Political goals for Russia’s gas giant.
Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters
What does Gazprom hope to achieve with its deep and generous relationship with football?
Agência Brasil/Wikimedia Commons
Rio 2016 promised much, but with just one year to go Brazilians are still waiting for it to deliver…
Beijing celebrates being selected as hosts of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
EPA
Whatever hoo ha about human rights and corruption gets attached to the Chinese Winter Olympics victory, it won’t be allowed to detract from the event itself.
They won the gold, but where’s the money?
Reuters
As I watched the Women’s World Cup final recently with my family, my 11-year-old son, who plays on a local soccer team, remarked that he was amazed at how quickly and how often the US team scored. “Seriously…
From more charitable times.
Montecruz Foto
The race to become the new FC Barcelona president reaches a climax this weekend, and there is more at stake than football.
Bob Frid/EPA
Thoughtless tweets and unfair conditions didn’t hold women back – but they still deserve better.
Celebrating in style.
Bob Frid/EPA
While the traditional media peddles sexist stereotypes, social media is leading the charge for equality.
Tackling the legacy of the men’s game.
Rold Vennenbernd/EPA
The terrible reputation of cheaters, divers, fraudsters and hooligans in the Premier League and beyond may be placing an artificial cap on the growth of the sister sport
Would the Brazilian men’s team lose to Australia?
CJ Gunther/EPA
Unfortunately for many teams, incredible talent is not, on its own, enough to bring about success.
Object of desire. The FIFA World Cup.
Alejandro De La Cruz
The US and Swiss cases against FIFA executives are full of drama, but success is not a given. A new model for managing sporting corruption should be considered.
Millions tune in to the Women’s World Cup, but how many follow teams at the club level?
Ina Fassbender/Reuters
The Women’s World Cup has become a hugely popular, global event. But what’s happening at the club level?
Slack for Sepp?
Adam Davy/PA
We’re all outraged by dopers and allegedly corrupt officials. Why, and are we justified?
Jack Warner: under arrest.
EPA/Alva Viarruel
Reform of FIFA is clearly needed, but it must accommodate dissent of the anglo-centric world view.
Eniola Aluko could be a stand-out for England.
Joe Giddens/PA
The players, matches and teams to watch for Canada 2015.
Women’s football isn’t popular? Pull the other one.
Chris Ison/PA
The progressive march of women’s football offers a refreshingly different FIFA story from that which has dominated the headlines over the past few weeks.
Happier days in Africa.
Amr Dalsh/Reuters
Answers to the challenging question of why Africans unanimously supported Sepp Blatter for a 5th term – and what they portend for the future.
Time for a remodel.
EPA/Ennio Leanza
Getting rid of a morally tarnished leader is often the easiest part of cleaning up an organisation. The hard work begins now within FIFA.
Some anti-Blatter activists tied their loathing of him to accusations of “slave labor” in Qatar, the site of the 2022 World Cup.
Reuters
Blatter’s decision to step down shocked the world. We asked a few academics to weigh in on what it means.
US Navy v Gabon
US Navy
The inside story of an Interpol conference (sponsored by FIFA) on how to use education and research to tackle match fixing and corruption in soccer.
Playing the game?
Ennio Leanza/EPA
Blatter has stepped down, but this may not be the last we see of him.