Are the security measures implemented at sports events always in proportion to the threat? Or are security issues being used to protect narrow business interests and profitability?

“We’re breeding white elephants. There are herds of them”, a leading stadium consultant has told Play the Game. Ian Nuttall, a consultant at stadiumbusiness.com, was referring to the underused mega-stadiums that are the legacies of events such as the FIFA World Cup, the European Championships, and the Commonwealth Games.

Mega-events may trigger the building of iconic stadiums and plenty of promises about a sparkling future. But in reality the result is often oversized, expensive structures that turn into financial burdens. A new, on-going study evaluates prestigious stadiums from all over the world.

By donating expensive stadia, China is trying to increase its influence in third world countries.

When considering the impact of ethics in sport, the mega-stadia constructed especially for the 2010 World Cup certainly is a controversial talking point. Many South Africans have expressed the opinion that the funds spent on building these massive constructions, in line with FIFA’s requirements, would have been better spent on much-needed resources, such as housing, schools, hospitals, and other types of social service delivery.

In the buildup to the Vancouver Olympics, Canadians were shocked to learn that the IOC could legally discriminate against female ski jumpers because their contract with VANOC resided in Switzerland, and gave the IOC carte blanche in terms of deciding what sports and events would be in the Games.

TCU, a budget watchdog in Brazil, has described Brazil’s preparations for the 2014 World Cup as “impressively late” according to Khaleej Times Online.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is vulnerable to several forms of corruption, determines a new report from Institute for Security Studies. The report focus on the more controversial aspects of the 2010 World Cup and explores a range of situations where conflicts of interests are apparent and might lead to corruption.