The Big Fix: How South Africa stole the 2010 World Cup

The Big Fix: How South Africa Stole the 2010 World Cup reveals the background of corruption, graft and greed behind the curtains of this event.
Hartley, Ray
24058
978-1-86842-724-6
In stock
new
€15.50 *

Title: The Big Fix
Subtitle: How South Africa Stole the 2010 World Cup
Author: Ray Hartley
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers SA
Cape Town; Johannesburg; South Africa, 2016
ISBN 9781868427246 / ISBN 978-1-86842-724-6
Softcover, 15 x 23 cm, 248 pages

Description:

The Big Fix: How South Africa Stole the 2010 World Cup represents my effort to understand what really happened when we put on the greatest show on earth. It is never easy to challenge the conventional wisdom, to cast doubt on certainties and to shine a light on the dark spaces where the truth is hidden. As the layers of tinsel are stripped away from the World Cup, the somewhat less glamorous truth begins to show itself. There is the glorious game of football with its stars on display dazzling the world with a great sporting spectacle. But when you peek behind the World Cup curtain, your senses are astounded. Crawling about in shiny suits are every species of corruption, graft and greed imaginable as money is siphoned off the sport's fanbase to feed the game's elite. Nobody can take away the joy, the celebration and the hope that was born when the World Cup came to South Africa. But we need to remember that it happened despite the greed, vanity and callousness of politicians and football administrators who saw it as just another feeding ground.

Content: The Big Fix: How South Africa stole the 2010 World Cup

Introduction
A whistleblower sings
The 2006 bid: So this is how it works
2010: Victory at all costs
What's US$10 million between friends?
What a carve-up
The fix is in
Where the bodies are buried
A nation transfixed
Spinning out of control
Fall of the house of Blatter
Conclusion The means-and-ends nation
The fate of the key players
Timeline
Addendum A: Extract from the US Attorney General's indictment
Addendum B: Safa's response to bribery claims
Acknowledgements
Notes
References
Index