Sports Marketing: Match-fixing and Marketing Implications for Sports Organizations

Running Head: SPORTS MARKETING 1
Sports marketing
Institution
Lecture
Student
Course
Date

SPORTS MARKETING 2
Sports Marketing
Match-fixing
This is a way of obtaining indirect or direct financial gains from a match by predetermining the
final outcomes of the game. In most of the cases, it is linked with betting and the rules of the
game are less adhered to hence violating the laws of the game (Haberfeld & Sheehan). Illegal
gambling in sports fixing is the principal driver and it exists between the team officials, players
or the referees. Match-fixing has been termed by the governing bodies and the sports
administrators as a greater hazard to the integrity of sports as compared to doping. The impact of
game fixing will affect the whole competition hence affecting everyone involved, unlike doping
which affects an individual. Football matches are the most targeted for match-fixing (Oosthuizen
& Tinkler, 2001). Instances of game fixing can be found in the social media. Most of the people
who participate get caught and the repercussion they face becomes a lesson to those who would
wish to participate.
A stance is required as part of the argument
For a successful match-fixing, the rules of the game are manipulated and the decision and the
outcomes of the game are controlled. The gamblers get in touch with the players, governing body
or the referees who in return will determine the final results of the match in favor of the
gambler's side (Hill, 2013). The first occurrence of game fixing occurred in 1995. The match
was between Liverpool and Manchester United. The competition was fixed in favor of
Manchester who emerged the winner with two goals and evaded relegation. Besides, Robert
Hoyzer, the former German referee was convicted and imprisoned for a period of more than two
years after he accepted money to fix matches for Ante Sapina, who was a Croatian gambler.

SPORTS MARKETING 3
Robert was found guilty of fixing various matches involving Bundesliga clubs where he was paid
a huge sum in return. Another match-fixing scandal was when the Choi Sung Kuk, Southern
Korea footballer was banned from football sports for the rest of his life by FIFA after he was
found guilty of hippodroming in the South Korea k- league. In addition, in 2006 Italian football
was greatly affected by match-fixing scandals hence destroying its reputation. Italian
administrators discovered that some of the top performing clubs were linked with sport fixing
outrages. These performing clubs also commonly referred to as Serie A’s top clubs faced a huge
repercussion. For instance, Juventus Scudetto was withdrawn and they were demoted to Serie B
while Lazio and Fiorentina were given one-year injunction from participating in Europe
competitions (Steele & Opie, 2017.).
Industry Identification of issues and marketing implications for a Sports Person,
Organisation or industry.
Just like other organization, sports industry needs to deal with opportunities and challenges
related to globalization, telecommunication developments, technology and other labor force
trends. As sports fanatics ramp up for one season after another, the organization top sports
managers and media administrators meet in New York to attend a conference where they discuss
the latest and the most effective trends and insights concerning sports industry. The discussion is
aimed at debating on network opportunities, social media plans, content marketing and the
general influence of multinational sports media. The modern technology has enabled sports fans
to follow and watch their favorite games comfortably in their homes by using their laptops or
smartphones (Santos, [2014]). This has enabled the modern sports not only easily accessible but
also it is not confined to the stadiums only. In case there is an update for a certain team, the first