How did we get here? This podcast looks back at Infantino’s ten years in power - and the decisions, alliances and governance failures. The podcast was only possible because journalists and whistleblowers spent years exposing how FIFA really works. 🎧 play-the-game-podcast.captivate.fm

Over the past week, Play the Game’s Stanis Elsborg and Jens Sejer Andersen have been highly active in the international debate, providing historical context and governance analysis as the crisis in world football has rapidly unfolded. Stanis reflects on Infantino's leadership crisis that remains👇

Stanis Elsborg@staniselsborg.bsky.social · 4d ago

Weighing in on BBC News this evening after an extraordinary week in football politics. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has withdrawn his commercial proposal, while UEFA has declared that it has lost confidence in his leadership. The proposal is gone. Infantino's leadership crisis remains.

Another extraordinary twist in what has already been an unprecedented week at FIFA. This time, one of the organisation’s most senior executives publicly turns on Gianni Infantino. Via @tariqpanja.bsky.social Story by @gdunbarap.bsky.social 👉 apnews.com/article/cord...

Going live on BBC News in about an hour to discuss UEFA’s extraordinary threat to boycott FIFA competitions over FIFA’s proposed commercial restructuring. www.uefa.com/news-media/n...

Statement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 national associations

UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions.

uefa.com

Ten years of Infantino. What has changed at FIFA? Three takes in three languages: 🎧 German: www.deutschlandfunk.de/behind-the-g... 🎧 English: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/s... 📺 Danish, with English subtitles: www.dr.dk/drtv/episode...

Behind The Games - Wer den Sport kontrolliert

Seit zehn Jahren ist Gianni Infantino FIFA-Präsident und dabei so mächtig wie kein Fußballfunktionär vor ihm. "Behind The Games” blickt tief in das raffinierte System Infantino und erzählt bisher unbe...

deutschlandfunk.de

Uefa has reacted furiously to @martynziegler.bsky.social’s report that Fifa president Gianni Infantino is planning to sell stakes in the men’s World Cup to investors. On BBC tomorrow morning on this matter. www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...

Uefa furious over reports Fifa plans to sell stakes in World Cup

Uefa has reacted furiously to reports Fifa president Gianni Infantino is planning to sell stakes in the men’s World Cup to investors.

independent.co.uk

Read this sharp piece by @adamcrafton.bsky.social from @nytimes.com 👇 Then, for the wider context, listen to or read my examination of Infantino’s ten years in power. The section below could hardly feel more timely. 🎧📰 www.playthegame.org/news/infanti... 📰 www.nytimes.com/athletic/747...

New for @josimarfootball.bsky.social: an op-ed by @staniselsborg.bsky.social, Head of @playthegame-org.bsky.social - the World Cup legacy Fifa does not want to talk about.

The World Cup Legacy Fifa Does Not Want to Talk About - josimarfootball.com

The final will crown a champion, but the 2026 World Cup's true legacy lies far from the pitch.

josimarfootball.com

🎙️ Have you listened to the Play the Game Podcast yet? The idea is simple: to give space and a longer life to the voices, stories, and debates about the people, powers, and politics shaping sport. These are the episodes we have published👇 Subsribe👉 play-the-game-podcast.captivate.fm

The World Cup Legacy Fifa Does Not Want to Talk About In his latest op-ed for @josimarfootball.bsky.social, Play the Game’s @staniselsborg.bsky.social reflects on the broader legacy of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and why independent scrutiny remains essential. josimarfootball.com/2026/07/17/t...

The World Cup Legacy Fifa Does Not Want to Talk About - josimarfootball.com

The final will crown a champion, but the 2026 World Cup's true legacy lies far from the pitch.

josimarfootball.com

🎙️New Play the Game Podcast episode Investigative journalist Lindsey Kennedy exposes the dark side of online sports betting in Southeast Asia. Scams, forced labour, human trafficking, organised crime, and links to football sponsorships! 🎧Listen👉 play-the-game-podcast.captivate.fm

1/🧵 FIFA says its judicial bodies are independent. Yet the decision to waive Folarin Balogun’s World Cup suspension was reportedly taken by one man alone. So who is Mohammad Al Kamali -and how independent has his own institutional background been? www.thetimes.com/sport/footba...

Only one official involved in decision to waive Folarin Balogun ban

Mohammad al-Kamali, the chairman of Fifa’s disciplinary committee, made ruling without any of the 17 other members asked to be involved in the case

thetimes.com

This World Cup has shown why journalism in sport matters! A few weeks ago, we launched the Play the Game Journalism Fund to support original and investigative journalism on integrity issues in sport. Help us fund journalism that holds sport to account👉 www.playthegame.org/journalism-f...

In light of Trump's corrupt red card interference at the World Cup, highly recommend this Play the Game podcast about Infantino's FIFA, which covers lots of things, including his ties to Russia and Qatar and the various corruption accusations.

Play the Game@playthegame-org.bsky.social · last mo.

🎙️ New Play the Game Podcast episode! Ten years after Gianni Infantino promised a “new FIFA”, what kind of FIFA has he actually built? @staniselsborg.bsky.social looks back at Infantino's FIFA - a story about power, politics, and so-called ethics. 🎧 Listen here👉 play-the-game-podcast.captivate.fm

The International Cricket Council distributes tens of millions of dollars per year in development funding through a system insiders say is loosely monitored and easily manipulated. Peter O’Brien reports for Play the Game. 👉 www.playthegame.org/news/greed-a... @pobjourno.bsky.social

How cricket's 55 million USD development fund gets gamed

The International Cricket Council distributes tens of millions of dollars per year in development funding through a system insiders say is loosely monitored and easily manipulated.

playthegame.org

If reports are correct that the U.S. president, and/or people close to him, contacted FIFA’s leadership about a disciplinary case, it creates a serious integrity problem. Once again, journalist prove why they matter - the world should be applauding them. www.linkedin.com/posts/stanis...

