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cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/2235521

> Archived link > > Some have argued that Yabo (aka Yabo Sports, Yabo Group) and its many constituent brands comprise "the biggest illegal betting operation targeting Greater China." You probably haven't heard of it before, but you may have come across it unknowingly in passing, hundreds of times, if you watch European football, aka soccer in US parlance. The operation enjoys multimillion-dollar partnerships with some of the world's biggest clubs, like Manchester United and Bayern Munich. > > Less visible to the public are Yabo's modern day slaves, forced to staff the debt-fueled pyramid scheme underpinning its gambling empire. > > [...] > > "Often, as a culture and as an industry, we separate technical stories from real life," Dr. Renée Burton, head of threat intelligence at Infoblox, says. "But these are monumental human crimes that are occurring [in] human trafficking and money laundering. It's the most interesting research I've ever been involved with." > > [...] > > On paper, Yabo Sports shut down in 2022 amid media scrutiny. But it fact it actually passed on through other brands like Kaiyun Sports. Kaiyun's logo has featured prominently on the sleeves of Aston Villa and Crystal Palace kits, or uniforms, in recent seasons, and the front of Nottingham Forest's (all England). Kaiyun reportedly also has a partnership in place with the world's biggest club, Real Madrid. > > [...] > > As Burton tells it, "Essentially, they use a ton of shell companies in multiple places around the world. And then they'll come up through these white label providers in the UK, like TGP Europe, which was linked by journalists to [gambling organization] Suncity, which has been accused by the Chinese government of money laundering. So it obfuscates those [groups] which are already obfuscated. It's just this ridiculous chain of false identities." > > [...] > > "So it draws people [into the sites]," Burton explains, "and they're browsing around a little bit. You've got your Manchester United logo. Then it starts popping up: these lures for you to come gamble." The sites include images of scantily dressed women and live chats with purported customer service agents. If a user stays idle for a period of time, the site might offer financial incentives, like a sliding scale of up to $1,500 free for any user who deposits up to $70,000 in a week. > > "It draws you in further, and eventually you're losing. Now you're in debt, and you move into servitude. It's essentially a pyramid scheme: you have to go recruit people to gamble, then you get a portion of those people's losses to go against your debt," she says. > > [...] > > A 2023 report from the Asian Racing Federation (ARF) Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Financial Crime described how Yabo betting sites are also staffed by physically imprisoned individuals: > > The walled-off complexes have apartments, offices, supermarkets and other facilities, and are guarded by armed security whose job is to keep people in, according to reports in Chinese state media and elsewhere. > > [. . .] > > According to victim testimony, staff must work 12 hours a day, six days a week and cannot leave without a ransom. Staff are sold between operators, with ransoms increasing on each occasion. Videos and photographs online in 2021 showed people being physically threatened, beaten with sticks, and struck with electric batons. > > [Edit: Deleted tautology in the title.]

On June 15, a month before the tournament started, the Jamaica squad released a statement that highlighted issues around “transportation, accommodations, training conditions, compensation, communication, nutrition and accessibility to proper resources”.

The JFF replied saying, “We acknowledge that things have not been done perfectly, and we are working assiduously to resolve them.”

That performance against France is a sign the team have made progress since the previous World Cup, yet the fear is they are being held back from reaching their full potential.

The Athletic can reveal the full extent of the issues the JWNT (Jamaica Women’s National Team) claim they have faced over the past few years, including:

• Two separate fundraising campaigns set up to help cover costs at this World Cup

• Players and coaches paying to get their own luggage on flights

• Players and staff not being reimbursed for expenses

• Adidas and Bob Marley’s family covered costs of a pre-World Cup camp, not the JFF

• The JFF being accused of “lacking professionalism”

[...]

A player who has represented Jamaica in recent years who has requested to stay anonymous says it has “been a battle since the beginning of time” over unfulfilled promises.

“The leaders of the federation have been in those seats of power (for a long time), so it’s no surprise that we are cycling through the same issues,” the player says. “We haven’t been getting money for things that we agreed with our federation in our contracts. Money hasn’t been paid on time and people have outstanding balances.

“When you’re a product of this environment and culture that lacks a lot of professionalism, you are desensitised to what you deserve. This is the treatment we have been used to.”

[...]

The contributions from the two fundraising campaigns and Marley, along with support from Adidas and the Jamaican government, raise questions and concerns about the extent of the JFF’s backing of the team this summer.

“It’s the experience of a lifetime,” says Sweatman, who played in two of those games at France 2019. “You want to enjoy it, put in the hard work and feel the reward come back. When you have this in the back of your head it adds a lot of pressure and stress that shouldn’t be put on players.

“One of our team-mates set up a system where we could make T-shirts and sell them to our families to fundraise — you shouldn’t have to do that. You’re playing the top countries in the world. You look at other teams and say, ‘Wow, they have had camps every single month’. We step onto the field with a lack of preparation and that hits your confidence.

“(For the current squad) it takes part of the excitement away, because they’re expecting there will be roadblocks when they go into camp.”

Third @ManUtd bid for Mason Mount, around £55m, expected. Club set to walk away from the deal if Chelsea don't accept. With a year left, United do not believe a £70m valuation is realistic.