By Mikia Kalati

MASERU — Council of Southern African Football (Cosafa) will hold a two-day Interpol workshop starting on Saturday as the regional football body step up the fight against match fixing syndicates.

The workshop will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe.

According to former Lesotho Football Association (Lefa) Public relation officer, Baba Malephane, now serving Cosafa in the competitions department, the workshop is meant to equip the member associations of the regional football body about the operations of the match fixing syndicates who are alleged to have made their way into the southern Africa region.

“This workshop is very important as there have been many match fixing allegations in our region,” said Malephane.

“It is not the first time that the regional body has organised a workshop of this nature on match fixing.

He said it is important for the football administrators to know the dangers of the match fixing syndicates who are reported to have been in contacted with some of the associations.

Lesotho was recently linked to match fixing after it was alleged that Lefa had been in contact with convicted match-fixer, Wilson Raj Perumal, just days before Likuena’s allegedly rigged friendly match against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on September 11 2009.

Zimbabwe and South Africa have also been hit by match fixing that has seen players and officials been suspended and arrested.

Former Bafana Bafana team manager, Ramakhange Phil Setshedi, 57, was earlier this year sentenced to three years in jail for fixing matches.

Malephane said he has also been assigned to be among a panel that will inspect facilities in Bulawayo as Zimbabwe prepares to host next year’s Supreme Council for Sports in Africa (SCSA) Zone VI Games.