“Across much of the investigative writing around gambling, betting, and football, the most obvious narrative is usually told in four ways: Footballers, referees, and the institutions responsible for developing the sport are corrupted; betting destroys youth; gambling companies exploit poor people; society has lost its morals. None of these are wrong, but over time they seem to produce more outrage than understanding about how football leaves itself open to betting. Betting does not actually create football’s culture of risk from scratch. It finds and enters a game already built and already training millions to become fanatical about living inside long odds, uncertain progression, selective visibility, and emotionally charged hope. …”
Africa Is a Country