Social media is not only changing how sports players and clubs interact with fans, Play the Game 2013 was told. It is being increasingly used as a medium for fraudsters to swindle young sportsmen and women who dream of a professional career.

Conflicting views on Brazil’s staging of the 2014 World Cup were presented by panellists from both ends of the critical spectrum in a plenary session entitled Mega-events and democracy: The Brazilian challenge on the closing day of Play the Game.

Do sport mega-events hold the potential to increase mass participation in sport? Many politicians trying to gain acceptance for a bid to host a major sport event would say yes. But according to two speakers at Play the Game 2013, this theory of a trickle-down effect is very dubious.

After four days of vivid debates and in-depth discussions, Play the Game 2013 concludes its eighth world communication conference on sport and society in Aarhus, Denmark bringing new perspectives to the international sports debate.

The third day of the Play the Game 2013 conference opened with a session about the FIFA reform process and key experts presented their evaluation of the reforming work. You can now watch or re-watch the presentations from the session.

With just 100 days to go to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Play the Game asked whether security concerns and the desire for positive coverage could stifle press freedom.

Play the Game’s international director Jens Sejer Andersen has called on politicians and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take a greater role in funding investigations into sports governance and ensure the safety of whistle-blowers.

While the financial cost of hosting a sporting mega-event runs into billions of dollars, a legal price must also be paid. This, Play the Game was told, includes the creation of special tax loopholes, the curtailment of consumer rights and the relaxation of immigration rules.