The detailed programme for Play the Game 2022 in Odense, Denmark, is now ready and you can still register with discount for the event that takes place at a crucial point in international sports politics.

More than 30 stadia in Africa are currently deemed unfit by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and many countries are forced to play national matches abroad. Steve Menary provides an overview of the challenges arising from unfit stadiums in both Africa and the Caribbean region.

For the first time in seven years, Play the Game will hold its international conference on its Danish home turf. Danish sports bodies have responded with broad support

While launching the first programme overview for Play the Game 2022 in June, the organisers stress that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has provoked shifts in the priorities of the conference.

Despite calls to limit financial support from companies with links to the Russian or Belarussian state, Russian betting companies continue to operate and sponsor football clubs in Europe, Africa, and South America. Steve Menary describes the Russian betting market, its sponsorship deals, and the problems of instituting a boycott.

Thanks to support from the Danish Union of Journalists, the Norwegian Union of Journalists and Danish sports organisations, Play the Game offers a limited number of conference grants for media professionals, academic researchers, and others from less privileged countries.

The Sport & Society Research Network offers academic researchers attending the 2022 Play the Game conference a discount on the registration price for their 2022 annual conference that will take place at Aarhus University in Denmark on 30 June and 1 July.

53 authors from 17 different countries have contributed to a special issue of the magazine ‘Sports & Politics’ about the life and journalism of Andrew Jennings who passed away earlier this year. At the same time, the magazine provides a fascinating insight into the rise of journalism about sports politics over the past 30 years.