In 2003, the liquidator of ISL discovered that sports officials including FIFA officials had reeceved bribes from the company and demanded that they were paid back to the insolvent estate. A large sum of money was repaid but a court order from the Swiss Federal High Court prevents details of the deal from being handed over to the investigating magistrate.

FIFA does not have many comments on its problems with ISL. But since the collapse of the marketing company, FIFA has gone on the offensive with regards to governance and transparency by adopting a Code of Ethics and establishing a taskforce "For the Good of the Game."

The book ’Foul!’ draws a depressing picture of the decay taking place outside the fields in the world’s most popular sport, writes sports editor Søren-Mikael Hansen in a review of Andrew Jennings’ new book.

In the face of strong resistance from FIFA, investigative reporter Andrew Jennings published his book ‘Foul!’ on wrong-doings in soccer’s international governing body in May 2006. In this extract from the book’s chapter one, Andrew Jennings introduces the theme of bribery with a vivid description of a confrontation between himself and FIFA president Blatter at a press conference.

Since Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup in Germany, the country’s soccer politics has been marked by all the features of a bad crime novel and now is at risk of being banned from FIFA.

In the months counting down to the World Cup in football, Iran’s sporting community has been facing much stress as international politicians try to prevent the Iranian team from entering the tournament and the Iranian president from attending the World Cup.

Having been the president of a national football federation blown apart by match fixing is not necessarily considered a career stopper in international sport. Last week, FIFA president Sepp Blatter gave his full support to Franco Carraro who has resigned as president of the Italian Football Federation and said that he should continue to serve as a FIFA official.

Denmark has won the bid to host the 2007 Homeless World Cup, the annual street soccer tournament which unites teams of homeless people from all over the world to kick off poverty Teams from 48 countries are expected to take part in the tournament in Copenhagen in July next year.