FA up compliance unit numbers to deal with bung claims

Brian Barwick was yesterday handed a mandate to recruit new anti-corruption officials for the Football Association after their board agreed to beef up the compliance unit.

With Lord Stevens set to highlight on Monday instances of irregular payments in the course of Premiership transfers between January 2004 and this year, the FA have moved to "significantly strengthen" their policing department, which only has 13 staff dealing with all on-field and off-field disciplinary matters.

"We have made it our priority to strengthen the compliance department so we can tackle the issue of corruption head on," said Barwick. "The department is doing an excellent job and by bringing in additional resources we will be able to build on that work."

The announcement reflects alarm at the English FA over the negative recent publicity over bungs. It is not a direct response to the Burns report last year, which called for a more robust compliance unit. The FA's own investigation into bungs has been ongoing since Luton manager Mike Newell said in January that agents had offered him illegal payments to facilitate transfers.

That inquiry has intensified following the broadcast two weeks ago of Panorama's documentary, Undercover: Football's Dirty Secrets.

"The FA has already contacted a substantial number of people and media organisations in the last year to ask them to provide evidence following media reports," said Barwick.

"A number have provided evidence which is the subject of ongoing inquiries or has resulted in action being taken. The majority have provided co-operation but were often unable to provide any firm evidence of wrongdoing. Regrettably, a number have chosen not to co-operate."

The FA will turn their attentions to the rules governing agents. In January they introduced a watered-down version of the supplementary regulations proposed; the issue is now to be revisited at next month's board meeting.

Meanwhile, The British Olympic Association is set to risk a major row by pushing ahead with plans to enter a team for the football tournament at the 2008 Olympic Games with players from Scotland and Wales despite opposition from the football associations in those countries who fear it could jeopardise their independent status within Fifa.

A meeting of the four home nations' FAs called by the BOA on Thursday was not attended by the Welsh and Scottish but it was still agreed to enter a British women's team for the 2008 Beijing Games and men's and women's teams for London 2012.

"We will be going ahead anyway and my aspiration is to field the strongest possible teams and I would hope that sports administrators would not hold back their finest footballers, men or women, from participating in this great event," said Simon Clegg, chief executive of the BOA.

Britain has not qualified for the final stages of the Olympic football tournament since 1960 .

Among those to have publicly supported the idea of Britain competing are prime minister Tony Blair and the BOA's new director of elite performance, Clive Woodward.

Guardian Service