Promoting democratic values in world sports with an emphasis on freedom of expression, transparency, and open dialogue.

New episode. Across Mexico, World Cup 2026 projects are putting communities and ecosystems under pressure

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News

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Anatol Kotau
PtG Comment 19.06.2026
News about disappeared Belarusian sports dissident provoke uncomfortable questions to the IOC
Opening ceremony
PtG Article 19.06.2026
The Dead Zone: How abolishing relegation in Mexican football opened the door to match-fixing
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PtG Article 18.06.2026
Play the Game launches Journalism Fund to support investigations that hold sport to account
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PtG Podcast 03.06.2026
Play the Game launches new podcast on integrity and the darker sides of international sport
Abdullah Ibhais
PtG Article 27.05.2026
Qatar whistleblower prevented from attending Oslo Freedom Forum after passport confiscation in Jordan
Argentine fans
PtG Article 19.05.2026
Argentine police chases missing fortunes generated by Messi & co
Baseball players
PtG Comment 12.05.2026
Stop betting on kids
ADI logo
PtG Article 07.05.2026
FIFA’s betting expansion raises integrity fears ahead of the 2026 World Cup
SAFA house
PtG Article 05.05.2026
The hollow boardroom – How SAFA's governance crisis survived its own exposure
World Cup draw
PtG Comment 01.05.2026
A World Cup of unity – or a spectacle of power, inequality, and politics? 
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PtG Article 29.04.2026
FIFA’s ‘performative’ human rights plans raise displacement fears in Vancouver ahead of the 2026 World Cup
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PtG Article 23.04.2026
Across Mexico, World Cup 2026 projects are putting communities and ecosystems under pressure
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Read about the Play the Game Journalism Fund

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Play the Game Journalism Fund

Articles about the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Trump and Infantino
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FIFA and the 2026 World Cup: Power, politics, and the price of football’s biggest event

Special theme: How Trump has turned sport from brand to power

Trump at Ryder Cup in september 2025
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Trump puts sport at the centre of his 2025 political agenda
Network
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The network behind Trump’s sporting power
Trump and combat sports
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From the ring to the White House: Trump’s combat sports playbook
Trump and golf
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More than a game: Trump’s golfing life and its political reach
Trump and football
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How Trump has made the 2026 FIFA World Cup about America First

Save the date: Play the Game 2027 - 14-17 Nov 2027

Conference participants and speakers

Play the Game 2027

Find videos, photos and more from Play the Game 2025

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Video on demand
Conference
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Photos
Play the Game 2025
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See the full programme
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Speakers
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Theme pages

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Manchester City football club
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Football's multi-club ownership crisis

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Illegal sports gambling

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Benchmarking sports governance

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Do your own sports governance benchmarking

Athletes in front of spectators
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Athlete power and representation

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Special journalistic investigations

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How the sports debate evolved in the 21st century

Trump and Infantino
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FIFA and the 2026 World Cup: Power, politics, and the price of football’s biggest event

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Research projects

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FBI raids CONCACAF
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ClearingSport: Towards an entity countering crime, corruption, and other integrity breaches in sport
Mohammed Bin Salman
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Dataset on sports power relations in Saudi Arabia
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National Sports Governance Observer (NSGO)
Swimmers
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Sports Governance Observer (SGO)
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