How western firms sustain illegal betting networks Research conducted for Play the Game highlights the role of Western agents and companies in enabling the activities of Asian-facing illegal sports betting operators linked to scam compounds and cyber ...

New for @playthegame-org.bsky.social: an in-depth four-part report on the Western enablers, some of them household names, without whom illegal Asian bookmakers so loved of European football clubs could not function: data collection agencies, licence providers, marketing and advertising agencies.

Thank you! And thank you for sharing!

Infantino’s FIFA: Ten years of power, politics, and so-called ethics Gianni Infantino promised reform, transparency, accountability, and a “new FIFA.” Ten years on, Infantino’s FIFA is instead defined by political proximity, weakened scrutiny, and an increasing alignme...

Outstanding piece by @staniselsborg.bsky.social on Gianni Infantino's ten years in charge of Fifa.
www.playthegame.org/news/infanti...

Infantino’s FIFA: Ten years of power, politics, and so-called ethics Gianni Infantino promised reform, transparency, accountability, and a “new FIFA.” Ten years on, Infantino’s FIFA is instead defined by political proximity, weakened scrutiny, and an increasing alignme...

A meticulous take-down of the calamitous presidency of Gianni Infantino from @staniselsborg.bsky.social of @playthegame-org.bsky.social www.playthegame.org/news/infanti...

⚠️ Illegal sports betting is often described as an Asian problem ⚠️ 🔎A new Play the Game investigation challenges that view by mapping a wider – and largely overlooked – ecosystem of actors that… | S... ⚠️ Illegal sports betting is often described as an Asian problem ⚠️ 🔎A new Play the Game investigation challenges that view by mapping a wider – and largely overlooked – ecosystem of actors that enab...

Amazing work by @philippeauclair.bsky.social on the illegal gambling industry!

👉 www.linkedin.com/posts/stanis...

Les @karimzidan.com analyse av Trumps bruk av UFC som politisk verktøy.

Infantino promised a ‘new FIFA’ built on reform and transparency. A decade later, we instead see weakened scrutiny and an increasing alignment with state power at the highest levels.

@staniselsborg.bsky.social examines Infantino’s first decade as FIFA president👇
www.playthegame.org/news/infanti...

Infantino’s FIFA: Ten years of power, politics, and so-called ethics Gianni Infantino promised reform, transparency, accountability, and a “new FIFA.” Ten years on, Infantino’s FIFA is instead defined by political proximity, weakened scrutiny, and an increasing alignme...

Infantino promised a ‘new FIFA’ built on reform and transparency. A decade later, we instead see weakened scrutiny and an increasing alignment with state power at the highest levels.

Here is my assessment of Infantino’s presidency👇

www.playthegame.org/news/infanti...

New investigation by @stevemenary.bsky.social and @jackkerr.bsky.social for @playthegame-org.bsky.social

From PornHub to pitchside: how offshore betting targets women’s cricket👇

www.playthegame.org/news/from-po...

You’re more than welcome. From 14-17 November 2027z

Play the Game 2027 goes to Cali, Colombia The 15th edition of the international Play the Game conference will take place from 14-17 November 2027 in Cali, Colombia. It is the first time the conference will be held in Latin America.

Great news from and for @playthegame-org.bsky.social, whose next conference will take place in Cali, Colombia, 14-17 November 2027. Bravo to @staniselsborg.bsky.social and his team for taking sport's number one event (it is) to Latin America for the first time. www.playthegame.org/news/play-th...

Big news for Play the Game – and a milestone we have been working towards for many years🌍 I am excited to share that Play the Game 2027 will take place in Cali, Colombia, from 14–17 November 2027.… |... Big news for Play the Game – and a milestone we have been working towards for many years🌍 I am excited to share that Play the Game 2027 will take place in Cali, Colombia, from 14–17 November 2027. F...

Big news for Play the Game – and a milestone we have been working towards for many years🌍

I am excited to share that Play the Game 2027 will take place in Cali, Colombia, from 14–17 November 2027.

www.linkedin.com/posts/stanis...

FIFA World Cup 2026: In Trump’s America, nothing can be ruled out While thousands of reporters prepare to cover the FIFA World Cup, concerns grow over the Trump administration’s crackdown on critics and foreigners. Nick Harris from Sporting Intelligence takes a clos...

Use burner phones. Beware of your social media. Have contingency plans.

Concerns grow over the Trump administration’s crackdown on critics and foreigners. @sportingintel.bsky.social takes a closer look at the risks journalists run.

www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-wo...

FIFA World Cup 2026: In Trump’s America, nothing can be ruled out While thousands of reporters prepare to cover the FIFA World Cup, concerns grow over the Trump administration’s crackdown on critics and foreigners. Nick Harris from Sporting Intelligence takes a clos...

FIFA World Cup 2026: In Trump’s America, nothing can be ruled out. A piece for @playthegame_org about this summer's tournament. www.playthegame.org/news/fifa-wo...

💭 “Are you nervous?” – revisited That was the question I was asked repeatedly during Play the Game 2025 ahead of what became one of the most intense and debated sessions of the conference. My… | Stan... 💭 “Are you nervous?” – revisited That was the question I was asked repeatedly during Play the Game 2025 ahead of what became one of the most intense and debated sessions of the conference. My answer ...

