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Starlizard Integrity Services identifies 79 suspicious football matches played globally in first half of 2024

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2 years ago

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21.5% of suspicious matches took place in just one country200% increase in suspicious matches played in the CONMEBOL regionNear doubling of matches with irregularities in first-half-only betting markets

LONDON, Aug. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Sports integrity specialists Starlizard Integrity Services (SIS) has identified 79 football matches played globally between 1 January and 30 June 2024 as suspicious. New data from the company shows that more than one-fifth of these matches took place in just one country in the CONMEBOL (South American) region – a region which saw a worrying 200% increase in suspicious matches overall.

Every year, SIS looks at tens of thousands of football matches around the world in order to identify matches that show irregularities, indicative of suspected match-fixing, both in the betting markets and on the field of play. While the level of suspicion will vary, depending on the nature and amount of evidence discovered, SIS ensures that all the matches they identify as suspicious reach a high enough bar to warrant further investigation by the appropriate authorities.

The 79 matches considered suspicious in the first half of 2024 represent 0.21% of a total of 36,841 football matches analysed by SIS during the period. SIS also identified 79 suspicious matches played during the same period in 2023, however those came from a smaller sample of 16,336 matches, so represented a greater percentage (0.48%) of the total number of matches analysed.

The SIS 2024 first-six-months data revealed that:

17 of the suspicious matches (21.5%) came from just one country in the CONMEBOL region, with six of the matches played in that country’s top domestic tier and eleven in the second domestic tier.33 suspicious matches (41.8%) took place in the CONMEBOL region, up from 11 in the same period last year. This represents 0.56% of all CONMEBOL region matches analysed during the first half of 2024.23 different countries had at least one integrity alert in a domestic men’s competition.40 of the suspicious matches (50.6%) were the subject of suspicious betting patterns in the first-half-only betting markets – almost double the 21 matches similarly identified for the same period in 2023.11 of the 79 suspicious matches (13.9%) had a HIGH suspicion rating allocated to them, with 39 matches (49.4%) assessed at a MEDIUM level of suspicion.29 suspicious matches (36.7%) were played in the UEFA (European) region, down from 40 for the same period last year. The new figure represents 0.15% of all UEFA region matches analysed during this period.49 suspicious matches (62%) were identified in domestic competitions below the top tier, whilst 19 matches (24.1%) were played in top-tier domestic competitions.Club friendly matches accounted for seven suspicious matches played in the first half of the year (9.1%), despite representing just 4% of the total number of games analysed.

Affy Sheikh, Head of Starlizard Integrity Services, commented:

“The 2024 half-year figures reveal several concerning insights, with few positives to report. In particular, the data highlights a troubling situation in the CONMEBOL region, where the number of suspicious matches has surged by 200% compared to the same period last year. This stark increase serves as a clear reminder that match-fixers are constantly adapting and will exploit any vulnerabilities they find.

“Additionally, we are witnessing a growing trend of manipulation in first-half-only betting markets. In the first six months of 2024, 40 matches were targeted in this way, up from 21 during the same period in 2023 – itself a significant rise.

“Whilst the overall percentage of suspicious matches remains low, the data nevertheless shows match-fixing poses a continuing and severe threat to the integrity of the game. Football must engage in serious reflection on how best to tackle this issue, as the persistent lack of improvement in numbers across the board suggests that current efforts and strategies are not effective enough.”

About Starlizard Integrity Services

Starlizard Integrity Services (SIS) is the specialist integrity division of Starlizard, the London-based sports betting and data consultancy. Starlizard’s detailed understanding of sport and sporting performance, as well as its active involvement in betting markets, affords a unique perspective, enabling the company to know better than anyone else in the world when betting markets and sporting contests look wrong. Starlizard has been producing independent integrity services for sports governing bodies and associations since 2010, and established SIS in 2017 as a dedicated resource to focus entirely on this work. Combining its deep insight into how betting markets should behave with detailed on-pitch performance data analysis and research, SIS is ideally placed to identify suspicious matches and betting patterns. SIS offers sports governing bodies a free-to-use suspicious match monitoring platform and mobile application, KOMODO™, through which information on suspected match-fixing can be obtained. For more information, visit www.starlizardintegrity.com.

Contact details: Starlizard Integrity Services, +44 (0) 20 3014 9800, integrity@starlizard.com 

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XLCS Partners advises Concurrent Utility Services on sale to UniTek Global Services

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19 minutes ago

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July 23, 2026

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NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — XLCS Partners, Inc., a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce that it served as exclusive M&A advisor to Concurrent Utility Services LLC on its acquisition by UniTek Global Services, Inc., a portfolio company of New Mountain Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: NMFC) and its affiliates, and BTG Pactual Strategic Capital.

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Concurrent is a licensed general and electrical contractor providing infrastructure development and maintenance services to electric utilities, telecom providers, and land developers throughout the Southeast United States. The company’s capabilities span overhead and underground utility construction, professional telecom services, emergency service restoration, in-building networks, environmental services, and data center development. Backed by a safety-first culture and an experienced workforce, Concurrent has built a strong regional platform and a reputation for quality across the markets it serves.

UniTek is a leading digital infrastructure services provider supporting the expansion of fiber and data center connectivity across the U.S. and Canada. With over 600 employees and 60 locations, UniTek delivers a full suite of infrastructure services. The acquisition of Concurrent accelerates UniTek’s Power Services Division, which launched in July 2025 to broaden the company’s maintenance, repair, upgrade, and new infrastructure development services for the power sector. Concurrent’s established Southeast footprint and power capabilities directly complement UniTek’s existing broadband and data center infrastructure platform, positioning the combined company to capitalize on growing demand for resilient, modernized power infrastructure. Concurrent will continue to operate under its established brand, maintaining uninterrupted service for its customers.

