The King of Cypriot football has been crowned – again. Like all coronations, there is no rival but the game is far from healthy in the realm of Giorgos Koumas, under whose presidency the failings of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) were mercilessly exposed before he was re-elected unopposed.
Russian-owned betting company 1XBet has been declared bankrupt and owes millions. Yet it still operates, using porn stars to attract punters, and is a partner of FC Barcelona. It expanded into Ukraine, but was recently banned for its support of Putin’s war machine.
Investors assembling a portfolio of football clubs is changing football and existing regulation may not be big enough to cope with the burgeoning phenomenom of multi-club ownerships, which has tied up more than 9,000 football players and swathes of financially weak smaller clubs.
Low level club friendlies remain at greater risk of match fixing but football’s international governing bodies are doing little or nothing to try and regulate what are essentially privately organised fixtures with no integrity safeguarding.