Who has the right to compete? Exploring the inclusion of transgender athletes in sport❗

A night of passion and curiosity!

More on this and full recordings of the debates👉 www.linkedin.com/posts/stanis...

Putin's strategy in sport has been disrupted by Russian exclusion As international sports bodies move to reintegrate Russia, they once again stress the “neutrality” of sport. Stanis Elsborg argues that this language obscures what has really been achieved by excludin...

"The language of neutrality has returned with force - one in which neutrality absolves responsibility."

An important ready by @staniselsborg.bsky.social as Russia returns to the fold tonight.

www.playthegame.org/news/excludi...

Board of Peace expose governance failures in international sport When global political leaders signed Donald Trump's ‘Board of Peace’ agreement in Davos, the ceremony revealed fundamental flaws in international sports governance.

When political leaders signed Donald Trump's Board Of Peace, the ceremony revealed fundamental flaws in sports governance. The systems designed to keep sport politically neutral have been rendered meaningless by those meant to uphold them, experts argue.

www.playthegame.org/news/a-very-...

It is worth remembering that for many years, Iranian athletes have faced imprisonment, exile, and execution for expressing dissent.

I was reminded of this again by Zohreh Abdollahkhani at our Play the Game conferences in 2024 and 2025👉 www.playthegame.org/news/meet-th...

Putin's strategy in sport has been disrupted by Russian exclusion As international sports bodies move to reintegrate Russia, they once again stress the “neutrality” of sport. Stanis Elsborg argues that this language obscures what has really been achieved by excludin...

Yes, sports bans work, and Russia's exclusion - now being reconsidered by the IOC and Gianni Infantino's Fifa - is a good example of what they can achieve. A very powerful piece by @staniselsborg.bsky.social for @playthegame-org.bsky.social.

www.playthegame.org/news/excludi...

As international sports bodies move to reintegrate Russia, they once again stress the “neutrality” of sport.

@staniselsborg.bsky.social argues that this language obscures what has really been achieved by excluding Russia from the international sport’s scene 👇

www.playthegame.org/news/excludi...

Putin's strategy in sport has been disrupted by Russian exclusion As international sports bodies move to reintegrate Russia, they once again stress the “neutrality” of sport. Stanis Elsborg argues that this language obscures what has really been achieved by excludin...

www.playthegame.org/news/excluding-russia-has-successfully-disrupted-putin-s-strategy-in-sport/

Russia is back and so is the language of neutrality in sport

Infantino says Russia’s exclusion “achieved nothing”. I argue the opposite: it disrupted a political use of sport that mattered deeply to the Kremlin.

Full comment 👇

Om hvad helt præcist? 😊

The political power of the Olympic opening ceremony: Lessons from Beijing and Sochi In this analysis, Stanis Elsborg, senior analyst at Play the Game, shows how China and Russia used the international criticism prior to their hosting of the 2008 and 2014 Olympics politically in the o...

The Olympics as political neutral?

The political power of the Olympic opening ceremony: Lessons from #Beijing2008 and #Sochi2014

www.playthegame.org/news/the-pol...

#CAS denied application by Heraskevych

The Sole Arbitrator found
the limitations reasonable and proportionate, given athletes’ other opportunities to raise awareness (mixed zones, press conferences, social networks, and in his case wearing the helmet during four training runs).

“Not all bridges built for peace”

In 2024, 🇺🇦 athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych made a powerful speech at our @playthegame-org.bsky.social conference.

Now, Heraskevych is barred from competing with a helmet honouring 🇺🇦 athletes who lost their lives in Russia’s war.

Watch👉 vimeo.com/962035621?sh...

Vladyslav Heraskevych: Ukraine skeleton racer says IOC banned war victims helmet Ukranian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych claims the IOC has banned his helmet featuring images of people killed in the war in his home country, in a decision that

The IOC insists that politics must be kept out of the Olympics to protect the Games’ neutrality. However, it is a paradox that IOC’s characterisation of politicisation only seems to apply to athletes and not the host nations. 3/3

www.bbc.com/sport/articl...

Rule 50 and the Olympic paradox IOC President Thomas Bach made it very clear in his New Year’s speech that politics should be kept out of the Olympics to protect the event’s neutrality.

The response from IOC: No, according to Heraskevych.

The reason, presumably: Rule 50.

This is exactly the paradox I analysed in my @playthegame_org article “A fist of freedom or a fist of iron? Rule 50 and the Olympic paradox.” 2/3👇

www.playthegame.org/news/a-fist-...

A helmet too political for the Olympics?

🇺🇦Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych wanted to compete wearing a helmet honouring Ukrainian athletes who have died as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

🧵Thread, 1/3

Saudi Sportswashing Falters as Players Exit, Projects Scale Back Saudi Sportswashing Falters as Players Exit, Projects Scale Back Oil price decline, strategic shifts prompt Saudi Arabia to scale back sports investments, prioritize 2034 World Cup

I spoke with Yookun Seo from The Chosun about the evolving landscape of Saudi Arabia’s global sports spending.

In English👉 www.chosun.com/english/mark...