Nearly 200 CPL players and staff receive integrity training in 2025
The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and PFA Canada have completed the second year of their joint anti–match-fixing education program, reaching nearly two hundred players and staff across the eight clubs of the Canadian Premier League (CPL).
IBIA’s player education program, “Protecting the Integrity of the Game,” is built on three core pillars: Rules, Responsibility, and Reporting. Known as the “3Rs,” these concepts outline the key information every athlete should understand about betting-related match manipulation. The main objective is to equip players and coaches with the knowledge needed to identify, avoid, and report any integrity threats linked to sports betting.
Developed in partnership with PFA Canada, the program’s in-person format allows participants to discuss real-life situations, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and reporting potential match-fixing attempts to safeguard both their careers and the sport.
Marco Carducci, President of PFA Canada and Captain of Cavalry FC, stated:
“With the expansion of sports betting across Canada, this training has been vital to advancing PFA Canada’s mission to support athletes and place integrity and fairness at the core of our sport.”
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, added:
“Preventing betting-related match-fixing starts with educating athletes and coaches. Through collaborative campaigns, industry-funded initiatives, and specialized face-to-face training, IBIA is setting the global benchmark for athlete education on betting integrity, aligned with our Mission 2030 strategy. Alongside regulation and monitoring, it is essential that player education remains central to Canada’s developing sports integrity ecosystem. We are pleased to see this program generating real impact — clean sport benefits everyone.”
In addition to highlighting the risks of betting-related manipulation, the program covered rules and sanctions, the capabilities of technology-driven integrity monitoring systems, and how to report criminal approaches using the Red Button app.
Callum Irving, Captain of Vancouver FC, commented:
“The IBIA integrity training was extremely informative for our players, providing essential guidance on betting rules, the consequences of involvement in illegal activity, and the proper channels to report concerns. Resources like IBIA are absolutely crucial to protecting our sport and our locker rooms from match-fixing.”
The joint program is supported by a CA$300,000 three-year investment from IBIA and its members — bet365, Betway, and FanDuel — enabling Canadian athletes and sports organizations to access free, in-person integrity education designed to protect Canadian sport from manipulation and corruption.
Jean-François Reymond, IBIA’s Education Ambassador, noted:
“PFA Canada is the ideal partner, and we are delighted that our collaboration will continue in 2026. As representatives of the players, committed to protecting them, they have created the trust and openness needed to address a topic that can be challenging for many professional athletes. We look forward to expanding this work with more sports organizations as we continue safeguarding the integrity of Canadian sport and the careers of its athletes.”
