18 Ways in Which Saudi Arabia Bought the FIFA Club World Cup
They own a club, they sponsor the tournament, they provide the prize money, they sponsor FIFA, they own the media rights, they fly players in, and it's just the beginning.
ethics
Ethics complaint against the IWF president: "Elections were not free, it was more like a selection by a few people, mainly by Mr. Jalood"
The Winter Olympic Federations (WOF) and ASOIF's Council are meeting today in Lausanne. The elections of several IF presidents were recently marred by irregularities and corruption. Tomorrow, one of the beneficiaries, weightlifting president Mohammed Jalood, wants to be elected to the ASOIF Council.
10th anniversary of FIFA indictment: the master of the doorstep
About one of the few journalists who tirelessly investigated the criminal empire of FIFA and made the US indictment in 2015 possible in the first place. About journalism that was called "brainless", "unpatriotic", "betraying", "frustrating" and "cretinous" by media and politicians in the UK.
Table tennis elections: when the handcuffs click
Presidents of the ITTF and IWF are being elected in Doha and Riyadh these days. In Qatar, president Petra Sörling, an IOC member, must hold her own against host Khalil Al-Mohannadi. An official who once caused difficulties for the Qatari had been arrested and threatened with several years in prison.
What you need to know about Germany's so-called Olympic bid
I have been asked by IOC members and leading officials from Olympic IFs what this alleged German bid is all about. So I thought I should provide this information to thousands of non-German readers. To put it bluntly: Germany's so-called Olympic bid is, unfortunately, still a laughing stock.
Twilight of the gods: the IHF pharaoh has a presidential challenger
Is the era of Hassan Moustafa as president of the International Handball Federation (IHF) coming to an end after a quarter of a century? Today, the largest national federation nominated a rival candidate: Gerd Butzeck. However, Moustafa will have home advantage at the election in December.
A global agency to fight crime in sport, or: squaring the circle
Play the Game published a paper for an entity called ClearingSport. On the one hand commendable, on the other hand, after a variety of consultations, core problems are only insufficiently described in it. Compromises beyond recognition. Can an agency be forced on the sport system ruled by the IOC?
Time to Say Goodbye: a letter and a song for the most popular Olympic Sheikh ever
This newsletter is exclusively for you, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. You are no longer an IOC member – not even one suspended. You have not been a member at all since the closing of the 144th session. Allow me to look back, respectfully, on the many years we spent together.
Olympic Horror: when condoms are referred to as working tools
A whistleblower claims to be bullied and sexually harassed by several IOC members and other senior officials over more than a decade. A number of IOC members and directors, the secretary general and president Thomas Bach have been informed about the incidents. The victim received no help.
Tommy's Girl
Why Kirsty Coventry will become IOC president next week. What would have to happen to prevent it – an ethics complaint against Bach et al, for example. What the latest multi-billion dollar TV deal has to do with the election, and the dubious paths that led Coventry in the IOC in the first place.
Olympic status quo (3): IOC directors earn more money than athletes, Olympic champions – and more than any IF
The salaries of the IOC directors remain exorbitantly high. Frontrunner Christophe Dubi gets more than Christophe De Kepper. More than $50m are paid in the four-year cycle – most likely several millions more. Read the full list for 2023. And: Jacqueline Barrett passes the baton to Mattias Kaestner.
Is Hockey president Tayyab Ikram collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal commissions from the Olympic Solidarity fund?
The corruption allegations against the president of the Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) are serious and bizarre. The case affects not only the FIH, but also OCA, as well as the IOC's core business: Olympic Solidarity. And here, as with several other IFs, the IOC is not taking action.
IOC Presidential Index (II), what Thomas Bach and his servants want to prevent: ranking and aptitude test
The IOC has further tightened the rules for the presidential election campaign and made them absurd beyond recognition. Debates are prohibited. Questions in the IOC plenary not allowed. This index compares and checks the suitability of the candidates – everything that the IOC leadership prohibits.
IF elections: men-only, autocrats, power struggles, manipulations and removal boxes
Part 1: A third of the presidential posts in summer Olympic IFs will be filled by December. So far, it's been a man's world: two fake presidents, five incumbents, three new bosses and the big question of whether Alisher Usmanov, who is sanctioned in three dozen nations, will lead the FIE again.
The darling of Shiny and Lying Klaus, who lost 50:51 and still became UIPM president
Modern Pentathlon has the boss it deserves, after a strange election that fits the location of Riyadh perfectly: US-American Robert Stull, previously known for some dubious business practices, was "elected" president with the support of SG Shiny Fang and Frequent Traveller Monarch Klaus Schormann.
Pentathlon leadership in the sights of law enforcement authorities
Welcome to the UIPM congress! Decades of dubious Olympic deals in World Pentathlon could have serious legal consequences: an explosive secret report about the machinations of UIPM executives is being examined by criminal authorities, tax investigators and anti-corruption units in several countries.