The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has expelled Kenyan football club Zoo Kericho FC from the 2020-2021 Kenyan Premier League after the club was found guilty of match-fixing, which is a violation of the 2019 FIFA Disciplinary Code.
The expulsion is effective immediately.
The investigation, which was conducted through FIFA’s Integrity Department, found evidence of match manipulation in the Kenyan Premier League by Zoo FC members between 2018 and 2020.
The Committee concluded that Zoo FC breached article 8 and article 18 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which outlines club responsibility and prohibits the manipulation of matches and competitions.
This is the first time a person has been held liable by a FIFA judicial committee for match-fixing by club members since amendments were applied to the 2019 FIFA Disciplinary Code.
Zoo FC has been ordered to contact FIFA within 30 days and put a match manipulation prevention plan in place. The club can decide to appeal the decision before the FIFA Appeal Committee.
Last month FIFA and the UN launched an integrity program designed to combat match-fixing.
“Match-fixing is an issue that is very real and threatens the integrity and credibility of football in many countries around the world,” said Fifa president Gianni Infantino in a statement.
“…the Fifa Global Integrity Programme is another important step by Fifa to protect the integrity of football and will play an important role in educating and building capacity within member associations to help fight match-fixing at a local level.”
FIFA first partnered with the UN in December 2020 to encourage the football industry to speak out against match-fixing.
(Photo : DailyActive)
