The Knowledge Bank

Football can, it seems, revive national rivalries and conjure the ghosts of past wars. But football, can also, in a different way than long speeches or international resolutions, help induce progress toward peaceful solutions for...[more]

Trinidad Express journalist Lasana Liburd (pictured) looks back on an investigative World Cup ticket story that shook FIFA On December 13, 2005, FIFA vice-president Jack Warner announced at a press conference that Simpaul’s...[more]

ISL's serious liquidity problems in the course of 2000 and 2001 still causes great concern in the financial sector in FIFA. Since a settlement, President Blatter has maintained that FIFA has lost ‘only’ 42-46 million dollars on...[more]

A timeline tracing the main incidents in the complex of cases between ISL and FIFA that have arisen in the wake of the bankruptcy of the sports marketing agency ISL.[more]

When ISL sold on tv-rights for 60 million US to TV-Globo, FIFA was meant to get a share of 22 million. The money never came under FIFA control and after ISL's bankruptcy, FIFA reported ISL to the police alleging fraud and...[more]

Horst Dassler built the world's most influential sport marketing company, ISL. But at the turn of the millenium, ISL lost market shares and began purchasing television rights on a large scale. This led to a cash flow crisis that...[more]

In 2003, the liquidator of ISL discovered that sports officials including FIFA officials had reeceved bribes from the company and demanded that they were paid back to the insolvent estate. A large sum of money was repaid but a...[more]

FIFA does not have many comments on its problems with ISL. But since the collapse of the marketing company, FIFA has gone on the offensive with regards to governance and transparency by adopting a Code of Ethics and establishing...[more]

The book ’Foul!’ draws a depressing picture of the decay taking place outside the fields in the world’s most popular sport, writes sports editor Søren-Mikael Hansen in a review of Andrew Jennings’ new book.[more]

In the face of strong resistance from FIFA, investigative reporter Andrew Jennings published his book ‘Foul!’ on wrong-doings in soccer’s international governing body in May 2006. In this extract from the book’s chapter one,...[more]

The independent review of European football being carried out by former Portuguese sports minister José Luis Arnaut on behalf of EU looks set to increase tensions between governing body UEFA and the continent's major clubs...[more]

Michel Zen-Ruffinen, ousted Secretary General of FIFA, held the closing speech at Play the Game 2005 on road maps for better governance in sport. The sports lawyer gave examples of corruption in sport and some counter measures....[more]

On the opening day of Play the Game 2005, Kelli White, former World Champion in sprint, took the stand to explain why she had decided to use drugs to enhance her performance. In addition to being an apology, her story was also...[more]

FIFA has more member nations than the UN. Steven Menary examins the reasons for this phenomena in his conference presentation at Play the Game 2005.[more]

A critical evaluation of WADA’s prohibited list was given at the Play the Game 2005 conference by Thomads Søbirk Petersen.[more]