Zhang Jilong Promises to Eradicate Asian Match-Fixing

While Europe was shocked at the football match-fixing revelations earlier this month, the announcement was met with little surprise in Asia which has been battling the problem for many years.

Recent times have seen high profile cases in South Korea, China and Malaysia. Zhang Jilong, the Chairman of the AFC’s Finance Committee during the final years of Mohammed Bin Hammam’s time as the AFC president, said that cooperation is needed to combat the problem.

In a recent speech Jilong said “We are ready to work hand in hand to eradicate this cancer from the game. Match-fixing is too complicated and widespread for one organisation to fight it alone. No continent is now left untouched by this disease. Match-fixing is now a pandemic in the world of football.”

There has been criticism over the lack of arrests in the global match-fixing scandal, but Jilong has said that every effort is being made to combat the problem.

In his speech Jilong went on to say that the “AFC will not rest until this blot is completely stamped out in Asia … We need to understand how match-fixing works in order to prevent it. We need more information on how crime syndicates operate.”