Brazil holds a leadership role in South America when it comes to sports regulation and sanctions against misconduct in football. Opening the event, CBF President Samir Xaud reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to fostering and maintaining a culture of integrity in Brazilian football.
“We want a fair and respectful environment for those who play, those who cheer, and those who believe. The CBF publicly and unequivocally reaffirms today its commitment to a culture of integrity — one that does not bow to hidden interests and does not tolerate any form of violence or discrimination,” said Xaud, while thanking CONMEBOL President Alejandro Domínguez for the opportunity to host the training session.
Xaud’s remarks were praised by Graciela Garay, Director of Ethics, Compliance and Integrity at CONMEBOL, who emphasized the importance of alignment between the two institutions.
“We must always be aligned. CONMEBOL’s mission is to support our member associations so that we are all on the same page. Brazil has important initiatives in this area, with cooperation among ministries and intelligence agencies. The CBF is a key strategic ally,” she said.
For Guilherme Augusto Figueiredo, Country Manager of Betano Brazil, one of the event’s sponsors, “discussing sports integrity is essential to ensure that football and sports continue to convey values of fairness, passion, and trust.”
“At Betano, we treat this issue with the utmost seriousness and work daily alongside regulators, sports entities, and authorities to strengthen the regulated market, protect fans, and combat illegal betting,” said the executive.
CBF Integrity Officer Eduardo Gussem highlighted that the culture of integrity in sports includes initiatives against homophobia, racial discrimination, stadium violence, and even domestic violence that can occur after matches. For that reason, the presence of authorities from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Finance, and the STJD, among others, made the event multidisciplinary.
Gussem also moderated the panel “Impacts of the Betting Market and the Importance of Effective Regulation in Brazil,” featuring STJD President Luis Otávio Veríssimo, Roberto Armelin (Director of ESG, Risk, and Compliance at São Paulo FC), and Tiago Gonçalves Veras Gomes, a prosecutor with the Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“Today, President Samir Xaud made something very clear: the CBF’s focus is on building a culture of integrity — a broad horizon that goes beyond match manipulation to include homophobia, racism, domestic violence, and violence inside and outside stadiums. Everything surrounding football is crucial for the preservation and development of citizenship,” he said.
Combating match-fixing
One of the growing concerns in the sports ecosystem is the risk of match-fixing fueled by the proliferation of sports betting platforms. During the Integrity Training, three panels addressed this issue.
Giovanni Rocco, Secretary of the Ministry of Sports, took part in a panel on the regulation of online betting, an essential initiative to curb the advance of criminal groups involved in match manipulation.
“Our main concern is to protect the integrity of Brazilian sports, the integrity of athletes, the unpredictability of results, and the passion Brazilians have for football. At the National Secretariat for Sports Betting, we work under one principle: no one does anything alone. It’s a complex issue, and the partnership with CBF, supported by CONMEBOL, is essential to show everyone involved in football the right path to follow,” said Rocco.
Source: GMB
