Professional football clubs in Europe are getting new owners at an increasing speed. However, only a handful of European countries try to regulate club ownership and the focus is mainly financial. Steve Menary outlines the state of affairs on tests of club owners and directors.

New research by Play the Game shows that multi-club ownership (MCO) is growing in football. 156 clubs from around the world are part of 60 MCO groups, and the phenomenon raises new questions of governance for everyone from international football federations to clubs, players, and fans.

Proposals for a closed European Superleague were shot down earlier this year but research shows that UEFA's Champions League in effect may be just as closed with only three new clubs out of 75 reaching the group stages over the last decade.

Under what circumstances is it possible to imagine that one or more national football associations boycott the World Cup in Qatar? Matthias Fett lays out three scenarios and their consequences for FIFA and the associations and reaches the conclusion that the most likely boycott would happen in the US.

The recent election of South African Patrice Motsepe as new president of the Confederation of African Football shows how FIFA continues to meddle in African football politics leaving little hope of much needed reforms.

Organised crime is not the only driver behind match-fixing. Financial instability and unequal distribution of revenue in European football are other factors, explains Steve Menary and calls on sport authorities to help find solutions.

The number of new clubs entering the Champions League has fallen this season as many of the same coterie of clubs continue to dominate leagues across Europe.

Two top men of Football Queensland have sued author Bonita Mersiades for reporting on a dubious payment made by the federation to its president. Other reporters on the case receive threats and hacking attempts.