Fixed: A Football Comedy

Hello, good morning. Welcome to Interpol.

Today, we will focus on this match.

Bahrain versus Togo, in September 2010.

You see in the picture that we have the players

with a question mark.

For months or years, it was not clear

who this team was from Togo.

At Interpol, we use this match like a case study.

What happened?

Give it up for Adam Fields!

I don't know about you but I'm not really a big football fan...

Actually the match I would love to have seen...

love to have seen, was Togo against Bahrain.

Not many people know about this, but it's gone down in history

as the craziest football match ever.

So the thing is, I know a bunch of guys

who first heard this story

and they found this whole story so incredible

they decided to make a documentary about it,

and they've travelled around the world,

interviewing all these dodgy characters.

But they wanted to find out the truth

of what really happened in this match.

Of course, the match between Bahrain and Togo in 2010...

is one that I remember perfectly well.

It was a very odd and special match.

You are actually the first ones...

at least the first people outside of Austria...

to talk about this match publicly.

It was the most curious and extraordinary match...

that I ever attended on the bench as a coach.

Basically in 2010, it was the Golf Cup

in the Middle East, and that's a big deal in the Middle East,

and Bahrain was taking part,

they had to have a practice match.

The coaches decided they needed three friendly matches…

The first match was against Qatar.

They needed a second one.

But they still didn't have a team.

They contacted a man called Wilson Raj Perumal.

Remember that name, Wilson Raj Perumal.

No, I've never heard the name Wilson Perumal.

Can we google him?

Can we google him?

He was from Singapore and he had a company called Football4U.

Football, 4, U, right?

And he organised international friendly matches.

I thnk the fact that this company,

Football4U was able to pay the air fair,

pay the hotel accommodation

and even pay their parents fee for the visiting team.

That was a very juicy deal for Bahrain FA.

Wilson Raj Perumal.

So they asked him, organise a good opponent

against Bahrain, so they could get a good practice in.

So, he knew someone at the Togo team.

Organised the Togo team, they fixed a date.

Great to have a match in Bahrain.

And my local contact in Togo was Bana.

Yes, it's the first time that I talk about this publicly.

Before today, I was only ever questioned by a prosecutor.

Can any of you here

actually point out those two countries on a map?

These are the two most obscure countries

you could possibly have, and that was the point,

because this was perfect for match fixing.

Bahrain is not known for football.

When the national team plays, the stadium is as good as empty.

However, it’s a country with some

political stature in football.

Besides, Bahrain has money.

But in the capital, Manama,

you won't see many children playing football.

In Lomé, you will find it’s the exact opposite.

Youth in Togo regard football as just about their only chance...

to move up socially.

- That's exactly what gave me the conviction...

to help these players, by selecting them.

- So, Togo is a country where football is important.

It brings hope.

It was just that the Togolese Football Federation...

especially at the time of the Togo vs Bahrain match...

was in a state of total disintegration.

That's how much these players had suffered.

Their generation had been left behind.

So: no money, no organisation.

But everyone lives and breathes football.

All the players are famous.

So Bahrain against Togo.

For Wilson Raj Perumal,

this match must have been stressful.

The trouble was, this guy, Wilson Perumal,

he kind of got the dates a bit wrong.

The Togo national team wasn't actually available that date,

and that's where all the fun begins ladies and gentlemen.

- I just needed a team from Togo.

But I was not aware who is the national team players,

who plays for the national team, and who has a number of caps,

and so on, I don't keep a record of all this.

It was a last-minute thing.

He was afraid the match couldn’t take place.

So he called me for help.

He was in a situation where he had to find replacement players.

The national team would simply not make it in time.

So replacements needed to be found.

And that's exactly what I did.

Only problem was,

there wasn't a second national team.

So this guy,

he literally got a few guys,

just off the street,

and said: "Right, you're on the national team now."

"Am I ? Oh that's nice"

He was quite helpful,

but I was really surprised at why

he selected a group of amateur players.

That was a very...

tricky situation,

because I had no knowledge that they were all amateur players.

- The coach of the national team selected the players

and we left.

- It was just like any other match.

I was given notice to play. I showed up.

Yes, it was our chance.

We were selected to play from six million inhabitants.

If you're selected to play for the national team,

you can’t refuse.

I only took eligible players

from Togo, with a Togolese passport.

- We went through the formalities,

we left Lomé together, all the players.

- Everyone was happy. We were in the national team.

- Was Bahrain aware of us not selecting the top players?

No, they weren't.

- We were just happy to have an opponent.

- To me, Wilson Perumal was a saviour.

Thanks to him, I could play matches...

that allowed me to get my teams in shape.

- I think not many people knew who Wilson Raj was

or who...

what company was this, called Football4U.

So when the bubble burst on this game,

the company became very famous.

I became very famous.

Okay can you give me two taxis?

- Thanks to him, I had the privilege of taking a trip...

with some local players, who could discover another world.

- We became good friends. I think we met in some tournament,

some kind of African tournament somehwere...

and then I spoke to him and we became good friends.

- He was a friend who was there to help us.

He helped like a friend would.

- Bana Tchanilé, just so that everyone is clear about this...

is not a 'fake' trainer.

Yes, they call me 'coach'.

I'm one of the few coaches with a successful national career.

Of the six seasons I coached in the league,

I won the title all six times.

In Niger I coached three teams, three teams in Burkina Faso...

one in Mali, one in Nigeria.

And about everywhere I went,

I was fortunate to succeed in my career.

- In the countries surrounding Togo...

Bana Tchanilé is sometimes nicknamed

the Mourinho of Africa.

The players trust him and he has a very African style.

He's a good man.

He is the only coach who really loves local players.

The only one who really loves them.

- He’s more than a parent to us, all the players.

And we will be grateful for the rest of our lives.

He knows how to help us move forward...