A notorious Singaporean match-fixer claims he won hundreds of thousands of dollars manipulating Socceroos matches, years before he started rigging the Victorian Premier League.

In a new book, on the eve of the World Cup, Wilson Raj Perumal's claims about dozens of thrown matches have sparked an investigation by FIFA, football's world governing body.

Perumal said he paid Togolese players to fix a 2008 match against Australia. In 2010, he claims he paid a referee to corrupt a match between the Socceroos and Egypt. Perumal does not allege any wrongdoing by Australian players or officials. It is believed to be the first time fixing claims have been made regarding a specific Socceroos match.

Perumal masterminded the largest match-fixing scandal in Australian history when he paid players and the coach of the Southern Stars to achieve results during the 2013 Victorian Premier League season, police say.