The Council of Europe has called on FIFA to begin work immediately on a strengthened integrity framework for the 2030 World Cup, arguing that controversies during the 2026 tournament exposed weaknesses in governance, disciplinary independence and sports betting safeguards.
In a statement released ahead of the World Cup final, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset said recent events had demonstrated how political influence and the expansion of betting markets could undermine confidence in football's governance.
The intervention comes after weeks of debate surrounding FIFA's decision to suspend the automatic ban imposed on United States forward Folarin Balogun following a red card.
The decision attracted criticism from several football bodies after reports that US President Donald Trump had personally contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino regarding the case.
FairSquare has since filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee alleging that political neutrality rules may have been breached. FIFA has not publicly commented on those allegations.
Berset also questioned FIFA's decision to introduce an official prediction market partner during the tournament, warning that increasingly granular betting markets, including wagers on individual in-game actions, create additional opportunities for manipulation.
He said: "Betting has moved from the result of a match to moments a single player can produce without changing the score. A bet won by making others lose. It is an open door to fraud."
FIFA announced ADI Predictstreet as its first official prediction market partner before the tournament, stating that safeguards would be implemented to protect transparency and participants while expanding fan engagement.
Berset proposed what he described as a "third half", a structured dialogue beginning after the tournament to establish integrity measures before the 2030 World Cup.
He said: "The next crisis has already begun. It has two names: money and power."
The Council of Europe pointed to its previous role in developing international conventions covering spectator safety, anti-doping measures and the manipulation of sports competitions. Those agreements remain among the few binding international legal frameworks addressing integrity in sport, with the convention against match-fixing signed by 43 states.
Earlier this year, FIFA extended its integrity partnership with Sportradar through to 2031, expanding the agreement to include AI-driven monitoring, investigations and risk assessment alongside its long-running bet monitoring programme. Coverage now spans FIFA competitions and domestic leagues across its 211 member associations.
Sportradar says its Universal Fraud Detection System has monitored more than 600,000 matches for FIFA since the partnership began in 2017
