Fixed: My Secret Life as a Match Fixer - Moses Swaibu
When:
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Venue:
Birkbeck Clore Management Centre
The Moses Swaibu story of match-fixing was one of the most notorious in English football, leading to the perpetrators receiving lengthy jail sentences, including Moses himself. In the years since his fall from grace, Moses has committed his life to trying to ensure that no other footballer or sports person makes the same mistakes as he did.
In 2024, Moses’ story was featured in an award winning BBC Sounds documentary, “Confessions of a Match-Fixer” which was the winner of the Sports Journalists’ Association category for best audio documentary.
This Birkbeck Sports Business Seminar event will mark the launch of Moses’ new book - Fixed: My Secret Life as a Match Fixer - that documents how he became involved in match-fixing, but critically how he has turned his life around and is now one of the world’s leading advocates for player education and mentoring thereby working to ensure sport remains free from corruption.
The event will consist of an interview with Moses where he will discuss the motivations that drove him to write his book, his life and how sports can work towards the elimination of match fixing. Also joining the interview will be Alan Alger, a sports communications and betting professional who helped with the investigation of the match-fixing cases involving Moses. This will be followed by a panel discussion to consider the continuing threats to sport from fixers and what remains to be done at policy, governance and education levels to protect sports and athletes from corrupt practices. The panel discussion will be followed by a debate with the event audience on this, one of the most critical challenges facing the modern sporting world.
Panel Members
Affy Sheikh: Affy is an accomplished investigations, intelligence and security professional with over a decade of experience in protecting the integrity of sport. Until recently the Head of Starlizard Integrity Services, Affy has worked alongside sports governing bodies and law enforcement agencies worldwide on anti-match fixing investigations since 2014.
Before moving into sports, Affy served for twelve years in UK law enforcement and government with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (now the National Crime Agency), HM Customs & Excise and the Metropolitan Police, including diplomatic service overseas.
Affy has also been a member of the Risk and Security Management Forum (RSMF) since 2016, reflecting his longstanding commitment to advancing best practices in risk, security and emerging threat management.
Ben Paterson: Ben has spent over 16 years working for the world’s leading providers of integrity services to sports federations and leagues across the world. Throughout his career, he has played a crucial role in helping international sports federations and governing bodies safeguard their competitions from betting-related corruption.
In a leading role at Sportradar, Genius Sports and IMG Arena, Ben has overseen the development and implementation of cutting-edge integrity solutions and used these solutions to protect and educate athletes and identify match manipulation. He has worked closely with some of the biggest names in global sport. Working with leading lawyers in this space Ben has helped sports implement fundamental policies to govern their participants. His work also influenced commercial agreements, ensuring that integrity provisions became a fundamental part of sports data partnerships.
Ben has been a trusted advisor to sports stakeholders on integrity risk management, data governance, and fraud detection. He has contributed to global policy discussions and collaborated with organisations such as the Council of Europe, and the IOC, to shape best practices in sports integrity. His deep expertise in both operational strategy and technical innovation has made him a key figure in the intersection of sports, data, and betting integrity.
Now working as a consultant, Ben continues to provide expert guidance on high-profile integrity investigations and support sports in responsibly exploiting their data.
Genievieve Gordon-Thomson: Director, Gamechanger360, & Sports Lawyer and Educational Consultant on sport integrity training. Genevieve is a sports lawyer, sports law academic and the CEO of Tactic Connect, a bespoke sports agency. With a career spanning over two decades, she has advised major sports organisations, including One Cycling, British Polo Enterprises, Netball Players Association and Major League Baseball International. She is a trustee of SportExcel UK and chair of British DanceSport Association. Genevieve has lectured at Birkbeck, University of London, and speaks annually at Cambridge University on sports law. In addition to integrity and safeguarding, her expertise focuses on athlete welfare, commercial interaction, and governance consultancy in sports.
Alan Alger is a seasoned communications professional with extensive experience in the sports betting and gaming industry. He recently stepped down as Director of Corporate Communications for Super Group, the parent company of Betway and Spin. He played a pivotal role in handling PR and communications activities across their sportsbook brands coupled with a corporate communications role which included their listing on the New York Stock Exchange. He also managed the company’s response to regulatory challenges. Alan was heavily involved in the Moses Swaibu case from the other side of the fence - having started his sports betting career in a trading background - helping to investigate suspicions of fixed matches. Alan is Communications Officer and Director of Gamechanger360.
Introducing Moses Swaibu
Moses Swaibu is a former professional footballer who played for Crystal Palace and Lincoln City as well as clubs including Bromley, Sutton and Whitehaven. In 2013, he was jailed for his part in a match-fixing scandal. Since his release from prison, he has made it his mission to warn other young players against the perils of match-fixing. He has worked with FIFA and other sporting organisation to tackle the problem which has been described as an 'epidemic'.
Moderator:
Dr Andy Harvey, Chair Gamechanger360. Freelance researcher and consultant. Andy has significant experience in sports integrity having lectured on the internationally recognised Master in Sports Ethics and Integrity. While working at Birkbeck, University of London he undertook some of the first research on contemporary match-fixing as part of the Don’t Fix It project, which was led by FIFPro with the involvement of UEFA. He has published widely on sports ethics and sociology.
Contact name: Sean Hamil
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