Sports Integrity Services (SIS) has released figures for the first six months of 2024 related to suspicious football matches from around the globe.
This report looks at tens of thousands of fixtures, pinpointing any irregularities, indicative of suspected match-fixing, surrounding both betting markets and the action on the pitch.
In total, the integrity division of Starlizard identified 79 football matches around the world between 1 January and 30 June 2024 that were deemed suspicious, with 17 of these matches taking place in just one country in the CONMEBOL region.
With regards to CONMEBOL, there was a 200% rise year-on-year in suspicious matches in the region to a total of 33, meaning 0.56% of all CONMEBOL region matches analysed were identified as suspicious.
In all, 23 countries were identified to have had at least one integrity alert in a domestic men’s competition, with 29 of them being played in the UEFA region, though this figure is down from 40 in the same period last year.
Seven of the matches identified were club friendly matches, despite the fact that they only represented 4% of the total number of games analysed.
Head of Starlizard Integrity Services Affy Sheikh said: "The 2024 half-year figures reveal several concerning insights, with few positives to report. In particular, the data highlights a troubling situation in the CONMEBOL region, where the number of suspicious matches has surged by 200% compared to the same period last year. This stark increase serves as a clear reminder that match-fixers are constantly adapting and will exploit any vulnerabilities they find.
"Additionally, we are witnessing a growing trend of manipulation in first-half-only betting markets. In the first six months of 2024, 40 matches were targeted in this way, up from 21 during the same period in 2023 – itself a significant rise."
In related news, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) last month released its Q2 report, underlining that there had been 90 alerts of suspicious betting activities to relevant authorities across several sports (not just football).
