Open call for journalistic articles and investigations on sports integrity and governance

Play the Game is launching an open call for journalists and investigative reporters to submit pitches for individual articles or longer investigations into matters of sports integrity and governance. 

Journalism has always played an important role in Play the Game's efforts to identify problems within sports governance and challenge the wider sports community to act on them. 

Now, Play the Game wants to spend around 10,000 euros from a grant from the Danish government to promote good governance in sport on an open call for pitches that can open up new areas within sports integrity and governance to public scrutiny.

We intend to spend the sum on more than one project, and we encourage everyone to apply – also if you have not written for us before. 

What we are looking for

Play the Game publishes content to a global audience who are united in a strong interest for the links between sport and society. We focus on how sport is governed including but not limited to areas such as corruption in sport, match-fixing, doping, athletes' rights, human rights, abuse, geopolitics, and ethics.

We want original content that provides new information, and if your proposed story takes its starting point in a local case, you should approach it from a perspective that is also interesting for readers in other parts of the world. 

Learn more on our website where you can find examples of articles and special investigations.  

We publish in English and expect high journalistic standards. All content is edited in collaboration with the author. 

Submissions

Please send your pitch to us at info@playthegame.org on or before Thursday 5 September. 

The pitch should include

• a clear storyline that explains your angle and the relevance of your story to sport and society 
• the way you propose to research the topic including key sources
• the suggested format for outputs (article, series of articles, podcast, or other formats)
• a budget with your proposed fee and other costs involved in the project
• a CV/resume and an example of a published article

Feel safe in sending us your idea. We treat all pitches with confidentiality.