AFC throws the booklet at match-fixing in Asia

Asia's football governing body would distribute the pocket-sized booklet at all AFC competitions to educate stakeholders against the ills of match-fixing, the organisation said in a statement on its website (www.the-afc.com).

Match-fixing is rampant in Asia with cases being reported across the continent, including recent scandals in Vietnam, Malaysia and Australia.

"In line with the AFC Integrity Action Plan, this booklet falls under the prevention measures (specifically, awareness raising and training) being adopted by the AFC," Sanjeevan Balasingam, the director of the body's integrity unit, said.

"It is among a number of mediums which will be used in an effort to enable targets of match manipulation to recognise, reject and report any attempts to fix the outcome of matches in AFC competitions."

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by John O'Brien)