Corruption In Sport

This book offers historical and contemporary international analysis of fraud and corruption in sport, including a diverse range of cases from the sporting world including football, cricket, horse racing and boxing.

Corruption in the sport industry is a pervasive issue that threatens the integrity of sport as an institution. From doping and match-fixing to money laundering, corruption should be a concern to anybody interested in sport policy, management, governance, or ethics. This is the first book to explore the complexity of sport corruption in terms of its conceptualisation, causes, consequences, and reform. The first part looks at the concept of sport corruption, while the second examines the causes of sport corruption from individual, organisational, industry-wide, and longitudinal viewpoints. The third part discussed is the consequences of sport corruption and its impact on the global sport industry. Various approaches to regulatory reform are considered in the next part, as well as the challenges of combatting corruption in the sport industry. The final part assesses the current state of literature in this area and suggests opportunities for future research. Drawing on multidisciplinary case studies from across the world, this is a seminal contribution to the academic study of corruption in sport. It is important reading for all students and scholars of sport management, business, criminology, and law.

In this solutions-focused collection of sport corruption case studies, leading researchers consider how to re-establish trust both within sports organisations and in the wider sporting public. Inspired by the idea of ‘moral repair’, the book examines significant corruption cases and the measures taken to reduce further harm or risk of recurrence. The book has an international scope, including case study material from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and covers important contemporary issues including whistleblowing, bribery, match-fixing, gambling, bidding for major events, and good governance. It examines the loss of trust at both national and international levels. Drawing on cutting-edge research, the book includes both on-field and off-field examples, from Olympic, non-Olympic, professional and amateur sports, as well as diverse academic and practitioner perspectives. Offering an important contribution to current debates and a source of reflection on best professional practice, Restoring Trust in Sport helps us to better understand why corruption happens in sport and how it can and should be addressed. This is invaluable reading for all advanced students, researchers, managers and policy makers with an interest in integrity in sport, sport ethics, sport management, sport governance, sports law, and a useful reference for anybody working in criminology, business and management, law, sociology or political science.

Sport is a global phenomenon engaging billions of people and generating annual revenues of more than US$ 145 billion. Problems in the governance of sports organisations, fixing of matches and staging of major sporting events have spurred action on many fronts. Yet attempts to stop corruption in sport are still at an early stage. The Global Corruption Report (GCR) on sport is the most comprehensive analysis of sports corruption to date. It consists of more than 60 contributions from leading experts in the fields of corruption and sport, from sports organisations, governments, multilateral institutions, sponsors, athletes, supporters, academia and the wider anti-corruption movement. This GCR provides essential analysis for understanding the corruption risks in sport, focusing on sports governance, the business of sport, planning of major events, and match-fixing. It highlights the significant work that has already been done and presents new approaches to strengthening integrity in sport. In addition to measuring transparency and accountability, the GCR gives priority to participation, from sponsors to athletes to supporters an essential to restoring trust in sport.

The Fix is the most explosive story of sports corruption in a generation. Intriguing, riveting, and compelling, it tells the story of an investigative journalist who sets out to examine the world of match-fixing in professional soccer. From the Introduction Understand how gambling fixers work to corrupt a soccer game and you will understand how they move into a basketball league, a cricket tournament, or a tennis match (all places, by the way, that criminal fixers have moved into). My views on soccer have changed. I still love the Saturday-morning game between amateurs: the camaraderie and the fresh smell of grass. But the professional game leaves me cold. I hope you will understand why after reading the book. I think you may never look at sport in the same way again.

In this long-anticipated sequel to his jarring takedown of professional sports, The Fix Is In, internationally recognized game fixing expert and scholarly authority Brian Tuohy further reveals the truths all sports fans need to know. Based on dedicated research and previously unreleased FBI files, each chapter exposes sports in a manner none of the major leagues’ broadcast partners would dare attempt. No sport or league is spared as Tuohy rips through not only the likes of the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and NASCAR, but also the PGA, UFC, eSports, horse racing, boxing, and both NCAA football and basketball. Along the way, championships are revealed as frauds, referees are exposed as accomplices, and legends are demolished. No sports fans should watch another game until they read this book and understand what truly is being presented as “pure” in America’s professional sports leagues.

World football is in crisis. The corruption scandal engulfing FIFA is arguably the biggest story in the history of modern sport and a watershed for sport governance. More than a decade ago, John Sugden and Alan Tomlinson laid the foundations for subsequent investigations with the publication of Badfellas, a groundbreaking work of critical sport sociology that exposed the systematic corruption at the heart of world football. It was a book that FIFA and Sepp Blatter tried to ban. Now re-issued to combine the original contents of Badfellas with new chapters covering the current crisis, this book points to the ways in which FIFA’s new administration can learn from the Blatter story. The prequel traces the course of Sugden and Tomlinson’s game-changing investigation into FIFA, while the sequel updates the FIFA story from 2002 onwards and provides a chronology of crises and scandals within the FIFA narrative. Demonstrating the vital importance of critical investigative methods in sport studies, Football, Corruption and Lies: Revisiting Badfellas, the book FIFA tried to ban is essential reading for anybody looking to understand Blatter’s rise and fall.

This Palgrave Pivot provides a comprehensive overview of economic aspects to criminal behaviour in sport. It addresses manipulations, dysfunctions, distortions and crimes triggered by economic interests or pure greed in sports, and challenges the governance of this important industry. Topics covered include hazing, sabotage, refereeing bias, technological manipulations, tanking, bad management, financial doping, ticket touting, circumventing the law through sport, discrimination and child labour. The book is divided into three volumes. Volume I covers those economic manipulations that breach sports rules, sporting integrity, violate managerial rules and the law, and infringe human rights in sport. It builds up a typology of sport manipulations which makes sense from an economic standpoint, not only from a sporting or judicial perspective. Volumes II and III (available separately) focus on Corruption and Economic Crime in Sport, respectively. This book will be of interest to students, researchers and journalists in sports science, sports management and sports economics.