THE American side of the FIFA scandal is getting the movie treatment, with Ben Affleck among those bringing the story to the big screen.

    Capping off eight days of negotiations, Warner Bros. has won a bidding war for “Houses of Deceit,” a book by BuzzFeed investigative reporter Ken Bensinger that is being seen as the definitive account of American FIFA exec Chuck Blazer and his role in the largest sports and public corruption scandal in history.

    Gavin O’Connor, who recently wrapped the Affleck thriller “The Accountant” for the studio, is attached to direct with Anthony Tambakis on board to write the script. Tambakis worked with O’Connor on the director’s 2011 fight drama “Warrior” as well as “Jane Got a Gun,” which O’Connor stepped into direct when that Natalie Portman Western lost its original director.

    At the center of “Deceit” is Blazer, the soccer executive who became perhaps the biggest instrument in the sport’s popularity in the United States, taking it from runt status and growing its current stature. He went from an unemployed soccer dad to a FIFA executive committee member and executive vp of the U.S. Soccer Federation as well as general manger of CONCACAF, the soccer governing body for North and Central America.

    But the man who looked like Santa Claus was also developing the nickname “Mr. Ten Percent” for his slice of lucrative sponsorship and television deals that allowed him live large and was slowly slipping into a web of corruption.

    (SD-Agencies)