The Insider’s Guide to Match-Fixing in Football

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Please find the media release for the new book.

Lots of good wishes,

Declan

There is a wave of match-fixing that is threatening the very survival of football.

National police investigations are occurring in over-thirty different countries, hundreds of matches have been fixed, over one thousand players, coaches and referees have been arrested.

The credibility of the entire sport is in danger, according to Michel Platini the President of UEFA.

We have seen sports corruption before, but this wave of fixing is something almost entirely new.  It is happening in our generation.  It is happening on our watch. It will destroy football, unless we fight it.

To fight it, we have to understand it.

‘The Insider’s Guide to Match-Fixing in Football’ is an analysis of the motivations, the mechanisms and the methods within this modern form of fixing.

It is an academic book for non-academics.   It is based on the successful doctoral thesis of the investigative journalist and researcher Declan Hill at the University of Oxford.

Its editor/publisher Chris Bucci describes it as ‘Freakonomics meets Football Corruption’.

The book examines key questions like;

–       Why do football players fix matches?

–       Is violence used against referees and players to make them fix matches?

–       How is fixing different from cheating?

–       Why do some rich, strong teams bother to bribe poor, weak teams?

–       Why are some games fixed, but not others?

–       Why do some leagues have more match corruption than others?

The final chapter examines the most important question:

–       How can an honest sports administrator prevent match-fixing?

The overarching thesis of the book is that most match-fixing is preventable.  Fixing comes from key specific factors. Remove those factors and we can win the war against match-fixing.

To arrange media interviews, please contact Vicky Grygar at [email protected] or at +1.905.359.8874

                            Quotes

“Only Declan Hill could write a book with this level of academic rigor and foundation of investigative journalism.  I expect Dr. Hill’s new book to be the seminal work in the sports corruption space and I have adopted it for use in my PhD seminar on forensic sports law analytics.‬”

Ryan M. Rodenberg, JD/PhD, Florida State University, USA

“Declan Hill has broken new ground academically, imparting much-needed order and clarity to the murky world of global match-fixing. This is an important book for anyone who cares about the integrity of sport, and it’s an indispensable book for those involved in sports analytics.

Marc Carinci, Managing Director, Sports Gambling Data Services

“Tenacious, factual and with an unrivalled understanding of the current threat being posed to the integrity of sport, Declan Hill consistently challenges those who stand idly by.”

Senator Cecilia Keaveney, Former Head of the Council of Europe’s Task Force on Match-Fixing

“Declan Hill’s new book is an absolute must-read for every thinking fan of the beautiful game on the planet.

Being part of Declan’s team preparing the book I know how much effort and research Declan invested in it. Declan’s passion for our game, professional courage and expertise pours from every page.”

Steven Powell, Director of Policy, Football Supporters’ Federation

“Ladies and gentlemen, European football is afraid… and I think I can even say that European sport as a whole is afraid. European sport is afraid because of a match-fixing phenomenon that is developing in connection with large-scale online betting activities.”

On the other hand we’re directly concerned by match-fixing. For me, this is the greatest shame… If tomorrow, we’ll see a game and we already know the result, football is dead.’

Michel Platini, President of the UEFA, Testimony before the Council of Europe,September 2011 and Interview RTL, January 2013.