When Sepp Blatter joined FIFA in 1975 it had just twelve employees. Forty years later, the FBI have accused fourteen executives of forty-seven counts of money laundering, racketeering and tax evasion linked to kickbacks. This book tells the story of how football got big, how FIFA got corrupt and what this means for soccer fans around the world.

"This is the definitive, shocking account of the highest-profile corruption case of recent years, spearheaded by U.S. investigators, involving dozens of countries, and implicating nearly every aspect of the world's most popular sport, soccer, including its biggest event, the World Cup. The case began small, boosted by an IRS agent's review of an American soccer official's tax returns. But that humble investigation soon developed into a huge international...

An "account by two ... investigative journalists at Britain's The Sunday Times explains how the 2022 World Cup was secured for Qatar--a key element in the ongoing, international FIFA controversy"--Amazon.com.

From South America and Africa, kids as young as 13 are leaving poverty-stricken families for a new life in Europe, having been sold the vision of untold riches and the trappings of professional football. This is football's slave trade - the beautiful game turned ugly. Talent-spotted by scouts, these kids are told they could be 'the next big thing'. But the reality is very different. Having spent their family's life savings to join a much-hyped academy,...

"The definitive account of the FIFA scandal, the biggest international corruption case of recent years, touching dozens of countries and spearheaded by U.S. investigators, published on the eve of the biggest sporting event on the planet, soccer's World Cup"-- "Un libro oportuno y fascinante, una gira mundial a galope de la inmundicia y la corrupci n que vadesde la Torre Trump hasta el corazón de Rusia. Con una apasionante narración, Ken Bensinger...