Why Bad Actors Thrive in Sport: Greed, Psychology, and the Silence That Protects Them

I didn't come to this issue as a neutral observer. I've lived it, so I've seen first-hand how false promises, fake pathways, and opportunistic fraudsters damage young lives.

When dreams are for sale, greed is the only one cashing in. Bad actors exploit ambition while families pay the price.

My own experiences with these practices, where fake agents, self-proclaimed “consultants,” and would-be entrepreneurs saw my family as a payday, were the catalyst for me to speak out publicly, ultimately leading to a book being published that exposes the scams hiding in plain sight across the global game of football.

Having studied both clinical and theoretical psychology at university, I also recognised the deeper patterns at play, which helped me understand not just how these scams worked, but why they were so effective.

What began as personal pain became a public mission: to break the silence, to give voice to players and families who felt they had none.

Football sells dreams. For countless families, the hope that their child might one day pull on the shirt of a professional club with their family name in lights, is powerful enough to overcome almost any obstacle. That dream has built academies, fuelled transfers, and filled stadiums. It has also created a thriving shadow economy where fake agents, opportunistic “consultants,” and entrepreneurial opportunists prey on the vulnerable.

And these are not just “agents.” They include self-styled intermediaries with no credentials, tour operators repackaging holidays as “talent ID” pathways, and opportunistic entrepreneurs who recognise that the dream itself has market value. They exploit parents’ ambitions, charge exorbitant fees, and dress up meaningless training sessions as gateways to the professional game. We recently published an investigative piece on this very topic.

I’ve written extensively about these practices over the last decade, not only in Football for Sale, but as a published author, licensed agent, and football stalwart. During interviews with players and families across Australia, Africa, Asia, and Europe, the stories were hauntingly consistent: young footballers and their parents lured by promises, money handed over, nothing materialising. And yet the cycle continues, year after year. Decade after decade.

The question is not simply how this happens. The real question, the one that matters, is why it persists.

So, Why Does It Persist?

The persistence of these scams cannot be explained by opportunism alone. It sits at the intersection of three forces:

Fragmented governance — Football is notoriously difficult to regulate. National associations, continental federations, and FIFA operate in silos. Each passes the burden of oversight to the other. The result is fertile ground for exploitation.

Cultural shame and silence — Families rarely go public when they are deceived. In Football for Sale, the main theme that emerged in interviews was not anger but shame. Parents felt they had failed to protect their children. Players felt embarrassed at being “naïve.” This silence creates impunity.

Human behaviour under pressure — Bad actors rationalise their actions in ways that echo core psychological theories.

Greed or Survival Instinct? The Psychology of Exploitation

On the surface, these individuals appear motivated purely by greed: quick cash, no ethics, no scruples. But psychology tells us it’s more complex.

Carl Jung argued that human behaviour is shaped by both conscious decisions and unconscious drives; the “shadow” side of human nature. Fraudulent behaviour can be understood as part of this shadow: a willingness to exploit others when opportunities arise, even while maintaining an external appearance of respectability.

Canadian-American psychologist and professor Albert Bandura’s theory of moral disengagement explains how people justify unethical behaviour: by blaming victims (“they should have known better”), minimising harm (“it’s just money”), or distorting consequences (“maybe one of them will make it, then it was worth it”).

False promises, empty pathways, and opportunists thriving in the shadows of football’s dreams.

Add to this the current, depressed global economic climate. In periods of financial strain, even those who would not normally contemplate such behaviour may rationalise exploitation as “survival.” They frame deception not as fraud but as adaptation. This is where primitive instincts resurface: in a flailing economy, opportunities for easy money are seized not just by career fraudsters, but by everyday individuals who convince themselves they have no choice.

So, is it greed? Yes. But it is also fear, survival, and rationalisation, rooted in deep psychological patterns.

The Shame Loop

The shame loop emerged repeatedly in our research for Football for Sale. Families duped by false promises rarely went public. Players who returned from failed trials preferred silence over exposure. Parents described sleepless nights and private guilt but refused to share stories publicly for fear of judgment.

This silence protects the perpetrators. Each family thinks they are alone when, in fact, they are part of a much, much larger pattern. The lack of transparency ensures bad actors can operate repeatedly, moving from one group of victims to the next. Shame silences the exploited, which emboldens the exploiters. It is a closed loop, one that must be broken.

The Psychology of Impunity

Fraud thrives when offenders believe there will be no consequences. In football, this belief is not unfounded. Oversight is fragmented, regulations are inconsistently applied, and enforcement is rare. FIFA and its six continental federations routinely issue statements about integrity, but their actions tell a different story. They have allowed this problem to fester.

The irony is striking: an industry generating hundreds of billions in broadcast revenues, sponsorship, and transfers cannot protect its most vulnerable participants. Corporations and governing bodies are complicit; not always by direct involvement, but by their silence and inaction.

When perpetrators see that the institutions themselves show little appetite for enforcement, their sense of impunity deepens. Behaviour becomes bolder, more predatory, more damaging.

Breaking the Silence

If there is a solution, it begins with transparency. Families must be encouraged to share their stories without fear of ridicule. Young kids must know the red flags of fake contracts, inflated promises, and dubious fees. Education campaigns should not be optional. They should be central to the mission of football’s governing bodies.

But education alone is not enough.

FIFA and its six confederations must accept their complicity. They must recognise that lax regulation creates the very conditions in which fake agents and opportunistic entrepreneurs thrive. Anything less than genuine reform leaves the door wide open for exploitation.

The persistence of fake agents and opportunistic fraudsters in football cannot be explained by greed alone. It is rooted in human psychology: moral disengagement, survival instincts, and rationalisation, and enabled by a system that refuses to regulate itself.

Until shame is replaced with solidarity, until families speak up, and until governing bodies act with genuine resolve, these bad actors will continue to thrive unchecked.

Football for Sale was written as both a survival guide and a warning. The stories uncovered show how deeply this problem runs. The book is available globally through more than 45,000 retailers, and through the Football for Sale platform you can order your copy and join the wider conversation.

Because until the silence is broken, nothing changes. And silence is exactly what the bad actors are counting on.