Why football is in a fix

Interesting article, worth reading in its entirety:

Why football is in a fix
By Simon Kuper

Estimates of today’s betting volumes are staggering. Declan Hill, in his seminal 2008 book on match-fixing, The Fix, quoted “a recent study for the American journal Foreign Policy [that] estimated the entire Asian gambling industry, both legal and illegal, at $450bn a year.” That’s perhaps 20 times the revenues of all of European professional football. When the sums bet on games dwarf the players’ wages, it’s no wonder match-fixing has become a global, stable and mature industry.

Investigators in several European countries are now pursuing match-fixing cases. A trial in Bochum, Germany involves 47 allegedly fixed games. Hill has even produced evidence suggesting fixes at World Cups. Unfortunately, match-fixing is almost impossible to prove. Everyone involved always denies. Police can end up trying to chase mafias in multiple countries. Sepp Blatter, head of the global football authority Fifa, has finally begun talking about the problem. However, the number of football officials in Europe who work full-time on match-fixing is probably about five. That might not be quite enough.

Match-fixing is now the biggest threat to football.