The trial is all about match-fixing. Over the past few years, global investigators and police from several countries have unveiled an intricate international criminal network, run from Singapore. For well over a decade, prosecutors allege, this sophisticated syndicate manipulated and rigged football games at all levels around the world, from amateur matches, through professional leagues and international friendlies and all the way to the FIFA World Cup.

But by then Zimbabwe was not alone. Perumal says he was able to infiltrate other African national teams. Players and officials from Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mozambique, Togo and Kenya were ready to fall under his spell, taking part in international friendlies he arranged in Asia and elsewhere for the benefit of his gambling syndicate.