Anyone reporting from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will no doubt come into contact with scores of colourful, joyful, singing and dancing soccer fanatics at some point on their journey.

The same tax-haven secrecy enabling some football club owners to hide their financial affairs from supporters also facilitates massive tax dodging in poor countries.

The 2010 World Cup is rapidly approaching. Tickets are on sale and the different TV stations have introduced their programming for the tournament. It is the first time Africa hosts the World Cup and many feel that this is the united Africa’s championship. But so far it appears that the championship belongs to the non-African outsiders.

Michel Platini has welcomed plans by the UK government to introduce radical new legislation aimed at giving football supporters the power to buy into their clubs and take a stake of up to 25%.

South Africa’s Competition Commission (CC) has started an investigation into price-fixing among six leading airlines that will take thousands of supporters to this summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa.

UK-based football fans group Supporters Direct (SD) is setting up a European-wide network of football fans seeking to take ownership of their clubs with the backing of the sports’ governing body, UEFA.

The Premier League is often referred as the wealthiest league in the world. But it does not mean a profitable league. Among the other 72 clubs of the Football League a great part is neither wealthy nor profitable.

Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball player with the San Francisco Giants, recently broke Hank Aarons 33 year old home run record. Rather than uniting the American people in a coast-to-coast celebration of the sport, the new record holder has divided them into two; those who believe he is a clean athlete and those who believe he is not.