The Men Who Sold the World Cup: A two-part documentary delves into football’s darkest period

Made
in
partnership
with
award-winning
producers
Story
Films
and
Calliope
Pictures,
The
Men
Who
Sold
the
World
Cup
will
premiere
exclusively
on
discovery+
on
October
21.

The
awarding
of
the
World
Cup
to
countries
around
the
world
had
been
rumoured
to
have
been
infested
with
bribery,
corruption,
global
politics,
backroom
deals
and
greed.
It
all
came
to
a
head
when
the
2022
World
Cup
was
awarded
to
Qatar
–
a
desert
nation
with
baking
summer
temperatures,
zero
world-class
stadiums,
a
population
mostly
indifferent
to
soccer…
and
lots
of
money.

With
exclusive
interviews
from
those
right
at
the
heart
of
the
story,
the
documentary
reveals
the
stranger-than-fiction
truth
behind
how
the
world’s
biggest
sporting
event
was
sold
by
some
of
international
football’s
most
senior
officials
and
how
they
were
eventually
evicted
from
their
seats
of
power
and
luxury
lifestyles.

This
revealing
documentary
takes
centre
stage
as
the
world’s
attention
turns
to
the
tiny
Arab
state
of
Qatar
and
500
million
people
prepare
to
watch
the
spectacle
of
the
World
Cup
unfold.

With
unique
testimonials
lifting
the
lid
on
a
rip-roaring
story,
viewers
are
taken
inside
FIFA
during
the
era
of
Sepp
Blatter,
the
infamous
ex-president
who
presided
over
world
football
for
decades.
This
was
a
world
where
for
some,
normal
rules
didn’t
apply
and
bribery
and
embezzlement
were
just
part
of
business.

This
is
a
Shakespearian
narrative
of
money,
power
and
corruption,
featuring
a
cast
of
outrageous
characters
including
US
soccer
bigwig,
Chuck
Blazer
and
Qatari
deal-maker,
Mohamed
Bin
Hammam.

Contributors
include
a
whistle-blower
from
the
Qatari
bid
team;
Blatter’s
former
Press
chief,
soccer
greats
including
Jurgen
Klinsmann
and
Landon
Donovan
…
and
Sepp
Blatter
himself.

The
first
episode
features
Sunday
Times
investigators
Heidi
Blake
and
Jonathan
Calvert
and
follows
their
incredible
investigation
and
scoop
of
the
century
that
revealed
rampant
corruption
at
the
heart
of
FIFA.
The
second
episode
features
FBI
and
IRS
investigators
whose
job
was
to
expose
criminal
behaviour
at
the
heart
of
an
organisation
with
a
structure
they
likened
to
The
Mob.

The
Men
Who
Sold
the
World
Cup
will
be
available
to
stream
exclusively
on
discovery+.

The
show
was
ordered
by
Discovery’s
Myriam
Lopez-Otazu,
Group
VP
Content
&
Acquisitions
EMEA
and
APAC,
Simon
Downing
SVP
Marketing,
Head
of
Factual
&
Sport,
and
Victoria
Noble,
VP
Original
Content,
Factual.
Executive
Producers
for
Story
Films
are
David
Nath
and
Peter
Beard,
and
Jeremy
Phillips
at
Discovery.

Source:
Media
Release

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