Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Hollywood stars and best friends, are set to produce a film about the FIFA corruption scandal that has made waves across the soccer world. The movie will be based on a proposed book, “Houses of Deceit”.
Ken Bensinger, a US reporter and author of the yet-to-be-released book, revealed to Reuters of Affleck and Damon’s undertaking as producers for the as-of-yet-untitled movie.
The movie is said to be focusing on Chuck Blazer, a former American FIFA official. Blazer was the former secretary of CONCACAF – the governing body of soccer in North and Central America as well as the Caribbean and provided information to US prosecutors in secret.
This information involved bribery allegations and kickbacks in connection with bidding to host the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.
According to a plea deal that was unsealed and revealed by US prosecutors, Blazer pleaded guilty to 10 criminal courts in 2013.
In a raid on a Swiss hotel in May, 7 soccer officials – former and current – were arrested on US corruption charges. This was a part of a prolonged, wide-range investigation, and following this, Sepp Blatter – FIFA President – announced that he would be stepping down. This decision came just days after his re-election.
Lately, FIFA seems to be coming under a lot of heat, garnering a significant amount of negative publicity.
Holding the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has resulted in the opening of a pandora’s box of criticism and allegations of financial mismanagement, bribery, slavery and fatal work environments.
Read More: FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar Under Attack: Artists Turn Sponsors’ Logo into Sadvertising
These allegations are not entirely unfounded, as up to 900 workers have already died during the Qatar FIFA world cup construction, and the numbers are expected to rise to 4000 by the end of it.
About the book, Bensinger said it was still in the initial stages of its development and would likely not be published before 2017.
In a statement, the investigative reporter said: “I’m excited about the challenge of putting together this book and the prospects for a movie. I think this story has amazing potential to capture the interest of a wide range of people and not just soccer fans, because it touches on fundamental human themes of power, greed, corruption and justice.”
