The impact of match-fixing on product quality in the professional football industry: critical reflections from an institutional perspective

The problem of corruption affecting economic sectors and institutions has been at the center of a lively political and doctrinal debate for some years now, and despite the introduction of several measures intended to curb such phenomenon, it continues to cause ill-effects in a range of industries, not least of which is the professional sports industry. This paper focuses on the issue of corruption in professional football and specifically on match-fixing, because of the topicality and international scope of the phenomenon. Building upon available literature on the subject, this paper discusses the negative consequences of match-fixing from an economic standpoint. It then lays out some potentially useful suggestions for preventing and reducing its occurrence.