The Big Fix: The Hunt for the Match-Fixers Bringing Down Soccer, (Paperback)

Game of Shadows meets Among the Thugs in this revelatory true-to-life crime thriller and expose involving greed, corruption, an Asian crime syndicate, and the fixing of international soccer matches at the highest levels of the game, including the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup. In February 2013, the director of Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, made the shocking announcement that 700 international soccer matches had been fixed since 2008, including World Cup qualifying and exhibition matches, with a Chinese criminal syndicate pulling the strings. For the first time, investigative journalist Brett Forrest takes us inside the underworld of one of organized crime's most profitable businesses--a $1 trillion annual international betting market, of which soccer comprises 70 percent. Forrest uncovered a web of nefarious dealings across the world, even on U.S. soil. As he found, no match is safe--not even the World Cup tournament--and law enforcement officials lack the resources to stop it. But one man has taken this criminal enterprise on: Chris Eaton, former head of security for FIFA. Now with the International Center for Sports Security in Qatar, this rough and tumble Australian and longtime Interpol cop has tracked down some of the biggest fixers and their financial backers and continues his mission to clean up the world's most popular sport. Filled with headline making revelations, The Big Fix is must reading for soccer fans and true crime aficionados. Based on years of deep-cover reporting, this gripping narrative takes you inside: The Global Syndicate: The rise of Wilson Raj Perumal, the world's most prolific match-fixer, and the vast Asian crime network he built to defraud a trillion-dollar industry. A High-Stakes Investigation: The relentless pursuit led by Chris Eaton, a former FIFA security chief and Interpol cop who declares war on the corruption poisoning the world's most popular sport. Corruption at the Top: A shocking look at how greed infiltrated the highest levels of the game, with fixed matches tainting everything from the World Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The Underworld of Sports Betting: A true story that follows the money, revealing how fixers compromise players, bribe referees, and manipulate the billion-dollar betting market in real time.