The meeting of the National Platform and representatives of the Ukrainian Football Association
On October 15, at the House of Football of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF), a meeting was held between members of the Interagency Working Group “National Platform of Sports Integrity” and representatives from Premier League clubs, the Professional Football League of Ukraine, the UAF’s Women’s and Girls’ Football Department, the Ukrainian Futsal Association, and the Ukrainian Beach Soccer Association. The event was opened by First Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Yuriy Muzyka, UAF First Vice-President Pavlo Boichuk, and UEFA’s Head of Anti-Match-Fixing Vincent Ven.
In his opening remarks, Yuriy Muzyka emphasized the importance of sports integrity policies in the Ministry’s activities.
Globally, the volume of sports betting is increasing, and unfortunately, so is the number of manipulations and other violations of sports integrity. The sports sector faces an urgent task of strengthening legislative, institutional, and technical measures to help detect violators. The Interagency Working Group ‘National Platform of Sports Integrity,’ coordinated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, was established precisely to address this threat, - the First Deputy Minister emphasized.
Pavlo Boichuk stated that the UAF would lead the fight against sports manipulation, highlighting the importance of such educational meetings for experience sharing and best practices in combating sports manipulation.
Vincent Ven noted the importance of joint efforts in fighting match-fixing.
Integrity in football is crucial. It ensures that the sport remains fair, competitive, and enjoyable for all participants. When the integrity of the game is compromised, it undermines the very essence of what makes football special—its unpredictability. It erodes trust, damages reputation, and can have very serious consequences. To protect the integrity of football, UEFA has not been passive; rather, we have demonstrated true leadership by increasing our efforts and resources in this field, - Vincent Ven stated.
Addressing the meeting, Oleksiy Perevezentsev, First Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and Deputy Head of the National Platform of Sports Integrity, shared the measures introduced by the International Olympic Committee in the fight against sports manipulation, as well as efforts taken by the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine to uphold sports integrity.
Nataliia Radchuk, Secretary of the National Platform of Sports Integrity, presented the legal foundations, composition, and primary tasks of the Interagency Working Group, which brings together representatives of government agencies, sports-oriented public organizations, and the private sector.
She also reported on the results of the National Platform’s work in 2024, including statistics on the cases of sports integrity violations reviewed by the Interagency Working Group.
Andrii Davydenko, speaking to the meeting participants, shared updates on the activities of the Ukrainian Football Association in the field of ethics and integrity. He presented the work plans of the newly formed Committee and outlined the Committee’s initial achievements in identifying dishonest players, match referees, and coaches.