Ministers of sport from 49 European countries want to set up a new body under the auspices of the Council of Europe to strengthen European policymaking in the area of sport. As something new, the new body will also be open to international sports federations and sports NGOs.

One of Sweden’s most well-known football agents has been charged with tax fraud and for breaking the laws concerning proper accounting. Kent Carlzon has several star players on his client list and he is suspected of having intentionally neglected to account for 5,5 million Swedish Crowns in connection with sale of football players.

In Kenya, the Kenya Premier League has reconfirmed its commitment to ensure corruption-free football and continue its league matches. It happens in the face of continued political pressure on the clubs and the attempt to establish another football league under the auspices of the caretaker committee that has replaced the Kenya Football Federation.

In spite of continued manipulation with public information and many unanswered questions about corruption, it seems that the president of The International Volleyball Federation, Ruben Acosta, has gained some ground in his fight against the group of expelled or retired volleyball officials who call for founding an alternative volleyball federation in Copenhagen on 25-26 November.

In Somalia, the national Olympic Committee and the country’s new Islamic rulers are working on a framework for the practice of sport in the country. The Islamic Courts Union decreed in June that sport is a “satanic act” but recently one leading sheik said that the Islamists are not totally against sport. Instead they want to encourage sports of Islam.

A big part of the congress of the international volleyball federation (FIVB) was dedicated to an attack on FIVB’s former secretary general Jean-Pierre Seppey who served Acosta in the period 2001-2005 but now is appointed by the opposition group to spearhead its work.

The International Associations of Athletics Federation (IAAF) uses powerful weapons in an attempt to stop political interference. IAAF has barred Algerian track and field athletes from all international competitions after Algeria’s athletic federation was dissolved by the country’s Minister of sport, Yahia Guidoum, in September.

About a month after having posted a joint and quite strongly worded letter to European Commissioner Jan Figel, the tone from FIFA and the IOC seems to soften a bit.