

This education should not stop with professional football.

Grassroots players, coaches, referees, team managers and club officials should also receive regular integrity training.

FIFA has developed integrity materials to help member associations create and strengthen their own integrity programmes.

Its guidance encourages people in football to recognise, resist and report suspicious approaches.

FIFA also conducts integrity workshops and briefings for participating member associations and referees at its competitions.

Kenya can adapt this approach by making integrity education part of football development at every level.

Also Read:EXCLUSIVE: Players Reveal How Match-Fixers Allegedly Approach Them With Cash

Make Reporting Easier

A player who receives an offer to manipulate a match needs a clear and safe way to report it.

FIFA regulations require associations, clubs, officials, players, match officials and other people covered by its regulations to immediately report approaches connected to possible match manipulation.

FIFA has a secure reporting system through which people can report possible match manipulation or other integrity-related misconduct.

Reports can include supporting documents, and the system allows users to create an anonymous postbox for further communication without revealing their identity.

Kenya also has an integrity reporting system through the Football Kenya Federation.

The federation’s Protect the Game initiative provides an integrity hotline and reporting channels for match-fixing, bribery, corruption and other concerns.

It says reports are confidential, can be submitted anonymously and can include supporting evidence.

The challenge is ensuring that players and officials, particularly at grassroots level, know these channels exist and trust them enough to use them.

Protect Whistleblowers

Reporting match-fixing can be difficult for a player or official who fears losing their position, income or career opportunities.

Authorities therefore need to protect people who report suspicious approaches.

FIFA says reports submitted through its reporting mechanisms are handled promptly and treated in the strictest confidence under applicable laws and regulations. Its system also allows anonymous reporting.

Kenyan football should ensure that people who report suspected manipulation receive similar protection.

A reporting system cannot work effectively if players believe that speaking up will put their careers at risk.

A photo of UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (right) and Fifa president Gianni Infantino. PHOTO/Benoît Tessier, Reuters

Monitor Betting Activity

Betting is another area that requires close attention.

FIFA identifies betting-related manipulation as one of the major forms of match-fixing.

In these cases, people can manipulate a match to obtain illegal profits through betting platforms.

FIFA has established a system that monitors betting markets and in-game activity during its competitions.

The FIFA Integrity Task Force monitors matches in real time to identify possible irregularities. It also works with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to share information and respond to suspected manipulation.

Kenya can strengthen cooperation between football authorities, betting operators, regulators and law enforcement agencies.

Unusual betting activity should not automatically be treated as proof that a match has been fixed. However, it can provide an important warning sign that investigators can examine alongside other evidence.

Investigate Suspicious Matches Quickly

A credible anti-match-fixing system needs fast and professional investigations.

A controversial refereeing decision, a missed opportunity or an unexpected result does not automatically prove that a match was manipulated. Investigators need evidence.

They can examine match footage, refereeing decisions, player performances, team selections, financial records, communications where legally available, and betting patterns.

FIFA’s integrity department conducts preliminary investigations into match manipulation and works with member associations and other partners to strengthen integrity measures.

Kenya should continue strengthening its ability to investigate suspicious matches using evidence rather than rumours or public speculation.

FKF president Hussein Mohammed with the Harambee Starlets in Nairobi on July 25
PHOTO/Hussein

Hold Match Officials Accountable

Match integrity also depends on referees and other match officials.

FIFA specifically recognises the deliberate misapplication of the Laws of the Game by referees or other match officials as a possible form of match manipulation.

This does not mean every controversial decision should be treated as evidence of corruption.

Instead, football authorities should maintain strong systems for reviewing officiating performances and investigating credible allegations of deliberate manipulation.

The focus should remain on evidence, accountability and due process.

Strengthen Punishment for Proven Cases

Punishment must be strong enough to discourage people from manipulating matches.

At the same time, disciplinary action should follow proper investigations and allow accused parties to respond under the applicable rules.

FIFA has demonstrated that match manipulation can result in serious sporting sanctions.

In May 2025, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee found Kenyan club Muhoroni Youth guilty of activities related to the manipulation of football matches and competitions.

The club’s senior team was expelled from the FKF National Super League and relegated to the FKF Division One League.

The case shows that match manipulation can have serious consequences for clubs.

Kenya needs sanctions that are applied consistently to players, officials, clubs and other people found responsible under the relevant rules.

Also Read: Ex-Sofapaka Midfielder Feni Ali Handed Lifetime Ban Over Match-Fixing Scandal

Strengthen Kenya’s Legal Framework

Kenya is also considering a stronger legal response to match manipulation.

The Sports (Amendment) Bill, 2026, introduced in the National Assembly, seeks to criminalise manipulation of sporting competitions and strengthen institutions responsible for protecting sports integrity.

According to Parliament, the proposed legislation would cover conduct such as offering or receiving bribes to influence the outcome of a match, deliberately underperforming, conspiring to fix competitions and misusing insider information for betting.

If enacted, the legislation would provide a clearer legal framework for dealing with match manipulation.

However, a law alone will not solve the problem. Authorities will need the resources, expertise and cooperation necessary to enforce it.

Make Clubs Responsible

Clubs should not wait until a match-fixing allegation emerges before addressing integrity.

Every club should have clear rules covering:

• Match manipulation
• Betting
• Reporting suspicious approaches
• Conflicts of interest
• Use of confidential information
• Player and official conduct

Players should receive regular integrity training rather than learning about match-fixing only after a scandal.

Clubs should also make it clear that players can report suspicious approaches without fear of punishment for speaking up.

At the same time, clubs must address financial problems that could make players vulnerable.

Use FIFA’s Prevention Model

FIFA’s approach shows that preventing match-fixing is just as important as punishing those responsible.

Its preventive measures include integrity workshops for member associations, briefings for national teams, training for referees, monitoring of betting markets and in-game activity, confidential reporting systems and cooperation with local authorities.

FIFA also works with member associations to help them develop integrity programmes suited to their own football environments.

Kenyan football can adapt this model to its own needs.

The system should cover the entire football pyramid, from top-level competitions to grassroots leagues and academies.

Restore Fans’ Trust

Ultimately, match-fixing damages more than the result of one football match.

It can make supporters question whether what they are watching is genuine.

That loss of confidence can affect match attendance, sponsorship, broadcasting and the long-term growth of the sport.

Football Kenya Federation has already launched its Protect the Game initiative, which rejects match-fixing, bribery and manipulation and encourages people to report what they see.

The next step is to ensure that these systems are visible, accessible and effective across Kenyan football.

Fans need to know that credible allegations will be taken seriously, investigated properly and followed by appropriate action when wrongdoing is established.

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Photo collage of Tuala Wazoefu player Victor Omondi during a tournament competition
PHOTO/File