Comment: While the public demand for better governance in sport rings louder than ever, sports leaders are confronted with troubles inherited from the past

Switzerland is the centre of international sports organisations, and now a new report from Swiss based research consultancy Rütter+Partner claims that the organisations produce substantial economic effects for the Swiss economy.

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.

Has football’s world governing body implemented any meaningful reforms since the much-criticised bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups? A top FIFA official and some of the organisation’s most prominent critics shared a platform at the Play the Game conference to address this question.

Australia’s bid for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups did not fail due to a lack of suitability or a lack of infrastructure, the former head of Corporate and Strategic Affairs at the Australian Football Association (FFA) Bonita Mersiades told delegates at Play the Game 2013.

Brazil’s Deputy Minister of Sport Luis Fernandes is ready to debate with critics of the country’s mega-events this Thursday at Play the Game 2013.

In the run up to Play the Game 2013 where good governance in international sports organisations will be a major theme, professor Roger Pielke Jr. presents a closer look into his research on FIFA’s reform process showing that in spite of lengthy and time consuming work, the actual progress made is very small.

The preliminary programme of Play the Game 2013 is at hand now. Early bird-deadline is postponed to give you time to consider your favourite Play the Game themes.