FIFA lifts US star striker Balogun’s red card suspension at World Cup after Trump calls Infantino | Stanis Elsborg

Regardless of one’s view of the original red card, the Folarin Balogun case raises much bigger questions about the process and governance issues. If reports are correct that the U.S. president, and/o...

linkedin.com

Der ganze Artikel, wie sehr der Radsport mit fossilen Unternehmen verwoben ist, gibt es bei @playthegame-org.bsky.social. Da geht es auch darum, ob die entsprechenden Teams nächstes Jahr in ihren normalen Trikots antreten dürfen - dort herrscht nämlich ein Verbot für fossile Werbung.

The petroculture peloton: part one

In this first article of a two-part investigation into cycling’s association with fossil fuel advertising, will the Tour de France’s arrival in the Scottish capital be the beginning of the end for Big...

playthegame.org

🎙️ Want to hear the recording of Andrew Jennings challenging FIFA’s communications director Walter de Gregorio in public? In our episode on Infantino’s FIFA, we play the archive audio from Play the Game 2011 - a tense exchange about FIFA and accountability. 🎧👉 play-the-game-podcast.captivate.fm

In a two-part investigation for Play the Game, journalist George Timms examines cycling's deep entanglement with the fossil fuel industry🔎 Part 1👉 www.playthegame.org/news/the-pet... Part 2👉 www.playthegame.org/news/the-pet...

The petroculture peloton: part one

In this first article of a two-part investigation into cycling’s association with fossil fuel advertising, will the Tour de France’s arrival in the Scottish capital be the beginning of the end for Big...

playthegame.org

🎙️ New Play the Game Podcast episode! Ten years after Gianni Infantino promised a “new FIFA”, what kind of FIFA has he actually built? @staniselsborg.bsky.social looks back at Infantino's FIFA - a story about power, politics, and so-called ethics. 🎧 Listen here👉 play-the-game-podcast.captivate.fm

FIFA President Infantino claims the 2026 World Cup will inject 80 billion U.S. dollars into the global economy! @fettitude.bsky.social argues the numbers do not add up – and for the USA, hosting could even end in a net loss. 👉 www.playthegame.org/news/the-80-...

The 80-billion-dollar mirage: unpacking Infantino's World Cup maths

FIFA President Infantino claims the 2026 World Cup will inject 80 billion U.S. dollars into the global economy. Economist and fact-checker Matthias Fett’s analysis for Der Spiegel argues the numbers d...

playthegame.org

🎙️ New Play the Game Podcast episode! Investigative journalist @karimzidan.com joins @staniselsborg.bsky.social to discuss how sport became part of Donald Trump’s political machine - from boxing, WWE, golf and UFC to FIFA, Infantino and the 2026 World Cup. 👉 play-the-game-podcast.captivate.fm

🎙️ The Play the Game Podcast is already travelling further than we had imagined just two weeks in! Since launching, we have had listeners from 40 countries 🌍🙏🏼 More episodes are on the way☝🏼 www.playthegame.org/podcast/?utm...

Illegal betting and match-fixing are escalating in Mexican football. These activities serve as conduits for money laundering, enabled by weak regulation and a legal framework that has yet to criminalise match manipulation in Mexico Read the full investigation👇 www.playthegame.org/news/the-dea...

I thought it'd be a swell idea to create a starter pack of journalists who specialise in throwing light on the dark(er) side of football. It's small for two reasons: there aren't many of us; and I've probably forgotten plenty of excellent people. Thank you for suggesting additions in replies.

🔎 A Deutsche Welle investigation into the disappearance of Belarusian sports activist Anatol Kotau renews focus on repression of the country's athletes. In a comment, Jens Sejer Andersen asks: did the IOC consider this before lifting restrictions on Belarus? 👇 www.playthegame.org/news/news-ab...

Who holds sport to account❓🤔 Today, we launch the Play the Game Journalism Fund – a new initiative to support independent journalism that investigates power, governance, integrity, and accountability in international sport✍🏼 Read more👉🏼 www.playthegame.org/news/play-th...

🎙️ New Play the Game Podcast episode! Monika Streule takes us to Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara, where World Cup projects collide with struggles over water, land, housing, and the environment. 👉 play-the-game-podcast.captivate.fm

🎙️ “FIFA and Qatar tried to break me” In the opening episode of the Play the Game Podcast, Qatar 2022 whistleblower Abdullah Ibhais speaks about prison, pressure, media control, FIFA, migrant workers, and the global politics behind Qatar 2022. 👉 play-the-game-podcast.captivate.fm

🎙️ There's a new podcast, Play the Game — @playthegame-org.bsky.social — about "the people, powers, and politics shaping sport." The latest episode is with guest @julesboykoff.bsky.social on sportswashing x the FIFA 2026 World Cup. Check it out!

Jules Boykoff: Sportswashing, the FIFA 2026 World Cup, and the 2028 Olympic Games

Play the Game Podcast · Episode

open.spotify.com