“Selling Concurrent was one of the biggest decisions of my career, and Anthony, Jay, and the XLCS team guided us through every step with professionalism and genuine care for our people,” said Steve Sarno, CEO of Concurrent. “They stayed fully engaged throughout, gave us honest and thoughtful advice, kept our best interests front and center, and delivered an outcome that exceeded our expectations. I would recommend them without hesitation to any owner considering a transaction.”

XLCS acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to Concurrent, and the transaction was led by Anthony Contaldo, Partner, and Jay Cremer, Vice President. The transaction was completed on July 1, 2026.

About XLCS Partners, Inc.

XLCS Partners is a leading global investment banking firm providing M&A advisory services. Visit www.xlcspartners.com for more information.

Media Contact: 
Kendra Span 
kspan@xlcspartners.com
615-379-7783

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SOURCE XLCS Partners, Inc.

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XLCS Partners advises Concurrent Utility Services on sale to UniTek Global Services

Published

19 minutes ago

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July 23, 2026

By

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — XLCS Partners, Inc., a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce that it served as exclusive M&A advisor to Concurrent Utility Services LLC on its acquisition by UniTek Global Services, Inc., a portfolio company of New Mountain Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: NMFC) and its affiliates, and BTG Pactual Strategic Capital.

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Concurrent is a licensed general and electrical contractor providing infrastructure development and maintenance services to electric utilities, telecom providers, and land developers throughout the Southeast United States. The company’s capabilities span overhead and underground utility construction, professional telecom services, emergency service restoration, in-building networks, environmental services, and data center development. Backed by a safety-first culture and an experienced workforce, Concurrent has built a strong regional platform and a reputation for quality across the markets it serves.

UniTek is a leading digital infrastructure services provider supporting the expansion of fiber and data center connectivity across the U.S. and Canada. With over 600 employees and 60 locations, UniTek delivers a full suite of infrastructure services. The acquisition of Concurrent accelerates UniTek’s Power Services Division, which launched in July 2025 to broaden the company’s maintenance, repair, upgrade, and new infrastructure development services for the power sector. Concurrent’s established Southeast footprint and power capabilities directly complement UniTek’s existing broadband and data center infrastructure platform, positioning the combined company to capitalize on growing demand for resilient, modernized power infrastructure. Concurrent will continue to operate under its established brand, maintaining uninterrupted service for its customers.

“Selling Concurrent was one of the biggest decisions of my career, and Anthony, Jay, and the XLCS team guided us through every step with professionalism and genuine care for our people,” said Steve Sarno, CEO of Concurrent. “They stayed fully engaged throughout, gave us honest and thoughtful advice, kept our best interests front and center, and delivered an outcome that exceeded our expectations. I would recommend them without hesitation to any owner considering a transaction.”

XLCS acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to Concurrent, and the transaction was led by Anthony Contaldo, Partner, and Jay Cremer, Vice President. The transaction was completed on July 1, 2026.

About XLCS Partners, Inc.

XLCS Partners is a leading global investment banking firm providing M&A advisory services. Visit www.xlcspartners.com for more information.

Media Contact: 
Kendra Span 
kspan@xlcspartners.com
615-379-7783

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xlcs-partners-advises-concurrent-utility-services-on-sale-to-unitek-global-services-302833542.html

SOURCE XLCS Partners, Inc.

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Fathom Applauds Introduction of the FRONTIER Act, the First Federal Blueprint for Independent AI Verification

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July 23, 2026

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Reps. Lori Trahan (D-MA-03) and Jay Obernolte (R-CA-23) introduce a bill to build a competitive marketplace of independent verifiers for frontier AI models.

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Fathom welcomes the introduction of the FRONTIER Act, the most complete federal framework yet for independent, third-party verification of frontier AI. The legislation is built to earn public trust as AI technology continues to accelerate. As frontier systems begin to take autonomous action in the world, the gap between what these models can do and our ability to keep them in check is widening. FRONTIER is the starting point to close that gap.

“AI governance keeps running into the same wall. The technology is hard to measure and it moves faster than any law can keep up with,” said Andrew Freedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Fathom. “Trying to write the perfect rules and freezing them in place won’t work. What will work is a competitive market of independent verifiers who are accountable for real-world outcomes and who the government can actually count on. The FRONTIER Act shows we can move fast and still get this right.”

The bill gets the fundamentals correct. It sets one public standard – the adequate mitigation of catastrophic risk – and holds both the AI companies and their independent verifiers accountable to it. FRONTIER does not freeze a single testing method into statute. Instead, it licenses competing verification organizations, allows them to sharpen their methods, and gives the government the power to revoke a license when a verifier’s work does not hold up in the field. That is how you build a system that keeps pace with the science instead of falling behind it.

Fathom thanks Reps. Trahan and Obernolte for their leadership, and for their courage in releasing a discussion draft, inviting scrutiny, and incorporating substantive improvements from across the field. One priority improvement as the bill advances: giving the government a fuller range of tools to act upstream – for pushing companies to close identified gaps in risk mitigation early, rather than only once a catastrophe is imminent. We are committed to working with these sponsors, committees of jurisdiction, and Congressional leadership to continue refining the bill in the weeks and months ahead.

About Fathom
Fathom is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to build a governance architecture that helps society navigate the transition to a world with AI by fostering trust, safety, and innovation. Fathom has developed and championed the independent verification model for AI and works with policymakers across the country to put it into practice. Learn more at http://fathom.org.

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SOURCE Fathom AI Inc.

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