China, Japan, Kenya, Los Angeles, Macau, Singapore… Preseason is about to start and the English Premier League is going global again. It is all about money-spinning.

Both La Liga and Premier League are looking to expand to overseas markets, but expansion could ensue changing dynamics and perhaps end up weakening the domestic leagues.

The increasing globalisation of football brings problems like huge increases in inequalities, privatisation of assets and a lack of regulation. Bonita Mersiades talks to Jérôme Champagne, the man who dares to challenge for the FIFA Presidency.

While sport’s mega-events have seen an exodus to the rest of the world, Europe and the Western world still have a solid hold on the small- and medium-sized sports events, an analysis of all World Championship events since 1990 shows.

Alongside their successful bids for high profiled sports events, Qatar and other Gulf states are gaining an increasing influence in European football through their acquisition of European soccer clubs, broadcasting rights and sponsorships. James M. Dorsey maps the Middle Eastern offensive, which is welcomed by some fan groups, but questioned by other stakeholders.

Analysis: Putin’s increasing influence in the Olympic world and the awarding of the FIFA World Cup to Russia and Qatar make it clear for everybody: Everything is for sale in the world of sport – and the worst is to be expected. The German freelance journalist Jens Weinreich looks behind the curtains of international sport politics.

The Beijing Olympics was a unique event in many senses, and China has been one of time’s most debated Olympic hosts. New article examines the great global impact of the Beijing Olympiad.

It is widely recognised and broadly agreed that the clearest example of a mega-event, sporting or otherwise, is provided by the modern Olympic Games, with another sporting spectacle, the FIFA World Cup coming in second. There is nothing like the same consensus over what else, if anything, qualifies as a mega-event, how to identify mega-events, or how to basically characterise, distinguish and define ‘mega-event’.