No soccer matches were fixed despite a network of gamblers and fixers - including former Huddersfield star Delroy Facey.

And as Facey began a jail sentence for his part in the scandal, National Crime Agency officers pledged to continue to work to stop further incidents.

Facey, 35, of Woodhouse Hill, Fartown, was give a two and a half year jail term for bribery offences. His fellow conspirator, non-league player Moses Swaibu, was jailed for 16 months.

It was the second trial linked to the same conspiracy, following the conviction after trial in June last year of businessmen Chann Sankaran and Krishna Ganeshan, and former non-league player Michael Boateng.

Sankaran and Ganeshan were described as the central figures of the conspiracy to swing the results of lower league matches, and were sentenced to five years in prison.

Boateng, for his part described by prosecutors as a willing recruit, was handed a 16-month sentence.

The National Crime Agency said the men’s aim had been to fix the results of matches, passing the information to an overseas network of bookmakers who were betting on the loaded outcomes of the games to make money.

However, during both trials it emerged the conspirators had failed to fix any games despite their efforts.

The NCA launched its own investigation in November 2013 when it was presented with evidence by the Daily Telegraph.

Adrian Hansford, NCA lead officer, said: “The NCA is in no doubt that this was the beginning of a concerted attempt to build a network of corrupt players in the UK.

“That network included Facey, who acted as a conduit for potential targets, and Swaibu, who was recruited to expand the network further.

“They deliberately targeted lower leagues believing that because players earn less they could be more susceptible to taking a bribe.”

He added: “This is corruption and bribery linked to serious organised crime, and the NCA is determined to stop criminals benefiting from it.”

Andy Young, of the Crown Prosecution Service’s organised crime division, said: “Delroy Facey acted as the middleman in this conspiracy, sourcing players who would be willing to fix matches.

“When he played professional football, he earned good money, being paid over £65,000 in 2010/11. But by the time of his arrest, he was no longer playing professionally and was earning considerably less.

“The jury heard how recordings made by an undercover officer from the National Crime Agency captured Michael Boateng conspiring to give away a penalty to Moses Swaibu, a conversation facilitated by Facey on behalf of the professional fixer Krishna Ganeshan.

“Swaibu also advises Facey on how to approach fixing, including bribing referees, and on one occasion suggests that a match could be lost by two or three goals.

“These and other recordings provided vital evidence which showed the men had a settled intent to make an agreement about engineering the results of matches, in return for money, a reality.”