An undercover investigation by The Telegraph and Channel 4's Dispatches team has revealed that the president of Ghana's Football Association was prepared to arrange friendlies for the purpose of match fixing.
Ghana could be in serious trouble after undercover investigators exposed members of their FA as agreeing for the team to participate in matches arranged by match fixers. The report which will be revealed on Channel 4's 'Dispatches' programme comes off the back of a six month investigation undertaken when The Telegraph received information that some FAs were working with criminal organisations to rig the score of international football matches.
Reporters from The Telegraph and a former FIFA investigator approached two men, Christopher Forsythe, a registered FIFA agent, and Obed Nketiah, a senior member of Ghana's FA, with a proposal that they wanted to "sponsor" international friendlies. Both men agreed to participate and were more than happy to suggest that they could find corrupt officials who would rig matches played by Ghana, and these discussions were captured on camera. The footage clearly shows Mr.Forsythe saying:
You [the company] will always have to come to us and say how you want it to go…the result, that’s why we will get the officials that we have greased their palms, so they will do it. If we bring in our own officials to do the match, you’re making your money.
Before Nketiah continued:
You have to give them [the referees] something… they are going to do a lot of work for you, so you have to give them something.
The reporters then met with both men and the president of Ghana's FA, who agreed to a contract ensuring that would cost the bogus investment company $170,000 for Ghana to participate in the rigged games. The contract stated:
The Company will appoint and pay for the cost of the referees/match officials in consultation with an agreed Fifa Member association(s)
This is a direct breach of FIFA rules which prohibit third parties from appointing match officials, and could lead to serious punishment from FIFA, who are being put under increasing pressure to clamp down on the growing allegations of corruption in international football.
When asked about the meetings, Christopher Forsythe said:
To be frank everything I told you about the match fixing was a figment of my own imagination because I am so naive that I don’t even know how matches are done. They were promises just to be able to get something off you.
It remains unclear what effect this will have on Ghana's senior national team who put in a magnificent display against Germany on Saturday night.
Dispatches: "How To Fix A Football Match" airs on Channel 4 tonight at 7.30pm
via The Telegraph.
